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Infinite in All Directions
Infinite in All Directions is a popularized science at its best. In Dyson's view, science and religion are two windows through which we can look out at the world around us. The book is a revised version of a series of the Gifford Lectures under the title "In Praise of Diversity" given at Aberdeen, Scotland. They allowed Dyson the license to express everything in the universe, which he divided into two parts in polished focusing on the diversity of the natural world as the first, and the diversity of human reactions as the second half. Chapter 1 is a brief explanation of Dyson's attitudes toward religion and science. Chapter 2 is a one–hour tour of the universe that emphasizes the diversity of viewpoints from which the universe can be encountered as well as the diversity of objects which it contains. Chapter 3 is concerned with the history of science and describes two contrasting styles in one welcoming diversity and the other deploring it. He uses the cities of Manchester and Athens as symbols of these two ways of approaching science. Chapter 4, concerned with the origin of life, describes the ideas of six illustrious scientists who have struggled to understand the nature of life from various points of view. Chapter 5 continues the discussion of the nature and evolution of life. The question of why life characteristically tends toward extremes of diversity remains central in all attempts to understand life's place in the universe. Chapter 6 is an exercise in eschatology, trying to define possible futures for life and for the universe, from here to infinity. In this chapter, Dyson crosses the border between science and science fiction and he frames his speculations in a slightly theological context.
321 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
About the author
Freeman Dyson
77 books370 followersFreeman Dyson was a physicist and educator best known for his speculative work on extraterrestrial civilizations and for his work in quantum electrodynamics, solid-state physics, astronomy and nuclear engineering. He theorized several concepts that bear his name, such as Dyson's transform, Dyson tree, Dyson series, and Dyson sphere.
The son of a musician and composer, Dyson was educated at the University of Cambridge. As a teenager he developed a passion for mathematics, but his studies at Cambridge were interrupted in 1943, when he served in the Royal Air Force Bomber Command. He received a B.A. from Cambridge in 1945 and became a research fellow of Trinity College. In 1947 he went to the United States to study physics and spent the next two years at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., and Princeton, where he studied under J. Robert Oppenheimer, then director of the Institute for Advanced Study. Dyson returned to England in 1949 to become a research fellow at the University of Birmingham, but he was appointed professor of physics at Cornell in 1951 and two years later at the Institute for Advanced Study, where he became professor emeritus in 2000. He became a U.S. citizen in 1957.
The son of a musician and composer, Dyson was educated at the University of Cambridge. As a teenager he developed a passion for mathematics, but his studies at Cambridge were interrupted in 1943, when he served in the Royal Air Force Bomber Command. He received a B.A. from Cambridge in 1945 and became a research fellow of Trinity College. In 1947 he went to the United States to study physics and spent the next two years at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., and Princeton, where he studied under J. Robert Oppenheimer, then director of the Institute for Advanced Study. Dyson returned to England in 1949 to become a research fellow at the University of Birmingham, but he was appointed professor of physics at Cornell in 1951 and two years later at the Institute for Advanced Study, where he became professor emeritus in 2000. He became a U.S. citizen in 1957.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
January 15, 2014
I checked out a hardback edition of this book from the library at the same time I checked out Dyson's Disturbing the Universe. After I had begun Infinite in All Directions, I was one day looking over the books in my library and, to my great surprise, saw this paperback edition of Infinite in All Directions tucked between Brown's Foundations of Modern Physics and Kleinberg and Argersinger's Inorganic Chemistry, two textbooks from my days at BYU. I can't recall for the life of me when or why I purchased this book. I certainly don't remember ever reading it...a good example of the fleetingness of memory.
