A Many-Colored Glass: Reflections on the Place of Life in the Universe (Page Barbour Lectures) (Hardcover)

by Freeman J. Dyson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Physicist Dyson, now retired from Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study, attempts too much in this brief volume. He addresses three themes: the human and ethical consequences of biotechnology; the place of life in the universe; and the implications of biology for philosophy and religion. The seven short chapters consist of recent speeches that are not particularly well linked. Unlike some of his earlier works (e.g., The Scientist as Rebel), which dazzle the reader with insight and make intellectual connections across a wide array of subjects, this volume is somewhat quirky and superficial. A self-professed heretic, Dyson argues that the fuss about global warming is grossly exaggerated, but his analysis is far from compelling. In proposing a simple way to prospect for life in the universe, he theorizes that herbivores and carnivores may be present on objects in the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud, and may be constantly migrating from object to object. Dyson is most interesting when he defines theofiction, a genre by writers such as Olaf Stapledon and Octavia Butler, that arises from science fiction but where the vision is primarily religious rather than scientific. But even here, he falls short of his previous high standard. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
Though he did the majority of his work in the 20th century, theoretical physicist and self-proclaimed scientific heretic Freeman Dyson may well be remembered as one of the greatest thinkers of the 21st. His talks and writings are reliably filled with far-seeing speculations on the nature of things to come, and this latest book--a collection of essays on biotechnology, the cosmic destiny of life, and the intersection of biology and religion--is no exception. -- SEED Magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: University of Virginia Press (August 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813926637
• ISBN-13: 978-0813926636
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #207,801 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #14 in	Books > Science > History & Philosophy > Philosophy of Biology
  #43 in	Books > Science > Essays & Commentary

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A senior scientist reflects on the human condition and provides advice for the future , August 16, 2007

By	Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

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."








"

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To see the world in a grain of sand, July 22, 2008

By	Theodore A. Rushton (PHOENIX, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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."

21 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The biased review sets the stage for all further input., August 12, 2007

By	Thomas Hair (Cape Coral, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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 [e-mail]