Freeman Dyson, Infinite in All D Quotes

A collection of quotes by Freeman Dyson, Infinite in All D.

Freeman Dyson was a renowned British-American physicist and mathematician, born on December 15, 1923, and passed away on February 28, 2020. He made significant contributions to various fields, including quantum mechanics, nuclear physics, and astrophysics. Dyson is particularly known for his work in quantum electrodynamics and his proposal of the Dyson sphere concept. He also played a vital role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II. Dyson's intellect and imaginative thinking earned him a well-deserved reputation as one of the greatest scientific minds of his time.

The technologies which have had the most profound effects on human life are usually simple. A good example of a simple technology with profound historical consequences is hay. Nobody knows who invented hay, the idea of cutting grass in the autumn and storing it in large enough quantities to keep horses and cows alive through the winter. All we know is that the technology of hay was unknown to the Roman Empire but was known to every village of medieval Europe. Like many other crucially important technologies, hay emerged anonymously during the so-called Dark Ages. According to the Hay Theory of History, the invention of hay was the decisive event which moved the center of gravity of urban civilization from the Mediterranean basin to Northern and Western Europe. The Roman Empire did not need hay because in a Mediterranean climate the grass grows well enough in winter for animals to graze. North of the Alps, great cities dependent on horses and oxen for motive power could not exist without hay. So it was hay that allowed populations to grow and civilizations to flourish among the forests of Northern Europe. Hay moved the greatness of Rome to Paris and London, and later to Berlin and Moscow and New York.

Freeman Dyson, Infinite in All D

Technology