by Freeman Dyson

This month, New York Review Books released Freeman Dyson’s The Scientist as Rebel in paperback. Dyson’s collection of essays profiles various researchers and scientific issues, mostly within his own field of physics, but also in a range of other fields. Though Dyson’s subjects (many have to do with issues surrounding nuclear weapons and WWII) and attitudes (toward women and non-western cultures) are somewhat dated, his essays are an enjoyable and informative contribution to the history of science.

A particular favorite, “In Praise of Amateurs,” is a tribute to the extensive work carried out by passionate amateur astronomers over the course of the science’s history. This essay is not really about astronomy itself, but about the role amateurs play in any field of discovery, and the changing way this role is perceived as the field develops. Dyson writes that in astronomy:

Amateurs have two great advantages, the ability to survey large areas of sky repeatedly and the ability to sustain observations over long periods of time. As a result of these advantages, amateurs are frequently the first to discover unpredictable events such as storms in the atmospheres of planets and catastrophic explosions of stars. They compete with professionals in discovering transient objects such as comets and asteroids. It often happens that an amateur makes a discovery which a professional follows up with a more detailed observation or theoretical analysis.”

He explains, then, that the progression of roles evident in astronomy is evident in other fields as well, citing the examples of computer science (in which amateurs currently play a strong role) and of bioengineering (in which there is controversy presently over the safety of allowing public access to any of the relevant technology, giving the advantage to professionals). As in much of the book, Dyson oversimplifies matters, saying that amateur astronomers have insight and diligence while professional astronomers have fancy telescopes and contempt for amateurs. For the most part, though, this essay is an engaging read about one of the most commonly recurring themes in the history of science.

Another interesting piece is “One in a Million,” in which Dyson discusses telepathy and paranormal events. He highlights the work of several performers who gained fame by demonstrating how the appearance of telepathy can be faked. Dyson also analyzes why allegedly rigorous experiments in telepathy tend to be highly unscientific in their execution; amusingly, he uses his own teenage explorations as an example. At the end of the essay, however, Dyson explains that he is not at all convinced that paranormal phenomena do not exist and this open-minded approach makes his argument that telepathy has never been proven all the more compelling.

Unfortunately, there are some aspects of this work that I found less compelling, even unpleasant and offensive. Most of this has to do with Dyson’s model of a true rebel scientist: an Oxford-educated man working in Cambridge on ideas not condoned by his Cambridge-educated mentor working at Oxford. Dyson’s views of the scientific community are appallingly narrow. Many scientists are profiled in this book for ten pages or more; the only woman, however, merits little more than a few lines: Norbert Weiner’s deranged wife, whose paranoid behavior nearly ruined his career. In fact, as far as I remember, only two female scientists are mentioned in the book—one only in the first half of a single sentence, and the other as the recipient of letters written by the male scientist being profiled. Furthermore, nearly all of the research and writing noted in the book takes place in Europe or in the United States.

I was most put off, though, by his first essay. “The Scientist as Rebel” serves to introduce the theme of the book and begins with a pompous declaration of inclusiveness. Dyson writes:

One of the central facts about science is that it pays no attention to East and West and North and South and black and yellow and white. It belongs to everybody who is willing to make the effort to learn it.”

This exceptionally misguided statement ignores the roles that access to education, availability of technology, and cultural restrictions play in an individual’s ability to do scientific work—hardly a matter of effort. This statement is especially offensive when it opens a book whose vision of the world of science is as narrow as it is.

His final essay, however is more thoughtful. “Religion from the Outside” is a wide-ranging piece covering many topics. Dyson intelligently addresses different perceptions of the nature of God, debates about the role of religion in education, the “evolution” of religion, public perception of the perpetrators of the September 11th attacks as compared to kamikaze fighters, die-hard atheists, and the U.S. evangelical movement—all with a remarkably high level of coherence and logical flow. The author even makes a point of criticizing the closed-minded approaches that atheists and strong believers can show towards each other, and touches lightly on how religions develop and achieve their status in society. I found myself wishing that this essay were at least twice as long and that he’d cited more non-Western writers and religions in this piece— Dyson himself suggests religion as a universal human experience—but his thoughtful observations on how the West portrays the September 11^th attacks make this one of the most notable essays in the book.

Dyson’s insight into the science and culture of the fields with which he’s most familiar is worth reading. Had Dyson portrayed the book as a series of reflections on science and scientists he himself has been exposed to, rather than as a sweeping portrait of science in all its forms around the world, I would likely have found less to criticize. Despite his many shortcomings, however, Dyson presents a fascinating series of essays on a wide variety of scientific topics and The Scientist as Rebel is not to be missed.

Reviewed by Rina Foygel

The Scientist as Rebel
by Freeman Dyson
New York Review Books, 2008.
Paper, 400 pgs, $17.95
ISBN-10: 1590172949