George Dyson (science historian)
Encyclopedia
George Dyson is a scientific historian
, the son of Freeman Dyson
and Verena Huber-Dyson, brother of Esther Dyson
, and the grandson of Sir George Dyson
. He is the father of Lauren Dyson. When he was sixteen he went to live in British Columbia
in Canada to pursue his interest in kayaking
and escape his father's shadow. While there he lived in a treehouse
at a height of 30 metres. He is the author of Project Orion
: The Atomic Spaceship 1957-1965 and Darwin Among the Machines: The Evolution of Global Intelligence, in which he expanded upon the premise of Samuel Butler
's 1863 article of the same name
and suggested coherently that the Internet
is a living, sentient being. His forthcoming book, Turing's Cathedral, is scheduled for publication in early 2012 and has been described as "a creation myth of the digital universe." He is the subject of Kenneth Brower
's book The Starship and the Canoe. Dyson was the founder of Dyson, Baidarka & Company, a designer of Aleut-style skin kayak
s, and he is credited with the revival of the baidarka
style of kayak.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, the son of Freeman Dyson
Freeman Dyson
Freeman John Dyson FRS is a British-born American theoretical physicist and mathematician, famous for his work in quantum field theory, solid-state physics, astronomy and nuclear engineering. Dyson is a member of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists...
and Verena Huber-Dyson, brother of Esther Dyson
Esther Dyson
Esther Dyson is a former journalist and Wall Street technology analyst who is a leading angel investor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and commentator focused on breakthrough innovation in healthcare, government transparency, digital technology, biotechnology, and space...
, and the grandson of Sir George Dyson
George Dyson (composer)
Sir George Dyson KCVO was a well-known English musician and composer. His son is the physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson and among his grandchildren are the science historian George Dyson and Esther Dyson...
. He is the father of Lauren Dyson. When he was sixteen he went to live in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
in Canada to pursue his interest in kayaking
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
and escape his father's shadow. While there he lived in a treehouse
Treehouse
A treehouse, tree house, or treefort is a habitable structure built in trees. "Treehouse" may also refer to:*Tree House, Crawley, a listed 14th-century building in Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom; originally the manor house....
at a height of 30 metres. He is the author of Project Orion
Project Orion (nuclear propulsion)
Project Orion was a study of a spacecraft intended to be directly propelled by a series of explosions of atomic bombs behind the craft...
: The Atomic Spaceship 1957-1965 and Darwin Among the Machines: The Evolution of Global Intelligence, in which he expanded upon the premise of Samuel Butler
Samuel Butler (novelist)
Samuel Butler was an iconoclastic Victorian author who published a variety of works. Two of his most famous pieces are the Utopian satire Erewhon and a semi-autobiographical novel published posthumously, The Way of All Flesh...
's 1863 article of the same name
Darwin Among the Machines
"Darwin among the Machines" appeared as the heading of an article published in The Press newspaper on 13 June 1863 in Christchurch, New Zealand...
and suggested coherently that the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
is a living, sentient being. His forthcoming book, Turing's Cathedral, is scheduled for publication in early 2012 and has been described as "a creation myth of the digital universe." He is the subject of Kenneth Brower
Kenneth Brower
Kenneth Brower is an American nonfiction writer.He is best known for his many books about the environment, national parks, and natural places, many of them in hundreds of libraries and by major publishers, including several titles in the series The Earth's Wild Places published by the Friends of...
's book The Starship and the Canoe. Dyson was the founder of Dyson, Baidarka & Company, a designer of Aleut-style skin kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
s, and he is credited with the revival of the baidarka
Baidarka
Baidarka is the Russian name used for Aleutian style sea kayak. The ancient Unangan name is Iqyax. The word has its origins from early Russian settlers in Alaska. Iqya-x builders who kept the tradition of building skin-on-skeleton boats alive in the 20th century include Sergie Sovoroff.A prominent...
style of kayak.
Books
- Baidarka the Kayak, 1986, Alaska Northwest Books, ISBN 088240315X
- Darwin Among the Machines, 1998, Basic Books (USA) & Allan Lane Science (UK), ISBN 0738200301
- Project Orion: The Atomic Spaceship 1957-1965, 2002, Allan Lane Science, ISBN 0713992670
- Turing's Cathedral, forthcoming, Knopf/Pantheon.
External links
- Biography and articles from Edge.org
- George Dyson's Flickr Photostream
- Dyson, Baidarka & Company (Flickr Photostream by Thomas Gotchy)
- George Dyson's Mother, Verena Huber-Dyson
- A lecture by George Dyson on "von Neumann's universe"
- Engineers' Dreams
- TED Talks: George Dyson at the birth of the computer at TEDTED (conference)TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
- TED Talks: George Dyson on Project Orion at TEDTED (conference)TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....