{"product_id":"the-scientist-as-rebel","title":"The Scientist as Rebel","description":"\u003ci\u003eAn illuminating collection of essays by an award-winning scientist whom the \u003c\/i\u003eLondon  Times \u003ci\u003ecalls “one of the world’s most original minds.”\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom Galileo to today’s amateur  astronomers, scientists have been rebels, writes Freeman Dyson. Like artists and  poets, they are free spirits who resist the restrictions their cultures impose on  them. In their pursuit of Nature’s truths, they are guided as much by imagination  as by reason, and their greatest theories have the uniqueness and beauty of great  works of art.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDyson argues that the best way to understand science is by understanding  those who practice it. He tells stories of scientists at work, ranging from Isaac  Newton’s absorption in physics, alchemy, theology, and politics, to Ernest Rutherford’s  discovery of the structure of the atom, to Albert Einstein’s stubborn hostility to  the idea of black holes. His descriptions of brilliant physicists like Edward Teller  and Richard Feynman are enlivened by his own reminiscences of them. He looks with  a skeptical eye at fashionable scientific fads and fantasies, and speculates on the  future of climate prediction, genetic engineering, the colonization of space, and  the possibility that paranormal phenomena may exist yet not be scientifically verifiable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDyson also looks beyond particular scientific questions to reflect on broader philosophical  issues, such as the limits of reductionism, the morality of strategic bombing and  nuclear weapons, the preservation of the environment, and the relationship between  science and religion. These essays, by a distinguished physicist who is also a lovely  writer, offer informed insights into the history of science and fresh perspectives  on contentious current debates about science, ethics, and faith.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57507757818229,"sku":"9781681375052","price":19.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/the-scientist-as-rebel","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}