████████ R.I.P. Freeman Dyson ████████

[trysail]

████████ R.I.P. Freeman Dyson ████████

RIP Freeman Dyson: The super-boffin who applied his mathematical brain to nuclear magic, quantum physics, space travel, and more

Science’s civil rebel dies aged 96

By Katyanna Quach

"Freeman Dyson, the eminent British-American physicist and mathematician best known for his theoretical work in quantum electrodynamics, died today. He was 96.

His death was announced by his daughter Mia Dyson via Maine public television and the Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) – the top research hub in Princeton, New Jersey, once home to Albert Einstein, John von Neumann, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and other giants of science and technology.

Mia said her father accidentally fell on Wednesday during one of his regular visits to his office at the IAS, where he had worked from 1953 until 1994. He died from his injuries at a hospital on Friday morning.

“No life is more entangled with the onstitute and impossible to capture — architect of modern particle physics, free-range mathematician, advocate of space travel, astrobiology and disarmament, futurist, eternal graduate student, rebel to many preconceived ideas including his own, thoughtful essayist, all the time a wise observer of the human scene,” said Robbert Dijkgraaf, the Director and Leon Levy Professor at the IAS. “His secret was simply saying ‘yes’ to everything in life, till the very end.”... "


https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/02/28/freeman_dyson/


​

​

 

[trysail]

Climate Skeptic Freeman Dyson Dies at 96


by Eric Worrall

"...Dyson was a giant of 20th century physics. The most memorable thing about Dyson from my point of view was his fearlessness; he was always someone who chose his own path, a rebel to the very end.

Dyson’s views on climate change and politics were complex. Dyson was a climate skeptic but he also strongly supported President Obama. He thought President Obama’s support for climate action was an unfortunate mistake in an otherwise excellent policy programme.

Climate activists were frequently triggered by Dyson’s outspoken views; because of his scientific reputation, because of his bipartisan fan base, because he was always ready to speak his mind, Dyson was an ongoing thorn in their sides, a significant impediment to their efforts to convince the world to embrace climate action..."


link...

​

​

 

[Bas_van_Fraassen]

Climate Skeptic Freeman Dyson Dies at 96


by Eric Worrall

"...Dyson was a giant of 20th century physics. The most memorable thing about Dyson from my point of view was his fearlessness; he was always someone who chose his own path, a rebel to the very end.

Dyson’s views on climate change and politics were complex. Dyson was a climate skeptic but he also strongly supported President Obama. He thought President Obama’s support for climate action was an unfortunate mistake in an otherwise excellent policy programme.

Climate activists were frequently triggered by Dyson’s outspoken views; because of his scientific reputation, because of his bipartisan fan base, because he was always ready to speak his mind, Dyson was an ongoing thorn in their sides, a significant impediment to their efforts to convince the world to embrace climate action..."


link...

​

​

^ Example of fallacious argument from authority.

 

[phrodeau]

From the PBS report, fifth and sixth paragraphs:

Despite wide acclaim for many of his contributions, members of the science community have criticized his views on climate change.

Dyson believed that humans are causing global warming but has said increased carbon dioxide could be beneficial for the environment.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/science/pioneering-theoretical-physicist-freeman-dyson-dies-at-96

 

[DeluxAuto]

Sounds like a clueless clown.

 

[trysail]

Physicist And Iconoclastic Thinker Freeman Dyson Dies At 96

By Geoff Brumfiel

"(NPR)...Dyson was born in Crowthorne, England, in 1923. He studied physics and mathematics at Trinity College in Cambridge, where he worked with physicists including Paul Dirac and Arthur Eddington. During World War II, he was a civilian scientist with the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command.

After the war, he came to the U.S. to study physics. Together with physicist Richard Feynman, he was able to reconcile two competing theories of quantum electrodynamics, the study of how sub-atomic particles and light interact. "He was able to show that all these different points of view were one and the same thing," Dijkgraaf says. "He was a great unifier of physics."

The work is still considered fundamental to modern physics. "The current model of elementary particle physics is written in the language that Dyson helped develop," he says.

Dyson permanently joined the Institute for Advanced Study in 1953..."

[for those who do not know, Institute for Advanced Study is the top research hub in Princeton, New Jersey, once home to Albert Einstein, John von Neumann, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and other giants of science and technology].



source...

​

​

 

[DeluxAuto]

I'm a bit confused.

Did Freeman Dyson for at age 96 or not?

 

[trysail]

I'm a bit confused.

Did Freeman Dyson for at age 96 or not?

Note to self:
* Too easy. Exercise restraint. Don't do it. *






​

 

[Bas_van_Fraassen]

Note to self:
* Too easy. Exercise restraint. Don't do it. *






​

How about you exercise restraint from posting industry propaganda.

 

[DeluxAuto]

Note to self:
* Too easy. Exercise restraint. Don't do it. *






​

You missed the point by 7 parsecs.

