Customer Reviews

The Sun, The Genome, and The Internet: Tools of Scientific Revolution (New York Public Library Lectures in Humanities)

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Adapted from a lecture series hosted by the New York Public Library, the essays in this slender volume cover traditional Dyson subjects (ethics and technology, the politics and "sociology" of scientific research, the settlement of the solar system) plus something new; speculation on how the three titular entities might be used to bring prosperity and dynamism back to village life in the Third World.

In addition to being an awfully short book, with great wide margins, there's disappointingly little meat on these bones. The chapters in past collections, like the incomparable _Disturbing the Universe_, started out as essays and articles; these transcribed lectures don't quite compare.

If you haven't read anything by Dyson, you might want to start here. Otherwise, my recommendation is to buy it, and loan it to people who need beach reading or an airline book.

Dyson focuses on how scientific revolutions are made and suggests the best strategies, considering cost and politics, of making important progress. He spells out ways that technologies can improve our quality of life and, not incidentally, reduce the gap between rich and poor.

Looking ahead to the next 100 years he gives us a feel for the kind of thing humankind might expect when we begin to apply new technologies to the poor, underpopulated parts of the world and we begin to populate the other bodies in the universe. He sees the power of the sun directly harnessed to providing access to the internet for everyone in the world through revolutions in the understanding of genes.

Dyson, emeritus professor of physics at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, is a legendary figure in the sciences. He writes with passionate conviction, style and a profound knowledge of the people and the work, and a deep understanding of how scientific things get done.

Even though I'm not specially interested in the sun or the genome, I found this book riveting. It will appeal to any curious person. There is no science prerequisite beyond knowing the difference between a telescope and a gene.

The books shelves are full of millenium views and prognostications. But none with the scientific support and historical perspective of this book. Surprisingly easy to read, Dyson puts these three socio-techno forces in an order that is not only logical, but also quite inspiring. (Wait until you read that we only need two inventions to break the next big DNA code. . .and what they are!) The downside of the book is the intermittant rambling antecdotes of personal stories. They simply don't seem to connect either to each other or to the point. Fortunately, you can skim over these and not lose much. This book is quite digestable -- I'll be quoting it tomorrow and using it in my "future world" presentations.

This is yet another wonderful book written by the physicist / mathematician Freeman J. Dyson of Princeton university. In this book he discusses at length his views on scientific revolutions. He also articulates how his thoughts both overlap and differ from other authorities on the subject (such as Thomas Kuhn on MIT).

Specifically, Dyson looks at the three things found in the title and how they influence scientific advancements. He elucidates the different approaches that astronomers use vs. biologists to find what they are "after." He also describes how biologists could learn a lot from their astronomer brethren. Dyson points out how the Internet has provided an excellent tool for science as it has "shrunk" the size of the Earth. The ways in which it has been able to speed up research protocals and methods have made an incredible impact on the world of science.

Dyson also writes at length about the implications of discerning the properties of the entire human genome. He argues that it will not, as some have said, lead to a 2-tier society of those who can afford to genetically maniuplate their children, and those who cannot. This is a significant subject in this day and age of bio-technology. For if things go awry (which Dyson assures us they won't) we could end up with one group of people with the ability to pave the road for their children before they are even born; they could genetically arrange for them to be admitted to the best schools, get the best jobs and make the most $$$$. Meanwhile, the children of the "have nots" would become a sort of slave race to their "superiors." They would be restricted to only the most menial and lowest paying jobs & would be denied higher education by default. It would be somewhat akin to the societal situation found in the movie "Gattaca." However, Dyson vehemently suggests that there is reason for optimism concerning this rather horrifying concept.

As is usual with Dyson books, this one is a must-read for those who have a love (or even a like) of science and the machinery of scientific revolutions. I would admonish everyone to read one of the greatest scientific minds of the 20th century; none other than Freeman Dyson.

This superb book by Freeman Dyson was largely based on the 'Three Faces of Science' lectures he gave at the New York Public Library in 1997. It consists of three chapters.

CHAPTER 1: SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
Dyson revisits scientific disciplines that have come about as a result of brilliant minds exploring a previously unexisting path of research. In doing so, he makes an effort to extrapolate out of today's most rapidly growing areas of science (molecular biology and astronomy) what the future scientific revolutions might be like, and gives wise words of advise to medical scientists and biologists on how to make faster progress in their disciplines by changing some of their fundamental research paradigms, learning from the ways of astronomers.

CHAPTER 2: TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
In more than one way, it reminds me of a very pivotal article written not too long ago by Sun Microsystem's Bill Joy in Wired Magazine, which dealt with genetic engineering, robotics and nanotechnology, and their ethical implications.

Dyson's new list of important things for us to 'worry' about gave way to the book's title. He looks "for ways in which technology may contribute to social justice..." by mitigating evils such as rural poverty. This chapter is a brilliant exercise in which Dyson puts his mind to fly and actually makes his vision very easy to grasp by non-technical readers. When you read through the chapter you can almost feel that his vision is happening already, although there are some very real and respectable hurdles still separating us from it, which need to be overcome.

CHAPTER 3: THE HIGH ROAD
Although the book consists of three chapters, the reason for the title is more aptly dealt with in chapters 1 and 2. Chapter 3 is a little out of context with respect to the original intention of the book, yet doesn't make the reader loose interest.

In this chapter, Dyson makes an incredible analysis and extrapolation about the elements surrounding our ability to find life beyond the boundaries of our planet. He believes, on the other hand, that as much as one hundred years would have to pass before we're near being able to send a significant amount of human explorers to space. But he doesn't leave readers without hope for this 'distant' future, as he lets his mind fly once again: He explains some of the exciting possible technologies he sees making massive human space exploration happen.

Finally, he wraps up chapter 3 with an ethical dissertation on the topics of cloning and reprogenetics (substituting chunks of live DNA with new, supposedly 'more desirable' chunks), closing it with the following brilliant yet slightly frightening words:
"To give us room to explore the varieties of mind and body into which our genome can evolve, one planet is not enough."

After such as closing sentence in chapter 3, I have to admit that the epilogue seemed a little weak, going back to topics already well discussed in chapter 2.

It is very easy throughout the entire book (which happens to take very little time to read, by the way) to be humbled by the ease with which Dyson deals with new scientific topics (for being a theoretical physicist, he jumps very easily, for example, from genetic engineering to space science) and the clarity he has (where some scientifics lack) in terms of the importance of maintaining the feet on the ground in the light of new scientific discoveries: how expensive will a new technology coming out of a discovery will be like, how many people will use it, etc.

After the death of Richard Feynman (some of whose books are among the 'scientific' books I've enjoyed the most) I thought the world had been deprived of its most brilliant teacher of science. Now I know Dyson is still with us, and this one only promises to become the first of his books I will read.

...---
Rating: "A/A+" -- another excellent essay collection by an
outstanding scientist-writer.

_The Sun, the Genome, and the Internet_ covers scientific
revolutions, technology & social justice, and the exploration &
colonization of space: familiar Dyson topics all, and delivered with
his usual grace. The three items in the title are Dyson's hope for
generating wealth in the world's poor villages: the sun for cheap
solar power, the Net to end rural isolation, and genetic engineering
for better crop plants. For example, he presents the hope of
engineering "trees that convert sunlight to liquid fuel and deliver
the fuel directly ...to underground pipelines." A neat solution to
declining oil reserves, if it works. Dyson cheerfully admits his
record as a prophet is mixed, but "it is better to be wrong than to be
vague."

Fresh and unexpected insights are a frequent pleasure in this
(and other) Dyson books. For instance, he describes his
mother and aunts, prosperous British matrons all, who, in the
interval between the World Wars, accomplished such things as
opening a birth-control clinic, managing a large hospital, winning
an Olympic medal, and pioneering aviation in Africa -- "it was
considered normal at the time for middle-class women to do
something spectacular." They were able to do this only with the
support of a large servant class. The introduction of labor-saving
appliances helped to emancipate the servants, but left middle-class
women less free than before, a general pattern, says Dyson: "the
burdens of equalization fall disproportionately on women."

Dyson is a lifelong space enthusiast, though things haven't gone
that well lately for space fans: "we look at the bewildered
cosmonauts struggling to survive in the Mir space station.
Obviously they are not going anywhere except, if they are lucky,
down." But in the long term, prospects are brighter, and await
finding a cheap way up and out of the gravity well (another
enduring Dyson insight). He reports recent successful tests of
a laser-launcher and a "ram accelerator", the latter a proposed 750-
foot gas-gun -- and a direct descendent of Jules Verne's cannon-
launched spacecraft in "From the Earth to the Moon"(1865). As in
all cheap launch methods, the trick is to keep the fuel on the
ground, not in the spacecraft. With cheap spacefight, people will
spread out into the solar system and beyond. Why? "Because it is
there" -- some folks just have itchy feet. Others will belong to
unpopular religions, or be on the run, or... any of the countless
other things that have always motivated emigrants.

