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A Many-Colored Glass: Reflections on the Place of Life in the Universe (Page-Barbour Lectures)
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956324 |
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Item Description...
Product Description
"A Many-Colored Glass" does not attempt to bring together all of the celebrated physicist's thoughts on science and technology into a unified theory. The emphasis is, instead, on the myriad ways in which the universe presents itself to us - and how, as observers and participants in its processes, we respond to it. Taken from Freeman Dyson's recent public lectures - delivered to audiences with no specialized knowledge in hard sciences - the book begins with a consideration of the practical and political questions surrounding biotechnology. As he seeks how best to explain the place of life in the universe, Dyson then moves from the ethical to the purely scientific. The book concludes with an attempt to understand the implications of biology for philosophy and religion.
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Item Specifications...
Pages 176
Binding Softcover
ISBN 0813929733
EAN 9780813929736
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Availability 3 units.
Availability accurate as of May 25, 2012 07:26.
Usually ships within one to two business days from La Vergne, TN.
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Reviews - What do our customers think?
 | Another triumph for the author Oct 15, 2009 |
I have read most if not all of Freeman Dyson's books, starting with Disturbing the Universe and on to A Many Colored Glass. All were delights. His writings are notable for his style and clarity. The Chapter on Heresy was especially thought provoking. I certainly might preser a climate where the "Sahara is wet".
EDITOR this site. I HAVE BOUGHT MANY THINGS AND BOOKS FROM this site, INCLUDING BOOKS BY F. DYSON. I AM NOT SURE THAT THIS BOOK IS ONE COMING FROM this site. I FIND IT TAWDRY TO REQUIRE ME TO VERIFY THE PURCHASE OF A SPECIFIC WORK. I WROTE THE REVIEW BEFORE I FIND ITS A PRODUCTION PLOY FOR this site. I REVIEW ON THE UNQUESTIONED VALUE OF THIS TEXT.
I TOTALLY REJECT USING ME AS A VEHICLE TO PUSH this site AGENDA.
JOHN W BROOKBANK, PhD (California Inst. of Technology) I won't be looking for it in any of your attachments.
| | | | To see the world in a grain of sand Jul 23, 2008 |
This book is a rare delight.
There are two types of science books. Most explain how and why we know something about what we know. The other questions what we assume we know, which is generally the path to new, expanded and sometimes very new fields of scientific knowledge.
Al Gore, for example, who realizes no one gets major headlines by being modest or unsure about one's ideas, says we must end our reliance on fossil fuels within a decade. Dyson says, in effect, wait a minute, we're already overdue for an ice age, maybe global warming is keeping us from freezing.
In contrast to Gore's certainty, Dyson questions, probes, doubts and considers alternatives. In a world overun by people who are dead certain about politics, progress, art, theology, music and almost everything, it's a treat to find educated and thoughtful ideas by someone who admits, "I am trying to reconcile the theoretical law of increasing disorder in the universe with the evidence for increasing order in the universe as we observe it."
On that basis, Dyson will upset people who know things.
Granted, once upon a time he was young, immature, impatient and brashly confident of his wisdom. In 1945, when he was 22 years old, he advised Francis Crick not to give up physics in favour of a new career in biology. Fortunately, Crick didn't take Dyson's advice; instead, within seven years he discovered the double helix structure of DNA which gave birth to molecular genetics.
Suffice to say, Dyson learned, "Even a smart 22-year-old is not a reliable guide to the future of science. And the 22-year-old has become even less reliable now that he is 82."
Great stuff, if you like the idea that science is a continual search for knowledge and not a platform for politically correct dogmas. Science doesn't freeze what little we believe is true into rigid orthodoxies that cannot be doubted, challenged or modified.
Dyson writes that it is the poets who sometimes have a greater insight into science, such as William Blake, who was once "this crazy poet" but who also invited us
"To see the world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour."
Fortunately, those who see more and question more than most in today's world are not crazy. They are merely gifted with a different and sometimes better insight. From them we learn new concepts, or strengthen our own ideas. This intellectual approach creates a rare book when someone such as Dyson share ideas in a clear, concise and provocative style. This book is a dialogue of ideas.
It begins with philosophy of the fox and the hedgehog by Isaiah Berlin and Archilochus, and ends with a beautiful portrait of an autistic child who grew into a wonderful woman. This delightful tour of ideas, questions and observations closes with the thought "... there may be more things in heaven and earth than we are capable of understanding."
| | | | Dyson Dec 11, 2007 |
Crystalline writing and thinking in this book that goes beyond disciplinary boundaries.
Nathan Szajnberg | | |  | A senior scientist reflects on the human condition and provides advice for the future Aug 16, 2007 |
Dyson reflects here on the 'dome of many - colored glass that stains the white radiance of eternity' our richly varied world. He shows a commendable humility in his reflections on the place of life in the Universe. Originally given as public lectures to a scientifically literate public Dyson opens with a consideration of problems of biotechnology.
In one section he writes about three heresies he espouses, one in which he suggests that global warning is not perhaps the awesome danger many see it to be. In another reflection he speaks about the divisions between 'humanists' and 'naturalists' the latter being those who wish to preserve 'nature' and believe nature's way superior. He talks about his own native England about the poverty of the natural landscape until human beings transformed it to the land of meadows and moors, of pastures and green farmland. He considers himself a 'humanist' who believes that mankind's mission is too in transforming nature for the better. And this though of course he is aware of the dangers of this, of those we have created for ourselves. In another realm he speaks about his belief that the U.S. is about to be replaced as the world's major power most likely by China but perhaps by Brazil or India. He suggests that about one- hundred and fifty years is all the time a major nation can be predominant before it becomes over- extended in every way. He suggests the U.S will reach this point around 2070.
In speaking to young people about the future he warns about rapid changes making obsolescent the professions and work they have trained for. But he concludes with a modest and somewhat optimistic word of advice to them.
"The main lesson that I would like them to take home is that the long-range future is not predetermined. The future is in their hands. The rules of the world-historical game change from decade to decade in unpredictable ways. All our fashionable worries and all our prevailing dogmas will probably be obsolete in fifty years. My heresies will probably also be obsolete. It is up to them to find new heresies to guide our way to a more hopeful future."
" | | | | The biased review sets the stage for all further input. Aug 12, 2007 |
| Freeman Dyson is one of the most forward thinking people of the last 100 years. For some book review to simply dismiss his resume out of hand is absurd. This is a complex issue that demands we think with our heads and not with our hearts. The study of this issue requires that those familiar with the complex mathematics involved have a say so, and not just climate scientists with only a cursory understanding of the machinations of their climate models....twhair@fgcu.edu | | | Write your own review about A Many-Colored Glass: Reflections on the Place of Life in the Universe (Page-Barbour Lectures)
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