I would like this book better if I understood it better. This is, of course, not the book's nor the author's fault. My limited intellect and imagination are to blame. Nevertheless, I did enjoy reading the book and I believe I learned some interesting things as a consequence. For sure I learned at least 2 things about Freeman Dyson. (1) He is humble in his own way, and (2) he has a vigorous, far-reaching imagination. An example of (1): He realizes the fragile nature of knowledge. What we know today can, and probably will, be upset by what we learn tomorrow. As an example of (2), I quote a paragraph from the final chapter of the book: "When I look to the future of humanity beyond the twenty-first century, I see on my list of things to come the extension of our inquisitiveness from the objective domain of science to the subjective domain of feeling and memory. Homo sapiens, the exploring animal, will not be content with merely physical exploration. Our curiosity will drive us to explore the dimensions of mind as vigorously as we explore the dimensions of space and time. For every pioneer who explores a new asteroid or a new planet, there will be another pioneer who explores from the inside the minds of our fellow passengers on planet Earth. It is our nature to strive to explore everything, alive and dead, present and past and future. When once the technology exists to read and write memories from one mind to another, the age of mental exploration will begin in earnest. Instead of admiring the beauties of nature from the outside, we will look at nature directly through the eyes of the elephant, the eagle and the whale. We will be able, through the magic of science, to feel in our own minds the pride of the peacock and the wrath of the lion. That magic is no greater than the magic that enables me to see the rocking horse through the eyes of the child who rode it sixty years ago." This is just one of the fantastic glimpses into the future that he describes in this book.
If what I have written piques your curiosity and if you are willing to stretch your mind (sometimes beyond the breaking point) and tickle your imagination, you should read this book.
I would like this book better if I understood it better. This is, of course, not the book's nor the author's fault. My limited intellect and imagination are to blame. Nevertheless, I did enjoy reading the book and I believe I learned some interesting things as a consequence. For sure I learned at least 2 things about Freeman Dyson. (1) He is humble in his own way, and (2) he has a vigorous, far-reaching imagination. An example of (1): He realizes the fragile nature of knowledge. What we know today can, and probably will, be upset by what we learn tomorrow. As an example of (2), I quote a paragraph from the final chapter of the book: "When I look to the future of humanity beyond the twenty-first century, I see on my list of things to come the extension of our inquisitiveness from the objective domain of science to the subjective domain of feeling and memory. Homo sapiens, the exploring animal, will not be content with merely physical exploration. Our curiosity will drive us to explore the dimensions of mind as vigorously as we explore the dimensions of space and time. For every pioneer who explores a new asteroid or a new planet, there will be another pioneer who explores from the inside the minds of our fellow passengers on planet Earth. It is our nature to strive to explore everything, alive and dead, present and past and future. When once the technology exists to read and write memories from one mind to another, the age of mental exploration will begin in earnest. Instead of admiring the beauties of nature from the outside, we will look at nature directly through the eyes of the elephant, the eagle and the whale. We will be able, through the magic of science, to feel in our own minds the pride of the peacock and the wrath of the lion. That magic is no greater than the magic that enables me to see the rocking horse through the eyes of the child who rode it sixty years ago." This is just one of the fantastic glimpses into the future that he describes in this book.
If what I have written piques your curiosity and if you are willing to stretch your mind (sometimes beyond the breaking point) and tickle your imagination, you should read this book.
February 26, 2015
Having much of Freeman Dyson in old copies of The New York Review of Books and knowing him to be an engaging writer, I snapped this up upon finding it in a local bookstore.
Contained are a series of lectures delivered in 1985 on a variety of topics. Since the lecture series was ostensibly about natural theology, Dyson makes efforts to address philosophical and theological themes such as eschatology, freedom of the will, ethics, and the origins and purposes of life and consciousness.
The position taken by Dyson as regards what are traditionally religious matters is a sort of neo-Platonic Reconstructionalism, God being the Anima Mundi, a world mind arising, dialectically, with the growth of human awareness. He calls it "Socinianism", a reference, though he may not know it, to one of the historical roots of modern Unitarian-Universalism.
He prefers, however, to think of himself as one of those scientists drawn to diversity--as opposed to those seeking unification, such as Einstein. Thus the title of these lectures-reworked-as-a-book.
Despite the bows to topics theological, most of the contents of these lectures-reworked-into-a-book have to do with science and technology: space flight, cybernetics, biology etc. The topic treated at greatest length, however, is disarmament, particularly denuclearization.
All-in-all a great book for the bedside or, if your bowels move slowly, the bathroom.
Contained are a series of lectures delivered in 1985 on a variety of topics. Since the lecture series was ostensibly about natural theology, Dyson makes efforts to address philosophical and theological themes such as eschatology, freedom of the will, ethics, and the origins and purposes of life and consciousness.
The position taken by Dyson as regards what are traditionally religious matters is a sort of neo-Platonic Reconstructionalism, God being the Anima Mundi, a world mind arising, dialectically, with the growth of human awareness. He calls it "Socinianism", a reference, though he may not know it, to one of the historical roots of modern Unitarian-Universalism.
