Freeman Dyson talks about math, nuclear rockets, and the universe | Hacker News Reader

Freeman Dyson talks about math, nuclear rockets, and the universe

nordic.businessinsider.com

94 pointsokket11 comments

I had read before that Dyson was not big on the higher education system. This was interesting, about his time at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton:

Well, I think it actually is very destructive. I'm now retired, but when I was a professor here, my real job was to be a psychiatric nurse. There were all these young people who came to the institute, and my job was to be there so they could cry on my shoulder and tell me what a hard time they were having. And it was a very tough situation for these young people. They come here. They have one or two years and they're supposed to do something brilliant. They're under terrible pressure--not from us, but from them.

So, actually, I've had three of them who I would say were just casualties who I'm responsible for. One of them killed himself, and two of them ended up in mental institutions. And I should've been able to take care of them, but I didn't. I blame the Ph.D. system for these tragedies. And it really does destroy people. If they weren't under that kind of pressure, they could all have been happy people doing useful stuff. Anyhow, so that's my diatribe. But I really have seen that happen.

What most struck me is his comment on Chinese's brain washing media landscape actually helps the country to stay upbeat and optimistic. There is definitely truths in it and at this point I can see it as a grand strategy to help the economy in a positive way. Maybe any country in the unique situation as China will tend to the exact same thing.

I think it's one of those situations that is only going to be clear in some measure of hindsight. After all, any short-term benefit might be offset by the backlash when the media either evolves, or people (as they are now) gain access to foreign media sources. It seems to me that you'd utterly erode any sense of authority or trust you could build with your populace.

Shortsighted in other words, but what you'd expect from a gerontocracy.

I spent a couple of years in Beijjg. I think most Chinese people in major cities are fully aware of the brainwashing goal and agendas of the media and would even consider CCTV1 to be funny. Young people create memes and satires on news content all the time. The thing is, CCTV1 has quite literally evolved into its own genre and it is therapeutic to listen to when you feel unsatisfied with your life.

That's an interesting take on the situation, and I appreciate the insight with someone with experience in China (I have none at all).

Why would one have a greater expectation of shortsighted measures from a gerontocracy vs. governments composed of, say, those in middle age? I don't understand why this would be a function of age.

Because humans are selfish, and if you have less than a decade on Earth you may not have as much of a stake in anything other than maintaining a degree of power and comfort until you die.

Some reasons why somebody with less than a decade left might pick a long-term stratagem:

• On the basis of kin selection, they would pick policies that favor their offspring - preserving one's DNA contribution is a powerful motivator.

• Possibly they're altruistic and want to leave the world a bit better than they found it. I've no idea what the frequency of such people is in the population, but I've met some, and I don't have that big a network.

• Ego. They want to be remembered beyond their lifetime for having contributed to something notable. Think of the robber barons like Carnegie, etc., who endowed libraries.

I really liked the following quote, I certainly needed his upbeat mood and view of the future.

" The key to having an interesting life is to always say "yes" to anything crazy. Orion was obviously crazy. So I said "yes" and had a great time."

He put it very well. I'm a big believer of doing crazy things that the average joe wouldn't do.

"mathematics is really an art, not a science. You could say science also is an art. So I would say the difference is something you can't really describe - you can only recognize."

This reminds me of the slippery definition of Quality explored in Zen & The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com