George Dyson (born 26 March 1953) is an American non-fiction

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scien ...

whose publications broadly cover the evolution of technology in relation to the physical environment and the direction of society. He has written on a wide range of topics, including the

history of computing The history of computing is longer than the history of computing hardware and modern computing technology and includes the history of methods intended for pen and paper or for chalk and slate, with or without the aid of tables. Concrete devices ...

, the development of

algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for performing ...

s and intelligence,

communications system A communications system or communication system is a collection of individual telecommunications networks, transmission systems, relay stations, tributary stations, and terminal equipment usually capable of interconnection and interoperat ...

space exploration Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. While the exploration of space is carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration though is conducted both by uncrewed robo ...

, and the design of

watercraft Any vehicle used in or on water as well as underwater, including boats, ships, hovercraft and submarines, is a watercraft, also known as a water vessel or waterborne vessel. A watercraft usually has a propulsive capability (whether by sai ...

Early life

George Dyson is the son of the theoretical physicist

Freeman Dyson Freeman John Dyson (15 December 1923 – 28 February 2020) was an English-American theoretical physicist and mathematician known for his works in quantum field theory, astrophysics, random matrices, mathematical formulation of quantum m ...

and mathematician

Verena Huber-Dyson Verena Esther Huber-Dyson (May 6, 1923 – March 12, 2016) was a Swiss-American mathematician, known for her work on group theory and formal logic. She has been described as a "brilliant mathematician", and did research on the interface betw ...

, the brother of technology analyst

Esther Dyson Esther Dyson (born 14 July 1951) is a Swiss-born American investor, journalist, author, commentator and philanthropist. She is the executive founder of Wellville, a nonprofit project focused on improving equitable wellbeing. Dyson is also an ang ...

, and the grandson of the British composer Sir George Dyson. Dyson's early life is described in

Kenneth Brower Kenneth Brower is an American writer known for his natural environment writings. His published works include articles with the National Geographic Society, The Atlantic Monthly, Smithsonian, Audubon, and several other periodicals. Brower has ...

's book ''The Starship and the Canoe.'' When he was sixteen he went to live in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

to pursue his interest in

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits faci ...

. From 1972 to 1975, he lived in a treehouse at a height of 30 metres that he built from salvaged materials on the shore of

Burrard Inlet french: Baie Burrard , image = Burrard Inlet 201807.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = Aerial view of Burrard Inlet , image_bathymetry = Burrard-Inlet-map-en.svg , alt_bathymetry ...

. Dyson became a Canadian citizen and spent 20 years in British Columbia, designing kayaks, researching historic voyages and native peoples, and exploring the

Inside Passage The Inside Passage (french: Passage Intérieur) is a coastal route for ships and boats along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific Northwest coast of the North American Fjordland. The route extends from southeaste ...

. He was, during this period, estranged from his father for some time.

Career

Dyson's first book, ''Baidarka'', published in 1986, described his research on the history of the Aleutian kayak, its evolution in the hands of Russian fur traders, and his adaptation of its design to modern materials. He is the author of '' Project Orion: The Atomic Spaceship 1957–1965'' and ''Darwin Among the Machines: The Evolution of Global Intelligence'', in which he expands upon the premise of Samuel Butler's 1863 article of the same name and suggests that the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

is a living, sentient being. His 2012 book ''Turing's Cathedral'' has been described as "a creation myth of the digital universe." It was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times 2012 Book Prize in the science and technology category and was chosen by University of California Berkeley's annual "On the Same Page" program for the academic year 2013–14. Dyson is the founder/owner of Dyson, Baidarka & Company, a designer of

Aleut The Aleuts ( ; russian: Алеуты, Aleuty) are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleut people and the islands are politically divided between the ...

-style skin

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each s ...

s; he is credited with the revival of the

baidarka The baidarka or Aleutian kayak (Aleut: iqyax) is a watercraft consisting of soft skin (artificial or natural) over a rigid space frame. Its initial design was created by the native Aleut (or Unangan) people of the Aleutian Islands. The Aleut p ...

style of kayak. Dyson was a visiting lecturer and research associate at Western Washington University's

Fairhaven College Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies is an interdisciplinary liberal arts college at Western Washington University. Instead of completing the general education requirements at Western, students take interdisciplinary classes at Fairhave ...

and was Director's Visitor at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

in Princeton, New Jersey, in 2002–03. He is a frequent contributor to the

Edge Foundation The Edge Foundation, Inc. is an association of science and technology intellectuals created in 1988 as an outgrowth of The Reality Club. Its main activities are reflected on the edge.org website, edited by publisher and businessman John Brock ...

Personal life

George Dyson and Ann Yow-Dyson have a daughter named Lauren. He lives and works in Bellingham, Washington.

Media appearances

* ''To Mars by A-Bomb: The Secret History of Project Orion'' (BBC, 2003) * ''The Starship and the Canoe'' (1986) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4375440/

Books

* ''Baidarka the Kayak'', 1986, Alaska Northwest Books, * ''Darwin Among the Machines'', 1997, Basic Books (USA) & Allan Lane Science (UK), * ''Project Orion: The Atomic Spaceship 1957–1965'', 2002, Allan Lane Science, * ''Turing's Cathedral,'' 2012, Pantheon, * ''Analogia: The Entangled Destinies of Nature, Human Beings and Machines'', 2020, Alan Lane (UK)

References

External links

*
Biography and articles from Edge.org

George Dyson's Flickr Photostream

Dyson, Baidarka & Company (Flickr Photostream by Thomas Gotchy)

* *
George Dyson: The story of Project Orion (TED2002)
*
George Dyson: The birth of the computer (TED2003)
** http://zenbeat.t-galaxy.com/e2703892.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Dyson, George 1953 births Living people Historians of science Freeman Dyson