He prefers, however, to think of himself as one of those scientists drawn to diversity--as opposed to those seeking unification, such as Einstein. Thus the title of these lectures-reworked-as-a-book.
Despite the bows to topics theological, most of the contents of these lectures-reworked-into-a-book have to do with science and technology: space flight, cybernetics, biology etc. The topic treated at greatest length, however, is disarmament, particularly denuclearization.
All-in-all a great book for the bedside or, if your bowels move slowly, the bathroom.
Read
February 27, 2018Dyson is amongst the few who not only walked side by side with giants, he is considered one of them - his theories about the universe are well structured usually, his interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, for example, is one of the few that is not mainstream but isn't defunct by the community.
Anyhow, Dyson is a great lecturer and knows how to deliver his message very well - a thing that made this book very good and solid, but I got the feeling that he is a bit pretentious while considering big issues that he is looking at the problem as plain and simple and many times (especially when he mentions metaphysical or epistemological issues) he is doing wrong or non-structured enough approach.
I liked the book for it's clear writing and delivery of the messages but I will have to deny the pseudo-scientific method he is using too much in my opinion.
Anyhow, Dyson is a great lecturer and knows how to deliver his message very well - a thing that made this book very good and solid, but I got the feeling that he is a bit pretentious while considering big issues that he is looking at the problem as plain and simple and many times (especially when he mentions metaphysical or epistemological issues) he is doing wrong or non-structured enough approach.
I liked the book for it's clear writing and delivery of the messages but I will have to deny the pseudo-scientific method he is using too much in my opinion.
February 12, 2013
This is a must ad for physics fans, amateur and pros. The simplicity of language makes it a easier read than Green or Hawkins. The lucid way of stringing the macro to the micro has stayed with me over two decades, which is when I had read the book. It is one that I have chosen to reread because every time you are gripped in Dyson's artful way of depicting science.
December 17, 2014
Interessante.
Non sono d'accordo su gran parte delle tesi sostenute, ma l'impianto di base è eccellente!
Uno scienziato deve poter parlare di quello che viene influenzato dalla scienza e di ciò che a sua volta la influenza.
Filosofia e religione senza la scienza non hanno alcun senso.
Non sono d'accordo su gran parte delle tesi sostenute, ma l'impianto di base è eccellente!
Uno scienziato deve poter parlare di quello che viene influenzato dalla scienza e di ciò che a sua volta la influenza.
Filosofia e religione senza la scienza non hanno alcun senso.
April 6, 2020
Dyson is an innovative thinker and famous astrophysicist known for his contributions to a unified theory of the forces which bind the universe together. He died in February at age 96. He is also a scientific theologian and his innovative writings have a distinct flavor of C.S. Lewis. He was a long time member of the JASONS, the premier defense consultants group of great minds (where I first met him). Dyson addresses a little of everything in this book. His fascinating discussion of the origins of life describe how metabolic life was taken over by the parasitic RNA (the same molecule of nucleic acid responsible for coronaviruses) to develop a new form of life able to replicate and reproduce complex structures, leading to the evolutionary process which produced mankind. Every living cell is composed of proteins which catalyze the chemical reactions which make energy for the living cell, and nucleic acids which record the executable program of chemical reactions. Proteins are the cell’s hardware and nucleic acid (RNA and DNA) are the software. As an old “star warrior” (member of the Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative team) I was fascinated by his discussions of boost phase missile defense (bad) and terminal phase missile defense (good) and their relationship to arms control. Dyson talks about the challenge of understanding the ultimate purpose of the universe which he describes as “reading God’s mind.” He turns to the book of Job for a glimpse into God’s thinking. I can’t do justice to Dyson’s concept of God but it goes something like this -- all of us are a small part of the mind of God which grows in power and scope as the universe expands and more diverse life forms become a part of this cosmic consciousness. “He sought to show that in an open, eternally expanding universe, intelligence could persist forever--perhaps in the form of a cloud of charged particles--through shrewd conservation of energy.” For more insights and mind expansion. I highly recommend this surprisingly accessible book.
January 2, 2014
The book is a bit dated as the man reflects upon faith versus science in 1987. He believes in technology and that we will be served by it without conflict with religious beliefs. He tries predicting some trends in 1987 which is interesting reading for today. He isn't bad, but he doesn't come close the cell phone/computer that we have in our hands today and how it impacts all of our society.