 

[nowisthetime]

Climate Skeptic Freeman Dyson Dies at 96


by Eric Worrall

"...Dyson was a giant of 20th century physics. The most memorable thing about Dyson from my point of view was his fearlessness; he was always someone who chose his own path, a rebel to the very end.

Dyson’s views on climate change and politics were complex. Dyson was a climate skeptic but he also strongly supported President Obama. He thought President Obama’s support for climate action was an unfortunate mistake in an otherwise excellent policy programme.

Climate activists were frequently triggered by Dyson’s outspoken views; because of his scientific reputation, because of his bipartisan fan base, because he was always ready to speak his mind, Dyson was an ongoing thorn in their sides, a significant impediment to their efforts to convince the world to embrace climate action..."


link...

​

​

Oh you just liked him because he was a supposed climate change denier, you wacko, not for any of his other accomplishments. Typical.

 

[Wrong Element]

Oh you just liked him because he was a supposed climate change denier, you wacko, not for any of his other accomplishments. Typical.

I knew his views on climate change, but that's a pretty small part of what he was known for (as even acknowledged in one of the articles FontBoy posted).

And of course, he actually did believe human activity is the cause of climate change, which is itself considered politically incorrect in wingnut circles. He just didn't believe it was all that significant or entirely negative.

 

[ishtat]

As Wrong Element posted above, Dyson firmly did believe that climate change was exacerbated by humans burning fossil fuels - coal and oil. He was not a climate sceptic.

However, he also believed that the effects of climate change could be ameliorated, in particular by planting a trillion trees. He did not suggest when, how, who or where that should be done.

For the first 45 years of his life Dyson was a very talented mathematician who enlightened and expanded other people's work but was less successful in achievements of real substance of his own. He admitted this himself that he was too easily distracted.

In the latter half of his life Dyson was essentially a contrarian pretty much disagreeing with just about anything. He did have some interesting ideas on the basic philosophy and relationship of science and religion, but again never really developed his basic ideas significantly. I suspect that in the long run his daughter Esther will achieve more than he did.

Maybe Trysail you need to read the sources you quote a tad more carefully.

 

[trysail]

As Wrong Element posted above, Dyson firmly did believe that climate change was exacerbated by humans burning fossil fuels - coal and oil. He was not a climate sceptic.

However, he also believed that the effects of climate change could be ameliorated, in particular by planting a trillion trees. He did not suggest when, how, who or where that should be done.

For the first 45 years of his life Dyson was a very talented mathematician who enlightened and expanded other people's work but was less successful in achievements of real substance of his own. He admitted this himself that he was too easily distracted.

In the latter half of his life Dyson was essentially a contrarian pretty much disagreeing with just about anything. He did have some interesting ideas on the basic philosophy and relationship of science and religion, but again never really developed his basic ideas significantly. I suspect that in the long run his daughter Esther will achieve more than he did.

Maybe Trysail you need to read the sources you quote a tad more carefully.

Freeman Dyson's evaluation of the climate models that have been (ab)used to manufacture the doomcasts was unambiguous.


He thought they were bosh.

by Freeman Dyson
(emphasis supplied)
​

"My first heresy says that all the fuss about global warming is grossly exaggerated. Here I am opposing the holy brotherhood of climate model experts and the crowd of deluded citizens who believe the numbers predicted by the computer models. Of course, they say, I have no degree in meteorology and I am therefore not qualified to speak.

But I have studied the climate models and I know what they can do. The models solve the equations of fluid dynamics, and they do a very good job of describing the fluid motions of the atmosphere and the oceans. They do a very poor job of describing the clouds, the dust, the chemistry and the biology of fields and farms and forests. They do not begin to describe the real world that we live in.

The real world is muddy and messy and full of things that we do not yet understand. It is much easier for a scientist to sit in an air-conditioned building and run computer models, than to put on winter clothes and measure what is really happening outside in the swamps and the clouds. That is why the climate model experts end up believing their own models.

1. The Need for Heretics

In the modern world, science and society often interact in a perverse way. We live in a technological society, and technology causes political problems. The politicians and the public expect science to provide answers to the problems. Scientific experts are paid and encouraged to provide answers. The public does not have much use for a scientist who says, “Sorry, but we don’t know”. The public prefers to listen to scientists who give confident answers to questions and make confident predictions of what will happen as a result of human activities. So it happens that the experts who talk publicly about politically contentious questions tend to speak more clearly than they think. They make confident predictions about the future, and end up believing their own predictions. Their predictions become dogmas which they do not question. The public is led to believe that the fashionable scientific dogmas are true, and it may sometimes happen that they are wrong. That is why heretics who question the dogmas are needed.

As a scientist I do not have much faith in predictions..."


​

​

 

[trysail]

Top boffin Freeman Dyson on climate change, interstellar travel, fusion, and more

By Andrew Orlowski
(emphasis supplied)

"...[Q:] Are climate models getting better? You wrote how they have the most awful fudges, and they only really impress people who don't know about them.

