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A thread of 3 cool ideas I grabbed from Freeman Dyson's (RIP) book "The Scientist As Rebel"
1 - Critical Opalescence
2 - On the Amateur's Role in Society
3 - Baconsian vs. Cartesian
[1/n]
1 - Critical Opalescence
2 - On the Amateur's Role in Society
3 - Baconsian vs. Cartesian
[1/n]
"Galison uses the phrase 'critical opalescence' to sum up the story of what happened in 1905 when relativity was discovered.
Critical opalescence is a strikingly beautiful effect that is seen when water is heated to a temperature of 374 degrees C under high pressure."
Critical opalescence is a strikingly beautiful effect that is seen when water is heated to a temperature of 374 degrees C under high pressure."
"It is the temperature at which water turns continuously into steam without boiling. At this critical temperature and pressure, water and temperature are indistinguishable."
"In that critical state, the fluid is continually fluctuating between gas and liquid, and the fluctuations are seen visually as a multicolored sparkling."
"Galison uses critical opalescence as a metaphor for the merging of technology, science, and philosophy that happened in the minds of Poincaré and Einstein in the spring of 1905."
Looking back upon this history, I disagree with Galison's conclusion. I do not see critical opalescence as a decisive factor in Einstein's victory."
"I see Poincaré and Einstein equal in their grasp of contemporary technology, equal in their love of philosophical speculation, unequal only in their receptiveness to new ideas.
Ideas were the decisive factor."
Ideas were the decisive factor."
"Einstein made the big jump into the world of relativity because he was eager to throw out old ideas and bring in new ones.
Poincaré hesitated on the bring and never made the big jump."
Poincaré hesitated on the bring and never made the big jump."
On the value of amateurs:
"When we look at the wider society outside the domain of science, we see amateurs playing essential roles in almost every field of human activity."
"When we look at the wider society outside the domain of science, we see amateurs playing essential roles in almost every field of human activity."
"Amateur musicians create the culture in which professional musicians can flourish.
Amateur athletes, amateur actors, and amateur environmentalists improve the quality of life for themselves and others."
Amateur athletes, amateur actors, and amateur environmentalists improve the quality of life for themselves and others."
"Amateur writers such as Jane Austen and Samuel Pepys do as much as professionals Charles Dickens and Fyodor Dostoyevsky to plumb the heights and depths of human experience."
"In the most important of all human responsibilities, the raising of children and grandchildren, amateurs do the lion's share of the work."
"In almost all the varied walks of life, amateurs have more freedom to experiment and innovate.
The fraction of the population who are amateurs is a good measure of the freedom of a society."
The fraction of the population who are amateurs is a good measure of the freedom of a society."
Baconsian vs. Cartesian:
"There are two kinds of science, known to historians as Baconian and Cartesian. Baconian science is interested in details, Cartesian science is interested in ideas."
"There are two kinds of science, known to historians as Baconian and Cartesian. Baconian science is interested in details, Cartesian science is interested in ideas."
"Bacon said:
'All depends on keeping the eye steadily fixed on the facts of nature, and so receiving their images as they are. For God forbid that we should give out a dream of our own imagination for a pattern of the world.'"
'All depends on keeping the eye steadily fixed on the facts of nature, and so receiving their images as they are. For God forbid that we should give out a dream of our own imagination for a pattern of the world.'"
"Decartes said:
'I showed what the laws of nature were, and without basing my arguments on any principle other than the infinite perfections of God I tried to demonstrate all those laws about which we could have any doubt, [...]
'I showed what the laws of nature were, and without basing my arguments on any principle other than the infinite perfections of God I tried to demonstrate all those laws about which we could have any doubt, [...]
"[...] and to show that they are such that, even if God created many worlds, there could not be any in which they failed to be observed."
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