The book is an interesting read, but I wouldn't recommend it as it really doesn't have much current value other than some of the philosophical musings on societies, war and politics. He still focuses a lot on the Nuclear bomb issues
The book is an interesting read, but I wouldn't recommend it as it really doesn't have much current value other than some of the philosophical musings on societies, war and politics. He still focuses a lot on the Nuclear bomb issues
August 19, 2015
This book is dated in some ways. For example, Dyson talks about Reagan's Star Wars Initiative and the impact it will have in the USSR. He also talks about the possibility of landing on asteroids; ESA landed Rosetta on a comet in November 2014. Enormous strides have also been made in AI and genetic engineering since this book was written. He has an acknowledged soft spot for religious/spiritual yearnings that seem unusual for someone in the hard sciences. Still, it was interesting to read this very personal view of an eminent physicist. I didn't give it a high rating. It seems to me a kind of quaint footnote to 20th century science by one of its great practitioners, but not much more.
May 27, 2022
Amazing read! Infinite in All Directions allows a glimpse into the mind of a genius, sharing his view from 30,000 feet of the varied terrains he sees below: sciences, technology, spirituality, humanity's future...
Dyson's essays (adapted from talks he gave in the 80s) leap fluidly from one big idea to another. He conveys his deep sense of wonder and awe throughout.
I don't recommend trying to read this book in one sitting, or even two or three. I read it one chapter at a time, taking breaks to digest what I read.
Dyson's essays (adapted from talks he gave in the 80s) leap fluidly from one big idea to another. He conveys his deep sense of wonder and awe throughout.
I don't recommend trying to read this book in one sitting, or even two or three. I read it one chapter at a time, taking breaks to digest what I read.
September 25, 2019
The first half of the book would be a five-star read. His discussion of the origin of the universe and of " life" was pretty fascinating. The second half of the book included a lot of issues and the author's predictions that have not been realized due to changes in world economies.
He should have heeded his own advice when trying to predict the future. In his discussion of Von Neumann's dream of controlling the weather, I quote from the book, "The dream was based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of fluid motions..... A chaotic motion is generally neither predictable not controllable. It is unpredictable because a small disturbance will produce exponentially growing perturbation of the motion. It is uncontrollable because small disturbances lead only to other chaotic motions and not to any stable and predictable alternatuve. Von Neumann's mistake was to imagine that every unstable motion could be nudged into a stable motion by small pushes and pulls applied at the right places. The same mistake is still frequently made by economists and social planners, not to mention Marxist historians."
It's fun to read about the future in books like Asimov's Robots and Empire series, where social engineers can move the future into a desired direction. Documenting your own ideas about the future aren't as fun to read twenty years after they've turned out to be wrong. Human nature and society should be considered pretty chaotic.
He should have heeded his own advice when trying to predict the future. In his discussion of Von Neumann's dream of controlling the weather, I quote from the book, "The dream was based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of fluid motions..... A chaotic motion is generally neither predictable not controllable. It is unpredictable because a small disturbance will produce exponentially growing perturbation of the motion. It is uncontrollable because small disturbances lead only to other chaotic motions and not to any stable and predictable alternatuve. Von Neumann's mistake was to imagine that every unstable motion could be nudged into a stable motion by small pushes and pulls applied at the right places. The same mistake is still frequently made by economists and social planners, not to mention Marxist historians."
It's fun to read about the future in books like Asimov's Robots and Empire series, where social engineers can move the future into a desired direction. Documenting your own ideas about the future aren't as fun to read twenty years after they've turned out to be wrong. Human nature and society should be considered pretty chaotic.
February 1, 2023
First half on the origins of life (dual origins theory), the universe, and eschatology (where he outlines his Socinian religious views) is great. His philosophy of science perspective really shines through, especially when talking about physicists as unifiers, biologists as diversifiers.
Second half on nuclear and technological predictions is obviously somewhat dated. I found useful his ideas about Type 1 technological transitions (less advanced to more) and Type 2 technological transitions (more advanced to less) interesting to chew on - his examples of the disappearance of ox carts with the camel in the Middle East and the disappearance of guns due to the prestige of the samurai gave me a lot to think about in terms of formal models.
