Freeman Dyson's Solution to the Problem of Evil

“Always when things are dull, something turns up to challenge us and to stop us from settling into a rut. Examples of things which made life difficult are all around us: comet impacts, ice ages, weapons, plagues, nuclear fission, computers, sex, sin and death. Not all challenges can be overcome, and so we have tragedy. Maximum diversity often leads to maximum stress. In the end we survive, but only by the skin of our teeth.”

Read more from Freeman Dyson, Professor Emeritus in the School of Natural Sciences, in conversation with Scientific American's John Horgran.