<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: The insights of Dyson's brilliant mind are showcased in I/W.
Review: Physicist and philosopher Freeman Dyson based the five chapters in this book on a 1995 lecture series. The resulting essays are wonderfully written, profound, and convincing. As the title suggests, Dyson uses scenarios from science fiction and futurism as starting points and milestones in his discussions. He manages to work both _Jurassic Park_ and Stapledon's _Last and First Men_ into Chapter 3, which is about genetic engineering. Chapter 4, Evolution, is a jarring trip through history past and present. Aw, hell. Just buy it. You won't be sorry.
Rating: 
Summary: Evolution of airplanes to galactic migrations, imagine !
Review: Freeman Dyson is a world famous physicist but his range of interests are rather wide: this book deals with evolution of technology, evolution itself, asteroid defense (Armageddon makers have not read this book), colonization of space, time scales in cosmology etc. These stories seem to be a bit unconnected but everyone of them is nice as a separte story. This should be marketed as airport non-fiction: easy reading (and very short) but full of original ideas.
Rating:
Summary: A Combo of Hind- and Foresight
Review: Freeman Dyson is an English American Physicist. His book, "Imagined Worlds" was borne from a series of lectures given in 1995. Throughout it's short 208 pages, Dyson has written a collection of insights into the possible futures for science and technology, and while easily accessible to a broad spectrum of readers it remains intellectually stimulating and thought provoking Spawned from a truly remarkable imagination, some of those futures stretch far into timescapes populated by descendants who may be as unrecognizable to us as we might be to them. Where humankind has spread itself throughout the galaxy and joined in an alliance with other sentient beings. In the not so distant future, Dyson envisages the human colonization of Mars, DIY genetics where a child may be able to design their next pet, and how humankind (and animals) might one day be networked together at the mental level using a technology he calls "radio-telepathy". Dyson has also included the past as an example of how we can begin to plan for these fantastic futures, emphasizing how the most successful technologies have started with humble beginnings and why a lot of the big, government sponsored, ideologically driven science is usually destined to failure. He effectively employs historical instances to illustrate his point. From the disastrous failure of the British Airship the R101, the similarly inspired and equally calamitous BOAC Comet, through to the environmental nightmare that was (and still is!) Chernobyl. All were the result of the `Napoleonic' or politically driven technologies. Numerous historical examples are supplied to also demonstrate how "Tolstoyan" technologies, shining ideas brought to life in garages, backyards or small labs with lean funding and scarce resources are the source of the great majority of breakthroughs. One such example validates this by pointing out that a lot of the groundwork done in the field of particle physics was accomplished with improvised devices by a dedicated group of scientists. Now with drastically reduced funding, he proposes that this is the way forward for future discoveries and applications. Most notably, his guidelines stress the importance of science as a vehicle to provide for the wellbeing of all peoples, not only a select few. Additionally while we must be ever watchful of the unethical or immoral applications of new technologies, we are also to be careful not to shackle human self-improvement with ignorance and fear.
Rating:
Summary: As Always, Dyson Challenges Humanity to Think More Broadly
Review: Freeman Dyson is one of the most respected physicists and futurists in the United States. In this captivating book, based on a set of lectures he gave at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1995, Dyson explores possible futures in science, technology, evolution, and ethics. He argues that science and technology are offering the human race a myriad of exciting prospects, but that there are enormous challenges in harnessing them effectively. For example, he characterizes much of our most celebrated scientific and technological accomplishments as "ideologically driven" and therefore of lesser long-term value than intended. While they might boost national pride, they are too expensive and benefit too small a community to have significant effect on humanity. Ideologically driven technologies, furthermore, tend to leapfrog the type of rigorous experimentation so valuable in creating spin-off technologies of benefit to all. Dyson is at his best when analyzing the ethical dimension of these technologies and what they portend for the future. Dyson offers this assessment: "Many of the technologies that are racing ahead most rapidly, replacing human workers in factories and machines, making stock-holders richer and workers poorer, are indeed tending to accentuate the existing inequalities in the distribution of wealth" (pp. 181-82). An object lesson is the proliferation of computer technology and the Internet. According to Dyson, since the poor have access neither to computers nor the Internet, and since jobs are increasingly being advertised on-line, they now no longer have access to many jobs. In this context, Dyson cries out for a commitment to social justice that would help mediate the widening gap between rich and poor. He also suggests that in the United States the commitment to "free market capitalism" is an ideology that has driven much technological development, playing as it does to the elites who can afford the technologies, to the detriment of humanity as a whole. It is a pointed, well-meaning warning for the future. Dyson also seeks to look into the distant future, offering a fascinating portrait of what he calls the "seven ages of man." Here Dyson looks ahead at several levels, from ten years to infinity. First, looking out ten years he sees a time-scale with which are all familiar and one that dominates everyone's planning. In