Disturbing the Universe – Freeman Dyson
(1979)
While exploring the
bibliography section of some of the science books I have read recently, I came
across a mention of this book, by noted theoretical physicist and mathematician
Freeman Dyson, and thank goodness the amazing M.D. Anderson Library had a copy
for me to check out. I had previously
read that Mr. Dyson wrote some very interesting books which did not stick
strictly to equations and mathematical rigor, but instead explored the Universe
through Mr. Dyson’s inquisitive mind.
These types of books provide a great insight into the minds that have
shaped our modern scientific world.
The preface to this book
details the circumstances leading up to its writing. The Arthur P. Sloan Foundation started a book
series. They requested eminent people,
people who were the leaders in their respective fields, to write something for
publication. It could be a small tome on
pure mathematics, or a detailed history of a great scientist’s life, or, as in
the case with Freeman Dyson, an exploration of his own life in the sciences,
mixed in with the wisdom and gathered insights that he developed through his
life. Because of this, the title of the
book, Disturbing the Universe, is very apt. The story contained within is of Freeman Dyson
and the many times in his life where a chance encounter, a choice made, or an
accidental experience, have led to a shake-up, a disturbance, in the way he saw
and understood the Universe at large.
I love how this book
begins. It pays homage to the written
word and the human imagination as being the grounds upon which greatness is
dreamed of. Mr. Dyson begins by
detailing a children’s science fiction story that really stuck with him from
his childhood, The Magic City by
Edith Nesbitt. This story detailed an
alternate world, and Dyson mentions one rule that the story’s citizenry needed
to heed. In this world, you are free to
choose to use any type of technology available, but, once chosen, the
individual would have to use that technology, and ONLY that technology, for the
rest of their lives. For example, should
a person choose to use roller skates as a means of transportation, that person,
once they chose, would be denied the use of any other transporting
technology. This idea became a metaphor
for Freeman Dyson. He came to understand
that any technology that is created by humans has the power to alter anything
and everything that comes after its creation.
The scary part is that, as Freeman Dyson explains, 99% of all new
technology stays purely as a clever toy for the powerful and rich few. Only around 1% of all created technology
finds a wide use and spreads throughout the human world. The problem lies in that there is no way to
predict what tech will catch on, and what the moral and philosophical
implications and repercussions will be.
Once the printing press was invented, there was no shortage of people
who sought to destroy or abandon this technology because of the fear that
printing presses would allow for the dissemination of ideas and knowledge
contrary to what the powers-that-be wish the masses to read or know about. Freeman Dyson understood that this same
problem applies to even seemingly innocuous technology, such as household
goods, and not just to new weapons or giant machines.
Mr. Dyson goes on to
discuss his education and development into one of the premier mathematical and
theoretical minds of the 20th century. He details his involvement in the British Air
Force during WWII, and how the omnipresent bureaucracy showed him the blind stupidity
of man, the illogic of “leadership”, and the brutality of those that send our
youngest to die in war. He saw the
stupidity of the Air Force equating mission successes with number of sorties
flown, or number of planes involved, and not with whether the target was
actually hit, whether the crews came back alive, or whether their methods were
pure suicide for these air crews. The
crews were never told the amount of planes and airmen that came back or that
died or that were lost. They were fed
lie after lie after lie to keep them motivated to enter unsafe flying targets
and get blown the F up over some unseen and unimportant target. This shaped him very much. He stated that when he moved to the USA, it
was not until the Vietnam war that the people of the USA lost their innocent
and naïve belief in the inherent goodness of their leaders. The British and most of Europe had lost this
during the interminable First World War.
One of my favorite
passages deals with Freeman Dyson’s relationship with my idol, Richard P.
Feynman. The two worked together while
at Cornell University, and shared a road-trip across the USA. His descriptions of Feynman and their
relationship are so cool. Freeman Dyson
was lucky to work with the greatest minds around, from Feynman to Hans Bethe,
to Robert Oppenheimer. He is very honest
in his portrayals of these peers of his.
It is always reassuring to me to hear of how deeply scientists can
disagree over issues and still maintain a collegial working relationship and
even be very close friends. More people
could learn from such things.
Much of the latter half
of this book deals with the various political and social engagements that
Freeman Dyson took up after his main work was complete. He is candid about his failures and humble
about his achievements. The last
chapters deal with Mr. Dyson’s vision for the future of humanity, of life
itself, and make for very moving reading.
I wish his vision of our future indeed comes to pass, allowing humans to
differentiate themselves by exploring our solar system, creating colonies, and
spreading Life through the cosmos. Dyson
has done the math and he feels, much like I do, that, while Life existing on
Earth seems to point to the ability of Life to be anywhere in our Galaxy and
Universe, the truth may very well be that the myriad conditions needed, not
only for cellular Life to develop, but for the planet to be stable enough for
Billions of years to allow for the creation of “Intelligent” Life, are only
found here on our Planet Earth, out of all the possible worlds of our
Multi-verse. If there are a quadrillion
planets in our Universe, and the odds against Life arising are 1 in a
quadrillion, then we are indeed alone.
If the odds turn out to be 1 in a septillion or bigger, then the very
existence of Life on Earth can be seen as the ultimate miracle and all of our
humanity as a blip in the vast expanse of space-time. I too think we humans have a mandate to
spread Life, in all forms, throughout the Galaxy and then the Universe. I hope Freeman Dyson’s vision comes to
pass. I will definitely be on the
lookout for more books by Mr. Freeman Dyson.
(This book can be purchased here: AMAZON )
