Freeman J Dyson's Books

Selected Papers of Freeman Dyson with Commentary

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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Selected Papers of Freeman Dyson with Commentary

By: Freeman J. Dyson

This book offers a unique compilation of papers in mathematics and physics from Freeman Dyson's 50 years of activity and research. These are the papers that Dyson considers most worthy of preserving, and many of them are classics. The papers are accompanied by commentary explaining the context from which they originated and the subsequent history of the problems that either were solved or left unsolved. This collection offers a connected narrative of the developments in mathematics and physics in which the author was involved, beginning with his professional life as a student of G. H. Hardy.

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618

Publisher

American Mathematical Soc.

Published Date

ISBN 10

0821805614

ISBN 13

9780821805619

The Scientist as Rebel

By: Freeman Dyson

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The Scientist as Rebel

By: Freeman Dyson

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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Page Count

396

Publisher

New York Review of Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1590172167

ISBN 13

9781590172162

Dear Professor Dyson

Twenty Years of Correspondence Between Freeman Dyson and Undergraduate Students on Science, Technology, Society and Life

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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Dear Professor Dyson

Twenty Years of Correspondence Between Freeman Dyson and Undergraduate Students on Science, Technology, Society and Life

By: Freeman J. Dyson

Freeman Dyson has designed nuclear reactors and bomb-powered spacecraft; he has studied the origins of life and the possibilities for the long-term future; he showed quantum mechanics to be consistent with electrodynamics and started cosmological eschatology; he has won international recognition for his work in science and for his work in reconciling science to religion; he has advised generals and congressional committees. An STS (Science, Technology, Society) curriculum or discussion group that engages topics such as nuclear policies, genetic technologies, environmental sustainability, the role of religion in a scientific society, and a hard look towards the future, would count itself privileged to include Professor Dyson as a class participant and mentor. In this book, STS topics are not discussed as objectified abstractions, but through personal stories. The reader is invited to observe Dyson's influence on a generation of young people as they wrestle with issues of science, technology, society, life in general and our place in the universe. The book is filled with personal anecdotes, student questions and responses, honest doubts and passions"--

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435

Publisher

World Scientific

Published Date

ISBN 10

9814675865

ISBN 13

9789814675864

A Many-Colored Glass

Reflections on the Place of Life in the Universe

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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A Many-Colored Glass

Reflections on the Place of Life in the Universe

By: Freeman J. Dyson

Freeman Dyson’s latest book 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. "Life, like a dome of many-colored glass," wrote Percy Bysshe Shelley, "stains the white radiance of eternity." The author seeks here to explore the variety that gives life its beauty. Taken from 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. The pieces in this collection touch on numerous disciplines, from astronomy and ecology to neurology and theology, speaking to the lay reader as well as to the scientist. As always, Dyson’s view of human nature and behavior is balanced, and his predictions of a world to come serve primarily as a means for thinking about the world as it is today.

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133

Publisher

University of Virginia Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0813931436

ISBN 13

9780813931432

Birds and Frogs

Selected Papers of Freeman Dyson, 1990–2014

By: Freeman J Dyson

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Birds and Frogs

Selected Papers of Freeman Dyson, 1990–2014

By: Freeman J Dyson

This book is a sequel to the volume of selected papers of Dyson up to 1990 that was published by the American Mathematical Society in 1996. The present edition comprises a collection of the most interesting writings of Freeman Dyson, all personally selected by the author, from the period 1990–2014. The five sections start off with an Introduction, followed by Talks about Science, Memoirs, Politics and History, and some Technical Papers. The most noteworthy is a lecture entitled Birds and Frogs to the American Mathematical Society that describes two kinds of mathematicians with examples from real life. Other invaluable contributions include an important tribute to C. N. Yang written for his retirement banquet at Stony Brook University, as well as a historical account of the Operational Research at RAF Bomber Command in World War II provocatively titled A Failure of Intelligence. The final section carries the open-ended question of whether any conceivable experiment could detect single gravitons to provide direct evidence of the quantization of gravity — Is a Graviton Detectable? Various possible graviton-detectors are examined. This invaluable compilation contains unpublished lectures, and surveys many topics in science, mathematics, history and politics, in which Freeman Dyson has been so active and well respected around the world.

