Freeman Dyson

[[File:Freeman Dyson.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Freeman Dyson]]
{{Physics|1}}
'''Freeman John Dyson'''  (1923─2020) was a renowned [[United Kingdom|British]] [[physicist]] and [[mathematician]]. He worked on [[quantum]] field theory, [[astronomy]], solid-state [[physics]], and nuclear engineering. He received numerous awards, but never a [[Nobel Prize|Nobel]]. Physicist Steven Weinberg said that Dyson was "fleeced" by the Nobel commission. He led the design team for the TRIGA [[Nuclear power|nuclear reactor]], which is in widespread use today, and was also known for his [[nuclear disarmament]] advocacy. He was the president of the Space Studies Institute before his death.

Unfortunately, he was also an occasional [[crank]], and in another life would have succumbed to the [[Nobel disease]].

==Concepts in science and futurology==
Dyson developed many concepts in [[scientific]] and [[futurology|futurist]] circles:
*Dyson series: A byproduct in his work on quantum electrodynamics, unifying the approaches of Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomogana (operators) and [[Richard Feynman]] (path integrals).<ref name="Gleick">Gleick J. ''Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman''. New York: Pantheon Books; 1992. </ref>
*{{wpl|Dyson sphere||:}} A theoretical structure to catch [[sun]]light for [[energy]] that would eventually enclose an entire [[star]]. Dyson spheres are an important part of [[Effective altruism|longtermist]] fantasies about colonizing the galaxy and beyond.<ref name=becker>''More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity'' by Adam Becker (2025) Basic Books. ISBN 1541619595.</ref>{{rp|184,188,191,199}}
*{{wpl|Dyson tree||:}} A theoretical [[Genetically modified food|genetically engineered]] [[plant]] capable of growing on a [[comet]].
*Theorized space colonies.
*{{wpl|Astrochicken||:}} A theoretical combination [[Nanotechnology|nanotech]]-[[biological]] spacecraft.
*Dyson's transform: A technique later used to prove that every even integer is the sum of at most 6 primes.
*{{wpl|Parasitic number|Parasitic numbers|,}} which may sound scarier than they actually are

==Wackiness==
Dyson considered himself a non-denominational [[Christian]] and believed in [[non-overlapping magisteria]]. Some of the material he had written on [[metaphysics]], though, is much less Christian than it is reminiscent of various theories of [[quantum consciousness]], [[panentheism]], [[panpsychism]], and other sorts of [[New Age]]y [[science woo]].

Dyson succumbed to old age [[crank]] syndrome as well, becoming a [[global warming denier]].<ref>http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/letters-to-a-heretic-an-email-conversation-with-climate-change-sceptic-professor-freeman-dyson-2224912.html</ref> However, he never did any actual criticizing of climate science besides dismissing the models as flawed and saying that if it is a real problem, we can easily cook up some super-tree to suck the carbon dioxide out of the air. Dyson's support for deniers seems to have been the result of wanting to stick it to [[Ivory tower|the scientific man]]:
{{cquote|My objections to the [[Dunning-Kruger effect|global warming propaganda]] are not so much over the technical facts, about [[Willful ignorance|which I do not know much]], but it’s rather against [[Concern troll|the way those people behave]] and the kind of intolerance to criticism that a lot of them have. [[Appeal to consequences|I think that’s what upsets me]].<ref>[http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2151 Dyson on global warming], see also [http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/anderson07/anderson07_index.html A response to Freeman Dyson's "Heretical Thoughts"] and [http://initforthegold.blogspot.com/search/label/Dyson In it for the Gold's debunkings]</ref>}}

So… yeah, thanks for that.

==External links==
*[http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/bios/dysonf.html Some Freeman Dyson essays] on Edge
*[http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/24/books/astrochicken-and-energy-trees.html Astrochicken]

==References==
{{reflist}}

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[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:Denialists]]
[[Category:Futurism]]
[[Category:Global warming denialists]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]

Categories: Christians, Denialists, Futurism, Global warming denialists, Pseudoscience promoters