that decade we will see the rise of biotechnology and other breakthroughs just becoming a part of civilization's consciousness. Second, he looks out one hundred years and suggests that we can reasonably extrapolate from what is presently taking place. Here he sees humanity moving outward into space and grappling with numerous environmental issues on Earth. Third, one thousand years in the future humanity will have populate the Solar System and probably our corner of the Milky Way. But neither politics nor technology is predictable. Fourth, at ten thousand years Homo Sapiens will have evolved into a variety of subspecies or perhaps ceased to exist at all. Fifth, at one hundred thousand years we can only speculate on an entirely different civilization than anything imagined today. Sixth, at one million years in the future Dyson asks questions about life and its quality but is totally nonunderstandable to us. Seventh, Dyson explores the nature of infinity and the death of universe. What does the future hold? No one knows for sure but Freeman Dyson offers a compelling set of possibilities in "Imagined Worlds." He quotes from Samuel L. Gompers, founder of the American Federation of Labor, that this is what should happen in the future:
"We want more school houses and less jails,
More books and less guns,
More Learning and less greed,
More justice and less revenge,
We want more opportunities to cultivate our better nature" (p. 177). Dyson believes this is fully achievable. If we can imagine it, we can accomplish it. This is a most uplifting and challenging read. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Mind-Expanding
Review: I always enjoy Freeman Dyson's books and essays, mostly because he is always willing to tackle the big questions in science and society. Not for him the pedestrian, the cynical, or the immediate--always the long view, with a certain passionate feeling for the possibilities of progress. His writing is refreshing and mind-expanding. I especially enjoyed his discussion of early aviation, and the account he gives of the engineer, Nevil Shute Norway, one of my favorite authors of all time. The Darwinian perspective of the evolution of an artifact, the airplane, is right on, and one is tempted to see the phenomenon in other developing technologies as well. The book is short, and is easy to read, especially considering the lofty ideas it contains.
Rating:
Summary: Mind-Expanding
Review: I always enjoy Freeman Dyson's books and essays, mostly because he is always willing to tackle the big questions in science and society. Not for him the pedestrian, the cynical, or the immediate--always the long view, with a certain passionate feeling for the possibilities of progress. His writing is refreshing and mind-expanding. I especially enjoyed his discussion of early aviation, and the account he gives of the engineer, Nevil Shute Norway, one of my favorite authors of all time. The Darwinian perspective of the evolution of an artifact, the airplane, is right on, and one is tempted to see the phenomenon in other developing technologies as well. The book is short, and is easy to read, especially considering the lofty ideas it contains.
Rating: 
Summary: A Weak Unoriginal Apology for the Status Quo
Review: Other than its thin sprikling of brief anecdotes about the history of science and technology, this book is pretty much empty of content. Most of the ideas considered have been lifted from dead science fiction writers (notably Olaf Stapledon). Freeman Dyson totally caves in to organized religion, and even repeats the often-heard canard that Western Civilization would have been impossible without Christianity and the Bible. The latter thesis is patently absurd. One need only consider the contributions of the civilizations of Greece and Rome. Neither one of which, as far as I know, rested on religious beliefs erected about the bizarre spectacle of a crucified Jew who was somehow also a god.
Rating:
Summary: An apology of pragmatism
Review: The mixed reviews of this book obey to the mixed focus of the essays inside it. The first, second (partly) and last chapter are mostly about ethic and politics of science, the middle book is about imaginations of the future. This latter aspect I have considered bored, but other ones will enjoy to build upon Dyson's suggestions and get enthusiasm from it. The former aspect, politics, compares the ideological and pragmatic approaches to science and technology. It is very accurate and complete in examples, building a defense of pragmatism against ideology, this is agains ideologically driven development. This is done in a darwinist scheme where availability of resources is a hidden prerequisite, as the postulated selection process is based mainly in public demand.
The argument is completed with an exposicion of so-called Tostoyan schemes of development, than somehow counterweigths the monetary bias of first chapter.
Rating:
Summary: It's Dyson. Need I say more?
Review: There is little more fascinating then reading the thoughts of great minds. Dyson has seen and done much in his lifetime, and the chance to receive some of his wisdom should not be passed up. This is a collection of ideas and thoughts (taken from a set of lectures), that cover a lot of ground, but are loosely based around the impact of science on society, how it can be abused when misused, but more importantly, some of the opportunities it offers us for the future if we use it well. My only criticism on this book is its shortness. At just over two hundred rather spaced out pages, there is sadly a shortage of content, which is a great shame since Dyson clearly has a lot of ideas worth sharing. But I suppose that these are the ideas he wants to share the most, and by keeping it brief, he allows us to focus on them better, without being sidetracked by less important information. While readable by just about anyone, those with some basic familiarity with science will get more out of it, while scientists will probably appreciate it even more. This book is more about the application of science then science itself, so understanding the science in it allows the reader to concentrate on what Dyson really wants to say.
<< 1 >>
| 
