Dear Professor Dyson
Subtitle: twenty years of correspondence between Freeman Dyson and undergraduate students on science, technology, society and life
By: editor Dwight E. Neuenschwander, Southern Nazarene University, USA
Contributors: Neuenschwander, Dwight E., editor
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 420
ISBN-13: 9789814675840; 9789814675857
Subjects: Correspondence; Correspon dence; Physicists; Undergraduates
Work titles: Correspondence
Description: "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"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Walking with grandfather. Letters of introduction; title: Living in the questions. Real questions having few answers; title: A hexagonal mountain. Three reasons to hate science, three reasons to love it; title: Martha and Mary. Grandfatherly advice to young people choosing their life's work; title: Engines with souls. Discussions about our machines; title: Steered from afar. Conversations about identity and conformity; title: The swamp angel. Letters on ends and means; title: Rapid rupture. Letters about nuclear weapons; title: Arsenals of folly. Correspondence on the militarization of the economy; title: To touch the face of the stars. Letters on our place in the universe; title: Silence. On seeking serenity and peace of mind; title: The chainsaw and the white oak. Letters about the environment; title: "Why should I care?". Discussions about values and ethics; title: Playing God. Letters on genetic engineering; title: Bonds of kinship. Thoughts on relationships; title: Two windows. Letters on science and religion; title: Doubt and faith. More letters on science, religion, and honesty; title: Dreams of earth and sky. Thoughts on meaning; title: Family first. Letters on priorities.