Maddenation
The Sun, the Genome, and the Internet
Freeman Dyson’s The Sun, the Genome, and the Internet is supposed to be a book about how technology can be used to narrow the gap between rich and poor. Like most books that purport to “solve” a problem, this one falls short, but it’s worth reading anyway. Why? Because Dyson is a good writer and a creative thinker.
In the introduction, Dyson quotes an old professor of his who considers applied science and/or technology as basically evil. Obviously, Dyson doesn’t agree with him, and seems to have written the book in part to justify himself (and his practical side) to his late mentor. As an engineer, I don’t believe Dyson needs any vindication. Math and science advance our understanding of the world, and this is fundamentally good. Dyson too seems to see science and technology as hope for the world (Christianity notwithstanding). He focuses on three areas that he believes (in 1999 anyway) can help equalize the distribution of wealth in the world.
The first is solar power. Dyson points out that the sun is an equal opportunity source of energy, available to everyone. It currently costs too much, so we have yet to harness it widely. With improvements and the cost reduction that will come with increased production, Dyson believes small units of 50 watts or so could provide modern conveniences to isolated villages in the third world. Meanwhile, Dyson’s second key technology, genetic engineering, will be creating plants that can turn solar power directly into fuel, and viruses that can revolutionize medicine. His third technology, the Internet, will tie it all together by providing rapid communication across the world, allowing all to become educated.
Dyson also gets into the philosophy of science and speculates about the primary drivers of scientific revolutions. He contrasts the view of Thomas Kuhn, who taught that scientific discovery was driven by new concepts, with that of Peter Galison, who thought it was driven by new tools. Both are correct, of course, as new concepts force the development of new tools, which in turn, generate new data that requires new concepts to understand. But to what end?
The key question that Dyson never addresses is the one frequently asked in our time: whether or not our technology has outpaced our ethics. Or, put another way, can we count on tools and scientific knowledge to improve the lot of all mankind, or will they always be hijacked by the rich and powerful to exploit the poor? Dyson certainly provides a wide assortment of ideas that might help feed and educate and, at least on a relative basis, enrich the third world, but even he admits he can’t be sure any of it will happen. What’s to keep the rich and powerful from using genetic engineering to create super-children that will use emerging technology to dominate the rest of the world as never before? Maybe nothing. That’s the thing. As always, the betterment of mankind depends upon our will and our collective conscience.
Dad • Reviews • 09/27/04 • 0 comments
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