In a speech yesterday, Montgomery Fellow Freeman Dyson said society must be careful with its use of technology so as to prevent the disastrous consequences portrayed in science fiction novels.
"Technology is a force for evil, as well as a force for good," Dyson said.
His speech titled, "Looking Forward: Science and Science Fiction," Dyson discussed the history of science of the past 100 years and the relation between science and literature.
He said novels written by authors such as H.G. Wells and Aldous Huxley express a concern that technological advances are leading society down a slippery slope toward destruction, which is prophesied in Wells' "The Time Machine," where human kind evolves into two new species.
A number of revolutions in science technology have occurred since Wells wrote "The Time Machine," Dyson said, including the discovery of DNA's double helix structure and the invention of the computer.
The computer has become a powerful tool for scientists, but also one which is particularly dangerous for society, Dyson said. Such technology has led to the rapid growth of the personal computer and video game software industries, he said.
The problem lies not with computers, but in their proliferation throughout the upper classes of society, "widening the gap between rich and poor," Dyson said.
"The child without a home computer is left behind. It becomes one more barrier the poor child has to overcome to earn an honest living," he said.
Huxley's "Brave New World" is another novel that predicts the downfall of the human race, Dyson said. The book is an example of how Huxley fears science could be used to take the humanity out of people, he said.
Dyson also talked about a variety of technologies that could develop in the near future.
Medicine researchers are developing High Resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging technology that could be used to explore the structures of the thousands of undiscovered human proteins, he said. The research could lead to cures for many diseases, he said.
Another possible technology is what Dyson called "radio neurology," a subject whose implications are addressed in Olaf Stapledon's 1931 book "Last and First Men."
The novel is the story of a future where people and intelligent Martian cloud organisms live together in a constant state of telepathic war, Dyson said. In the end, humans prevail and evolve to be able to communicate telepathically.
Radio neurology could allow scientists to use existing tools to conduct research and therapy on the brain, Dyson said. He said radio neurology is another example of a technology that could have positive or negative uses.
Dyson, a Princeton professor since 1953, has received numerous awards for his contributions to science and literature, College President James O. Freedman said in his introduction. Last month U.S. President Bill Clinton gave Dyson the Enrico Fermi Award.
Dyson, whose speech prompted moments of laughter and applause from the audience, answered questions after his prepared remarks.
Asked how to give children a better understanding of science, Dyson said students need to have more hands-on involvement.
"When I was a kid, I learned far more from museums than I did in class. The classroom is much less effective for turning kids on and more effective for turning them off," he said. But he said schools are overburdened and teachers, who are deeply committed to their students, are overworked.
Dyson also said he was grateful that one of his concepts, called by some "The Dyson Sphere," was recognized in an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Dyson said, "My kids enjoyed it."
In addition to his contributions to physics, Dyson is an accomplished writer whose most recent book -- published in 1992 -- is titled "From Eros to Gaia."
Dyson has been at the College for three weeks and will be in Hanover for nine more weeks, he said.