His last chapter, on his principle of maximum diversity, where he tries to answer, from his religious background, why there is suffering in the world gave a lot of food for thought - basically that if we are to find the good, we have to maximize diversity, which will also bring a lot of bad. Will definitely consider using some of these quotes in a forthcoming paper.
Second half on nuclear and technological predictions is obviously somewhat dated. I found useful his ideas about Type 1 technological transitions (less advanced to more) and Type 2 technological transitions (more advanced to less) interesting to chew on - his examples of the disappearance of ox carts with the camel in the Middle East and the disappearance of guns due to the prestige of the samurai gave me a lot to think about in terms of formal models.
His last chapter, on his principle of maximum diversity, where he tries to answer, from his religious background, why there is suffering in the world gave a lot of food for thought - basically that if we are to find the good, we have to maximize diversity, which will also bring a lot of bad. Will definitely consider using some of these quotes in a forthcoming paper.
March 30, 2020
Adapted from his Gifford lectures, it's a clear case of a brilliant mind speaking in educated - but vague /non-expert - terms about a host of contemporary (during the 80's) issues in science and political morality. His calls for international solidarity and supra-national governance ring true, perhaps even moreso now with no Soviet state to promote "Western-industrialized" political unity. However, given that he was speaking in such broad sweeps many of his predictions have fallen flat or been superceded by current concerns.
The best passage in the book is an incredibly topical quote from Haldane (re: infectious disease/COVID-19) which I'll try to upload shortly.
The best passage in the book is an incredibly topical quote from Haldane (re: infectious disease/COVID-19) which I'll try to upload shortly.
April 26, 2020
Infinite in All Directions was Freeman Dyson’s manifesto in which he discusses the dangers of atomic weapons and presents an idea about biologic engineering which would produce living tissue for industrial uses. In his vision for a future of space travel. incorporating living tissue space craft grafted with computer parts bringing to mind science fiction horror scenery like H R Giger’s concept art for the movie Alien. The atomic weapons are brought up from several angles, beginning with the Ronald Reagan Star Wars program which serves as a network of orbital machines used as a Strategic Defense Initiative in the case of nuclear weapon deployment. Basically, if anybody were to launch a nuclear missile strike, we could track its position I using satellites and shoot it down with orbital lasers before it poses a threat to our infrastructure an livelihood. Freeman Dyson continues to go on talking about nuclear weapons in a chapter called “Nuclear Winter” which describes a worst case scenario when more nuclear weapons are fired off than the defense satellite network can handle which the blast would kick up so much debris that our atmosphere would thicken with radioactive dust clouds and trigger a global freeze-over. Freeman’s Dyson Infinite in All Directions was a great posthumous read and is an insightful book for the reader who would like a taste of the bigger picture.
December 6, 2021
Interesting perspectives from a scientist known for contrarian views. There are many problems with the text from the general lose format, to the out of date information, to impressive failures in predicting problems we deal with in the futures he describes.
Still you can learn interesting ideas from books like this about how different our world is, and strategies that make sense vs ones that don’t.
The general premise that there is infinite science in all directions and diversity of kinds of science remains interesting and valid today.
Still you can learn interesting ideas from books like this about how different our world is, and strategies that make sense vs ones that don’t.
The general premise that there is infinite science in all directions and diversity of kinds of science remains interesting and valid today.
July 30, 2022
I got this book for $1 at a library sale, and boy was it worth it. Reading it was a rare privilege to peer into the mind of one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century as he engages in freewheeling speculation on the origin and fate of life, nuclear weapons, mankind's future, and yes, even God. One could fault Dyson for being unscientific at times, but I don't hold that against him. As he notes, modern science has lost much of what made it an "art" in the first place--and in writing this excellent book he has tried to recapture that facet of scientific thinking.
November 16, 2020
This book, based on a lecture series the author gave in Aberdeen, Scotland 1985, was published two years later. As a result much had changed by the time I read it, not just in science, but in world affairs as well. In particular genome science has advanced immensely since then. This is not detrimental to reading this work, but actually gives some perspective in the recent history of science. I would recommend it for that reason alone.
September 8, 2019
A little dated in some ways but timeless and towering in intellectual curiosity and communication of complex ideas. A worthwhile read if only for Chapter 2: Butterflies and Superstrings and Chapter 16: Technology is a Gift From God...
