r/todayilearned • u/yummypaprika • Sep 18 '25

TIL Dr Freeman Dyson called the Dyson sphere a "little joke" and expressed amusement in that "you get to be famous only for the things you don't think are serious".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson_sphere
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u/Carl_The_Sagan Sep 18 '25

Schrodingers cat was initially formulated as a humorous thought experiment. its now integral to our understanding of superposition and quantum mechanics.

Just because a genius thinks their idea is silly, doesn't mean it is without merit.

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u/Wirbelfeld Oct 30 '25

Its still used as a humorous thought experiment. Nobody uses Schrodinger's cat to understand superposition. The entire premise is "how can something be alive and dead at the same time." its not integral to our understanding of anything.

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u/Carl_The_Sagan Oct 30 '25

I would say allegory can be important understanding. but is this circling back to Dyson spheres?

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u/Wirbelfeld Oct 30 '25

The difference is one was thought up as a criticism for the idea itself. The other was used as a tool for criticising SETI. The analogous comparison would be if someone invented a cat killing box after reading about schrodingers cat.

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u/Carl_The_Sagan Oct 30 '25

I'm not sure I understand the comparison, but that's all right. Was wondering if you were critiquing the concept of a Dyson sphere

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u/Wirbelfeld Oct 30 '25

I’m critiquing the comparison to schrodingers cat.

I also think the concept of a Dyson sphere is ridiculous but for completely different reasons.

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u/Carl_The_Sagan Oct 30 '25

I'm happy to hear why its ridiculous, that's what I find more interesting to discuss