[Dyson A:] I would say the opposite. What has happened in the past 10 years is that the discrepancies between what's observed and what's predicted have become much stronger. It's clear now the models are wrong, but it wasn't so clear 10 years ago. I can't say if they'll always be wrong, but the observations are improving and so the models are becoming more verifiable..."


more...

​

​

 

[phrodeau]

Top boffin Freeman Dyson on climate change, interstellar travel, fusion, and more

By Andrew Orlowski
(emphasis supplied)

"...[Q:] Are climate models getting better? You wrote how they have the most awful fudges, and they only really impress people who don't know about them.

[Dyson A:] I would say the opposite. What has happened in the past 10 years is that the discrepancies between what's observed and what's predicted have become much stronger. It's clear now the models are wrong, but it wasn't so clear 10 years ago. I can't say if they'll always be wrong, but the observations are improving and so the models are becoming more verifiable..."


more...

​

​

From an interview in 2015. Ten years prior to that was 2005. An Inconvenient Truth was released in 2006.

 

[trysail]

Carbon Dioxide: The Good News


Foreward
by Freeman Dyson
(emphasis supplied)

"...I consider myself an unprejudiced person and to me these facts are obvious. But the same facts are not obvious to the majority of scientists and politicians who consider carbon dioxide to be evil and dangerous. The people who are supposed to be experts and who claim to understand the science are precisely the people who are blind to the evidence. Those of my scientific colleagues who believe the prevailing dogma about carbon dioxide will not find Goklany’s evidence convincing. I hope that a few of them will make the effort to examine the evidence in detail and see how it contradicts the prevailing dogma, but I know that the majority will remain blind. That is to me the central mystery of climate science. It is not a scientific mystery but a human mystery. How does it happen that a whole generation of scientific experts is blind to obvious facts?


...First, the non-climatic effects of carbon dioxide are dominant over the climatic effects and are overwhelmingly beneficial. Second, the climatic effects observed in the real world are much less damaging than the effects predicted by the climate models, and have also been frequently beneficial. I am hoping that the scientists and politicians who have been blindly demonizing carbon dioxide for 37 years will one day open their eyes and look at the evidence...​

more...

​

​

 

[colddiesel]

......

 

[jaF0]

His vacuum cleaners cost too much.

 

[colddiesel]

Trysail and his porkies !

Dyson retired 26 years ago. As another poster pointed out, he spent his declining years largely as a contrarian pronouncing judgement on all manner of subjects. For example he opined in 2012 that "ESP is real; we just can't prove it." It was some six years or so after that at the age of 94 that he wrote, or more accurately signed off on the forward you have quoted extensively.

I am not suggesting that Dyson was losing his marbles but a number of eminent scientists did voice their concern for him and the more prestigious journals published very little Dyson after 1975 or so.

So who actually wrote the substantive article you referred to - you must have omitted the name by accident so I will help you. It was written by Indur M. Goklany, an Indian American electrical engineer. Mr Goklany was given a substantial promotion in the Department of the Interior two weeks after Trumps inauguration. His job is specifically to put the case against climate change and any other environmental controls which the administration wants to dispose of.

Mr Goklany's activities have been extensively examined and reported on by both the media and major scientific publications. Much of their comment has been most unkind and regrettably accurate. He has 'edited' 9 different scientific papers published by the department to include anti-climate change rhetoric, none of which represented the views of the original authors.

Golkany is a shill for the carbon fuels industry, just like you Try, though his qualifications to opine are perhaps a little more impressive than your own. He has taken on many paid engagements for that industry throughout his carreer to lobby for them though he does share one small comparison with you - a woeful absence of intellectual honesty.

Maybe as was suggested you really do need to evaluate the sources you quote more carefully.

 

[trysail]

...I am not suggesting that Dyson was losing his marbles...

Yes, you are. That's exactly and precisely what you did.

...So who actually wrote the substantive article you referred to...

Speaking of "porky pies !" I did no such thing. In fact, it is your "porky pie" to assert otherwise.

The actual truth of the matter is that I referenced a Foreword written by none other than Freeman Dyson.

... Indur M. Goklany, an Indian American electrical engineer...

...shill
...absence of intellectual honesty...

Ah, yes. Straight to the ad hominems rather than any response to the substance of Freeman Dyson's written statement and opinion.


For your sake, I hope you didn't actually think that your little exercise in rhetorical flim-flam and thimblerigging was going to fool anyone.





​

 

[bestone4ever]

 

[Conager]

Self-pwnd!

Points at your user name; call yourself a retard.

If this is your bestone I sure would hate to see your worst Alt.

 

[schism666]

Self-pwnd!

Points at your user name; call yourself a retard.

If this is your bestone I sure would hate to see your worst Alt.

q using "pwnd" is more cultural appropriation than butters saying "bless your heart". q is too much of a hypocrite to admit to that.

 

[Conager]

I use it ironically just like "teh" with Rob. both of you stuck in the keyboard wars circa 1992.

Given that I most certainly had a computer and access the internet before you did, I wouldn't call it cultural appropriation, luk.

I've been online since the days of ICQ and before that BBS, noob.

Hell, I was on Lit before you were.