Talking Points: Freeman Dyson on Science

“There is no such thing as a unique scientific vision, any more than there is a unique poetic vision. Science is a mosaic of partial and conflicting visions. But there is one common element in these visions. The common element is rebellion against the restrictions imposed by the locally prevailing culture, Western or Eastern as the case may be. The vision of science is not specifically Western ... One of the central facts about science is that it pays no attention to East and West and North and South and black and yellow and white. It belongs to everybody who is willing to make the effort to learn it.” —Freeman J. Dyson, Professor Emeritus, School of Natural Sciences, in The Scientist as Rebel (New York Review Books, 2006)