The Scientist as Rebel (New York Review Books Collection)
by Freeman Dyson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Freeman DysonEdition: Hardcover
Published: 2006-11-14
ISBN: 1590172167
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: New York Review Books
Book Reviews of The Scientist as Rebel (New York Review Books Collection)
Book Review: Modeling intellectual integrity.
Summary: 5 Stars
Dyson holds high credentials as an innovative mathematician and theoretical physicist, and has known, or, in many cases worked with, most of the leading scientists of the past six decades. He has spent the larger portion of his life as professor of physics at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studies. His analysis of issues confronting disciplines other than professional science has defied the rigidly predictable partisan polemics of the typical commentator. These other areas of interest notably include history, politics, the arts, religion, culture and technology, ethics, and military technologies and strategies. Part of what makes his analysis so interesting is his tendency to cut across the grain of the ubiquitous partisan polemic in which our world wallows. He is obviously an informed and interested student of many issues, and highly articulate and logical. Of course the fact that he is not a narrowly definable polemist virtually assures that many ideologues will dislike aspects of his thought. Dyson is easily up to the task of defending his views.
Dyson has long been a contributor of reviews of books written by scientists and others, for The New York Review of Books. This book is a collection of Dyson's essays and reviews written and published between 1964 and 2006, and includes essays from some of his own books. If anything stands out as much as does his freewheeling intellect, it is the fact that he is no one's sycophant, no ideologue's dutiful foot soldier. For example: (1) Dyson is a strong, articulate champion of international arms control and disarmament, notably of unilateral disarmament (that beyond any international agreements, the U.S. should reduce weapons stockpiles, which he argues is particularly effective at speeding arms reduction generally); and he argues that nuclear weapons hold a threat to the country that holds them that exceeds any threat they present an enemy. He is hopeful that a day will come when all nuclear weapons have been destroyed and outlawed worldwide. Based on the above, you may be prepared to "pigeon hole" Dyson as being a `dove' who would oppose everything about nuclear weapons, whether in practice or principle. But your expectation would be too simplistic, as this is merely what we've come to expect from typical dogmatic ideologues. Dyson is not one of them, as we see: (2) He argues that nuclear weapons have probably prevented large scale conventional wars, particularly in the 1950's and early 60's, by keeping the Cold War "cold," and that the eventual elimination of all nuclear weapons is a goal that must be pursued with great caution and pragmatism. To cast Dyson as being either a simple 'dove' or a simple `hawk' would be an error. A similar consideration might be his views on climate change, where again, his views cannot be neatly packed into either of the standard polemic boxes.
There are points on which I disagreed with Dyson, and points on which he was wrong (his `updates' following most of the essays often admit of being wrong). Dyson's views are important in large part because he is the model of disciplined but un-boxed intellectual integrity. While there may be points on which one may not agree with Dyson, we can benefit greatly from the gentle intellectual integrity which he models, especially when too many ideologues, whether in science, politics, or culture at large, are given to bullying opposing, or less dogmatically strident, voices from the public forum. Dyson is, I believe, a fine picture of what a scientist should be--one who honestly engages the great questions of the world, rather than trying to force dogmatic doctrine upon it.
Summary of The Scientist as Rebel (New York Review Books Collection)
An illuminating collection of essays by an award-winning scientist whom the London Times calls “one of the world’s most original minds.”From Galileo to today’s amateur astronomers, scientists have been rebels, writes Freeman Dyson. Like artists and poets, they are free spirits who resist the restrictions their cultures impose on them. In their pursuit of Nature’s truths, they are guided as much by imagination as by reason, and their greatest theories have the uniqueness and beauty of great works of art.
Dyson argues that the best way to understand science is by understanding those who practice it. He tells stories of scientists at work, ranging from Isaac Newton’s absorption in physics, alchemy, theology, and politics, to Ernest Rutherford’s discovery of the structure of the atom, to Albert Einstein’s stubborn hostility to the idea of black holes. His descriptions of brilliant physicists like Edward Teller and Richard Feynman are enlivened by his own reminiscences of them. He looks with a skeptical eye at fashionable scientific fads and fantasies, and speculates on the future of climate prediction, genetic engineering, the colonization of space, and the possibility that paranormal phenomena may exist yet not be scientifically verifiable.
Dyson also looks beyond particular scientific questions to reflect on broader philosophical issues, such as the limits of reductionism, the morality of strategic bombing and nuclear weapons, the preservation of the environment, and the relationship between science and religion. These essays, by a distinguished physicist who is also a lovely writer, offer informed insights into the history of science and fresh perspectives on contentious current debates about science, ethics, and faith.
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