Reccommend watching 24 Hour Party People before reading Chapter 3: Athens and Manchester to push you multiversal superstrung brain.
Reccommend watching 24 Hour Party People before reading Chapter 3: Athens and Manchester to push you multiversal superstrung brain.
April 1, 2020
This book is brilliant, elegantly written, and does a terrific job of translating complex scientific concepts for the likes of tiny minds like mind. The reason I couldn't give this five stars is that some of the global issues and predictions about the future are now redundant, but Dyson wasn't too far wrong in anticipating where technology was heading.
April 6, 2021
A good view of what life can accomplish in then next few billion years; a perfect companion to Tipler's "Physics of IMmoratality".
If you assume that life cannot overcome the so-called "heat death" or the "big crunch", the read Dyson and Tipler.
If you assume that life cannot overcome the so-called "heat death" or the "big crunch", the read Dyson and Tipler.
April 17, 2020
A brilliant insight into humanity and science.
January 15, 2024
Notevole. Quattro stelle e non cinque perché è un po' datato.
Read
December 7, 2021When I saw that Freeman Dyson had delivered the Gifford Lectures in the late 80s I was a bit puzzled. While his other writing didn't seem to indicate he was a rabid atheist, his essays also didn't imply he was particularly interested in faith and theology. And ... he's not. When Dyson mentions theology it is more or less only to confess his ignorance (to the extent he makes any sort of explicit theological claims, he discusses a vague sort of God as universal mind process theology). But, these are an interesting set of lectures/essays of a scientist trying to describe his scientific interests to a wide public (which is something Dyson is very good at - even if I disagree with a number of his conclusions - he has much more confidence in human ingenuity and abilities than I do).
June 10, 2009
Very interesting global perspective on science and its role in changing eras. Covers the micro to the macro and is lucid to even non-scientists like myself. Closest comparison would be to Hawking's books but less technical with a Sagan-like emphasis placed on teaching complex concepts to the masses. Even beyond the science, it's interesting as an abstract biographical account of how brilliant and pervasive Dyson's mind truly is.
December 31, 2016
There's Chloe who drowned
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Based on Dyson's Gifford Lectures, this book is a wonderful collection of serious wisdom and good science. It's amazing to see his breadth and width of knowledge and appreciation for nature and its diversity (which forms a major theme of this book). The book has some very interesting anecdotes from physicists, writers, politicians, biologists and bits of apt poetry as well. It's a fun read. He discusses a lot of brilliant ideas.
~~~~
Based on Dyson's Gifford Lectures, this book is a wonderful collection of serious wisdom and good science. It's amazing to see his breadth and width of knowledge and appreciation for nature and its diversity (which forms a major theme of this book). The book has some very interesting anecdotes from physicists, writers, politicians, biologists and bits of apt poetry as well. It's a fun read. He discusses a lot of brilliant ideas.
February 22, 2016
Readability 7. Rating 7. Dyson's view of the world, on science, and on the possibilities facing mankind. Very enjoyable and well written, even though a bit of his curmudgeonliness comes through. Interesting is the contrast between Bova's championing of manned exploration and Dyson's logical aversion -- it costs too much, its dangerous, and it often leads to "good science" being neglected. He does get credit for predicting the failure of the Hubble Space Telescope.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2023
There's some thought-provoking ideas in this book but there are also some incredibly frustrating chapters in this book. Chapter 4 asks how did life begin? As a Christian I was really excited to read this chapter. I was hoping to get his perspective and understand how he thought life began. He never really offers up his own theories, only discussing the work that other scientists have done. This is a pattern throughout the book. Disappointing.
May 19, 2012
Freeman Dyson is an independent thinker at a time when, suprisingly, many scientists are slaves to the science establishment's orthodoxy. However, he doesn't just take contrarian positions--he shows why there is more to most issues than first meets the eye and the importance of not letting preconceptions get in the way of innovative solutions.
February 24, 2016
A little dated, and very dense, but very well written and thought provoking. Based on a series of lectures given in 1985, this has a more recent prologue updating some of the things that he was right and wrong about, but still definitely worth the read.
August 9, 2010
Part two somewhat dated as Soviets collapsed the next year after publication
February 3, 2013
Freeman Dyson's presents a series of profound ideas that ground the reader in a reality few know exists... One of my favorites.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews