One factor that has remained constant through all the twists and turns of the history of physical science is the decisive importance of the mathematical imagination.
Freeman DysonRead
The fundamental reason why carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is critically important to biology is that there is so little of it. A field of corn growing in full sunlight in the middle of the day uses up all the carbon dioxide within a meter of the ground in about five minutes. If the air were not constantly stirred by convection currents and winds, the corn would stop growing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Carbon dioxide is essential for plant growth, but its scarcity makes it vital for survival.
This quote emphasizes the critical role of carbon dioxide in the process of photosynthesis for plants, highlighting how its limited presence in the atmosphere is a driving force behind biological processes. It illustrates the interconnectedness of natural phenomena, such as wind and convection, which allow plants like corn to thrive by replenishing CO2 levels necessary for their growth.
Themes
Carbon DioxidePlant GrowthPhotosynthesisEnvironmentBiologyNature
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about environmental science, to illustrate the importance of carbon dioxide for plants.
More from Freeman Dyson
All quotes →Biology is now bigger than physics, as measured by the size of budgets, by the size of the workforce, or by the output of major discoveries; and biology is likely to remain the biggest part of science through the twenty-first century.
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As a working hypothesis to explain the riddle of our existence, I propose that our universe is the most interesting of all possible universes, and our fate as human beings is to make it so
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It's not going to be just humans colonizing space, it's going to be life moving out from the Earth, moving it into its kingdom. And the kingdom of life, of course, is going to be the universe.
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The bottom line for mathematicians is that the architecture has to be right. In all the mathematics that I did, the essential point was to find the right architecture. It's like building a bridge. Once the main lines of the structure are right, then the details miraculously fit. The problem is the overall design.
Freeman DysonRead
For some days I quietly worked out in my own mind the metaphysics of Cosmic Unity. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that it was the living truth. It was logically incontrovertible. It provided for the first time a firm foundation for ethics. It offered mankind the radical change of heart and mind that was our only hope of peace at a time of desperate danger. Only one small problem remained. I must find a way to convert the world to my way of thinking.
Freeman DysonRead
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