Freeman Dyson (1923 – 2020), was one of the greatest minds of the 20th century. He delighted in being a self-professed heretic. One of his heretical positions was on climate change. It’s a pity that more people are familiar with a hysterical Swedish teenager’s views on climate change than with Prof Dyson’s.
This is so because the teenager is photogenic and her claims, though utterly devoid of any rational support, makes for sensational headlines that the mainstream media relentlessly pushes on a public that is given to paranoia and panic.
Most of us, yours truly included, do not have the ability to do primary research and reach our own conclusions on matters that are of interest to us. We have to rely on others. It is up to us, then, to choose which domain expert we trust. Climate change: should we trust an emotion-driven teenager who couldn’t possibly know much about anything; or should we rely on a sober, super-intelligent scientific researcher and mathematician who has spent decades studying important matters, including climate change? Greta or Freeman? The choice isn’t that hard. Continue reading “Freeman Dyson on Climate”
Of the many challenges that the world is facing, climate change is the biggest and the baddest in my opinion. It has the potential to cause tremendous long-term damage and affect the most number of people.
Humans are amazing in their variety. A dear friend of mine would sometimes call me for help figuring out some bit of arithmetic. “Hey Nu,” she’d say, “what’s 17 percent of 200?” That’s one end of the spectrum; at the other end is 
The great big game of life has a surprising counterpart in a cellular automata developed by John Conway in the 1960’s. It’s called “Game of Life.”
Atanu Dey : Life is a Random Draw 