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375

Publisher

World Scientific Publishing Company

Published Date

ISBN 10

9814602876

ISBN 13

9789814602877

Infinite in All Directions

Gifford Lectures Given at Aberdeen, Scotland April--November 1985

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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Infinite in All Directions

Gifford Lectures Given at Aberdeen, Scotland April--November 1985

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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 prose: 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 science: 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.

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356

Publisher

Harper Collins

Published Date

ISBN 10

0060728892

ISBN 13

9780060728892

The Sun, The Genome, and The Internet : Tools of Scientific Revolution

Tools of Scientific Revolution

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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The Sun, The Genome, and The Internet : Tools of Scientific Revolution

Tools of Scientific Revolution

By: Freeman J. Dyson

In this visionary look into the future, Freeman Dyson argues that technological changes fundamentally alter our ethical and social arrangements and that three rapidly advancing new technologies--solar energy, genetic engineering, and world-wide communication--together have the potential to create a more equal distribution of the world's wealth. Dyson begins by rejecting the idea that scientific revolutions are primarily concept driven. He shows rather that new tools are more often the sparks that ignite scientific discovery. Such tool-driven revolutions have profound social consequences--the invention of the telescope turning the Medieval world view upside down, the widespread use of household appliances in the 1950s replacing servants, to cite just two examples. In looking ahead, Dyson suggests that solar energy, genetics, and the Internet will have similarly transformative effects, with the potential to produce a more just and equitable society. Solar power could bring electricity to even the poorest, most remote areas of third world nations, allowing everyone access to the vast stores of information on the Internet and effectively ending the cultural isolation of the poorest countries. Similarly, breakthroughs in genetics may well enable us to give our children healthier lives and grow more efficient crops, thus restoring the economic and human vitality of village cultures devalued and dislocated by the global market. Written with passionate conviction about the ethical uses of science, The Sun, the Genome, and the Internet is both a brilliant reinterpretation of the scientific process and a challenge to use new technologies to close, rather than widen, the gap between rich and poor.

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144

Publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199881464

ISBN 13

9780199881468

Selected Papers of Freeman Dyson with Commentary

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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Selected Papers of Freeman Dyson with Commentary

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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618

Publisher

American Mathematical Soc.

Published Date

ISBN 10

0821805614

ISBN 13

9780821805619

Dear Professor Dyson

Twenty Years of Correspondence Between Freeman Dyson and Undergraduate Students on Science, Technology, Society and Life

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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Dear Professor Dyson

Twenty Years of Correspondence Between Freeman Dyson and Undergraduate Students on Science, Technology, Society and Life

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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435

Publisher

World Scientific

Published Date

ISBN 10

9814675865

ISBN 13

9789814675864

Imagined Worlds

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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Imagined Worlds

By: Freeman J. Dyson

Chapters have such headings as: Stories, Science, Technology, Evolution, and Ethics.

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228

Publisher

Harvard University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0674539095

ISBN 13

9780674539099

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2010

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2010

By: Freeman J. Dyson

From the publisher. The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume's series editor selects notable works from hundreds of periodicals. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind.

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508

Publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published Date

ISBN 10

0547327846

ISBN 13

9780547327846

Advanced Quantum Mechanics

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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Advanced Quantum Mechanics

By: Freeman J. Dyson

This edition has been printed on the 60th anniversary of the Cornell lectures, and includes a foreword by science historian David Kaiser, as well as notes from Dyson's lectures at the Les Houches Summer School of Theoretical Physics in 1954. The Les Houches lectures, described as a supplement to the original Cornell notes, provide a more detailed look at field theory, a careful and rigorous derivation of Fermi's Golden Rule, and a masterful treatment of renormalization and Ward's Identity."--Pub. desc.

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Page Count

316

Publisher

World Scientific

Published Date

ISBN 10

9814383406

ISBN 13

9789814383400

The Scientist as Rebel

By: Freeman Dyson

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The Scientist as Rebel

By: Freeman Dyson

33 essays on the fads and fantasies of science and scientists—including climate prediction, genetic engineering, space colonization, and paranormal phenomena—by “the iconoclastic physicist who has become one of science’s most eloquent interpreters” (New York Times) “Provocative, touching, and always surprising.” —Wired Magazine 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 prolific 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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Page Count

350

Publisher

New York Review of Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1590178815

ISBN 13

9781590178812

Birds and Frogs

Selected Papers of Freeman Dyson, 1990–2014

By: Freeman J Dyson

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Birds and Frogs

Selected Papers of Freeman Dyson, 1990–2014

By: Freeman J Dyson

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375

Publisher

World Scientific Publishing Company

Published Date

ISBN 10

9814602876

ISBN 13

9789814602877

A Many-Colored Glass

Reflections on the Place of Life in the Universe

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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A Many-Colored Glass

Reflections on the Place of Life in the Universe

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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133

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University of Virginia Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0813931436

ISBN 13

9780813931432

Imagined Worlds

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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Imagined Worlds

By: Freeman J. Dyson

Chapters have such headings as: Stories, Science, Technology, Evolution, and Ethics.

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228

Publisher

Harvard University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0674539095

ISBN 13

9780674539099

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2010

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2010

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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508

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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published Date

ISBN 10

0547327846

ISBN 13

9780547327846

Weapons and Hope

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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Weapons and Hope

By: Freeman J. Dyson

British-born physicist Dyson examines the historical and cultural context in which nuclear weapons were made and argues that the problems they pose are part of the history of man and war, and that their control lies within our cultural, political and technical possibilities. Along with moving personal memories of war and pacifism, he offers insightful comments on the Soviet Union and the issue of verification. He concludes that the demands of military realism are compatible with the moral imperative to move away from nuclear weapons, and that a radical shift toward non-nuclear strategy can exist beside the realities of Soviet power. (For sale in India at Rs. 80.00).

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356

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HarperCollins Publishers

Published Date

ISBN 10

0060390395

ISBN 13

9780060390396

The Sun, the Genome & the Internet

Tools of Scientific Revolutions

By: Freeman J. Dyson

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The Sun, the Genome & the Internet

Tools of Scientific Revolutions

By: Freeman J. Dyson

In this visionary look into the future, Freeman Dyson argues that technological changes fundamentally alter our ethical and social arrangements and that three rapidly advancing new technologies--solar energy, genetic engineering, and world-wide communication--together have the potential to create a more equal distribution of the world's wealth. Dyson begins by rejecting the idea that scientific revolutions are primarily concept driven. He shows rather that new tools are more often the sparks that ignite scientific discovery. Such tool-driven revolutions have profound social consequences--the invention of the telescope turning the Medieval world view upside down, the widespread use of household appliances in the 1950s replacing servants, to cite just two examples. In looking ahead, Dyson suggests that solar energy, genetics, and the Internet will have similarly transformative effects, with the potential to produce a more just and equitable society. Solar power could bring electricity to even the poorest, most remote areas of third world nations, allowing everyone access to the vast stores of information on the Internet and effectively ending the cultural isolation of the poorest countries. Similarly, breakthroughs in genetics may well enable us to give our children healthier lives and grow more efficient crops, thus restoring the economic and human vitality of village cultures devalued and dislocated by the global market. Written with passionate conviction about the ethical uses of science,The Sun, the Genome, and the Internetis both a brilliant reinterpretation of the scientific process and a challenge to use new technologies to close, rather than widen, the gap between rich and poor.

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144

Publisher

New York : Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0195129423

ISBN 13

9780195129427

Advanced Quantum Mechanics

By: Freeman J Dyson

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Advanced Quantum Mechanics

By: Freeman J Dyson

Renowned physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson is famous for his work in quantum mechanics, nuclear weapons policy and bold visions for the future of humanity. In the 1940s, he was responsible for demonstrating the equivalence of the two formulations of quantum electrodynamics — Richard Feynman's diagrammatic path integral formulation and the variational methods developed by Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomonoga — showing the mathematical consistency of QED.This invaluable volume comprises the legendary, never-before-published, lectures on quantum electrodynamics first given by Dyson at Cornell University in 1951. The late theorist Edwin Thompson Jaynes once remarked “For a generation of physicists they were the happy medium: clearer and motivated than Feynman, and getting to the point faster than Schwinger”.Future generations of physicists are bound to read these lectures with pleasure, benefiting from the lucid style that is so characteristic of Dyson's exposition.

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Page Count

233

Publisher

World Scientific Publishing Company

Published Date

ISBN 10

981310158X

ISBN 13

9789813101586

Book's by Freeman J Dyson

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