Dyson, unusually for a theoretician, has always been more "tinker
than thinker". He cites Thomas Kuhn's classic _Structure of
Scientific Revolutions_ (1962, rev. ed. 1970) as an example of a

fellow-physicist with the opposite bent, emphasizing ideas over
things. Of course, both are important; but some of Kuhn's followers
put forward the idea that science is about power struggles, not new
ideas. Dyson once upbraided Kuhn about this at a conference. Kuhn
reacted angrily: "One thing you have to understand. I am not a
Kuhnian!"

Freeman Dyson is my favorite scientist-writer. I know of no one
else who combines his clarity of thought, graceful use of language,
big ideas expressed modestly, and sense of history. If you haven't yet
read Dyson, _The Sun, the Genome, and the Internet_ would be a
fine place to start. Highly recommended.
He is an emeritus professor
at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University
and the author of many other books.
I would particularly recommend _Disturbing the Universe_ (1979)
and _Infinite in All Directions_ (1989), both among the very best
books ever written about science and its place in history, public
policy, and the exploration of space...

Review copyright 1999 Peter D. Tillman
http://www.sfsite.com/08b/sun63.htm

Think of this book as an engaging evening with a rather authoritarian dreamer who happens to be a distinguished scientist. Based on a series of lectures delivered at the New York Public Library in the late 1990s, the book rambles through a variegated terrain of technology, history, ethics, philosophy and family pride. It is about thinking more than it is about ideas, about wondering more than it is about thinking. Jules Verne and H.G. Wells figure prominently in the bibliography, but so do serious historians of science. We [...] recommend this slender and elegantly written book for everyone with an interest in science and a sense of the marvelous.

The title is misleading - the essay that addresses "the Sun, the Genome and the Interent" is only a small part of this short book. I found it the most interesting, though, which is probably why it is thus titled. Dyson paints a future world in which villages are repopulated through solar power processed by bio-engineered trees (which will provide the fuel), and the Interent (which will provide the connection to the larger world). A very simple, elegant idea. He addresses other issues here, too - the role of ethics in science, how to get into space cheaply, and the coming changes due to biotech. The biotech portion was very compelling, with speculation that we will soon be re-enigneering the human race. I have read such predictions before but Dyson does a good, thoughtful job here, and examines the implications.

All in all, a good, economical book of lectures which you will finish quickly.

This small book contains of such an inspirational reading. So long many scientists have predicted the future of this world in a sort of deterioration. Freeman J. Dyson is among the one who look at the future in a different way. He believes that the scientific revolution in the next century will be driven by the development of tools. Dyson picks up the most important tools in his viewpoint which are The sun, Genome, and internet. The energy from the sun to fullfill the requirement of people and replace the old kind of energy, the genome studying to make a better life for human beings. And the internet to connect all people around the world together. He makes a very insightful comment and eye-opening thought throughout this book. The most impressive part is about the comment he mention in the book about the improvement of society. He believes that "ethical" technology leads by human will reflect to the development of better life toward poor people rather than geeting the money from rich people. This will finally be "an equal" society. Pick this "Gem" book. It's small and it won't take long time to finish. It's not complicated but it will stick within your brain and make you think about it for long.

In this book Freeman Dyson contends that the driving force of scientific revolutions is more often new tools rather than new concepts. A tool-biased view of the history of physics was written by the experimental physicist Peter Galison, while a concept-biased analysis was made by the theoretical physicist Thomas Kuhn in his famous book. Being a theorist, though, Dyson considers that Galison's view of science more pleasing, and predicts that three new technologies -- solar energy, genetic engineering and the Internet -- will be the most important things in the twenty-first century.

Dyson's books have always fascinated me by his wide-ranging intelligence, great insight, keen analysis and convincing arguments based on concrete examples. "The Sun, the Genome, the Internet" is not an exception. An additional agreeable character of his writing consists in the fact that he attaches importance to social justice realizable by technology. He expects that the gap between the rich and the poor would be narrowed by the ethical application of science.

In the final chapters of the book, Dyson discusses the future of the society under the inexorable growth of techniques suggested by the two big surprises that happened in 1997. These surprises are the cloning of Dolly and the defeat of the world chess champion by the IBM chess-playing program Deep Blue. The first of the surprises makes Dyson think about "reprogenetics," which is a possible future technology offering the parent the opportunity to improve the quality of life of the child by removing bad genes and by inserting advantageous ones. We cannot read Dyson's discussion about this possibility without reminding ourselves of the science fiction "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley.