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Freeman Dyson

(15 Dec 1923 - )

English-American physicist who is best known for his speculative work on extraterrestrial civilizations.

Short biography of Freeman Dyson >>

One Minute Read

on babies, books, theories, and Chartres Cathedral

Excerpt from From Eros to Gaia (1992)

Photo of a portal of Chartres Cathedral, doors flanked by statues, arches with many smaller carvings. Credit: dozemode, pixabay)

Statues and carvings at Chartres Cathedral (source)

My mother used to say that life begins at forty. That was her age when she had her first baby. I say, on the contrary, that life begins at fifty-five, the age at which I published my first book. So long as you have courage and a sense of humor, it is never too late to start life afresh.

A book is in many ways like a baby. While you are writing, it is curled up in your belly. You cannot get a clear view of it. As soon as it is born, it goes out into the world and develops a character of its own. Like a daughter coming home from school, it surprises you with unexpected flashes of wisdom.

The same thing happens with scientific theories. You sit quietly gestating them, for nine months or whatever the required time may be, and then one day they are out on their own, not belonging to you anymore but to the whole community of scientists. Whatever it is that you produce—a baby, a book, or a theory—it is a piece of the magic of creation. You are producing something that you do not fully understand. As you watch it grow, it becomes part of a larger world, and fits itself into a larger design than you imagined. You belong to the company of those medieval craftsmen who added a carved stone here or a piece of scaffolding there, and together built Chartres Cathedral.

Original had text as a single paragraph; breaks added above for readability. Image, not in original text, from source shown above. Text from Freeman Dyson, 'Preface', From Eros to Gaia (1992), vii. (source)

Freeman Dyson quote: The seeds from Ramanujan’s garden have been blowing on the wind and have been sprouting all over the landsc

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See also:

Science Quotes by Freeman Dyson.
15 Dec - short biography, births, deaths and events on date of Dyson's birth.
Disturbing the Universe, by Freeman Dyson. - book suggestion.
Booklist for Freeman Dyson.

Nature bears long with those who wrong her. She is patient under abuse. But when abuse has gone too far, when the time of reckoning finally comes, she is equally slow to be appeased and to turn away her wrath. (1882) -- Nathaniel Egleston, who was writing then about deforestation, but speaks equally well about the danger of climate change today.

Carl Sagan: In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion. (1987) ...(more by Sagan)

Albert Einstein: I used to wonder how it comes about that the electron is negative. Negative-positive—these are perfectly symmetric in physics. There is no reason whatever to prefer one to the other. Then why is the electron negative? I thought about this for a long time and at last all I could think was “It won the fight!” ...(more by Einstein)

Richard Feynman: It is the facts that matter, not the proofs. Physics can progress without the proofs, but we can't go on without the facts ... if the facts are right, then the proofs are a matter of playing around with the algebra correctly. ...(more by Feynman)