Spheres and Transforms — the Remarkable Life of Freeman Dyson
Anyone who reads science fiction knows what a dyson sphere is. It’s a structure constructed around a star to capture all of the energy it produces for an advanced civilization. At one point it was seriously postulated that the peculiar dimming pattern of Tabby’s Star was the result of a partially-completed sphere. (It turned out not to be aliens, but for a while? Aliens).
Those who pay a little bit more attention know that Dyson was a person; a scientist named Freeman Dyson who was known for out there theories just designed (deliberately?) for science fiction writers. But most don’t really know who Dyson was.
Freeman John Dyson passed away on February 28, 2020, at the grand age of 96.
So, Who Was Freeman Dyson?
Freeman Dyson was born in a place called Crowthorne and received a public school education in the British tradition. His father was a noted composer, and Dyson no doubt got a discount on the expensive school — his father was director of music there. Specifically, he went to Winchester College, which was founded in 1382.
By the age of 17 he was studying mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge, and had a scholarship. There was, unfortunately, this little problem of World War II.