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The beginning of infinity : explanations that transform the world
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The beginning of infinity : explanations that transform the world
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Throughout history, mankind has struggled to understand life's mysteries, from the mundane to the seemingly miraculous. In this important new book, David Deutsch, an award-winning pioneer in the field of quantum computation, argues that explanations have a fundamental place in the universe. They have unlimited scope and power to cause change, and the quest to improve them is the basic regulating principle not only of science but of all successful human endeavor. Our stream of ever improving explanations has infinite reach, according to Deutsch: we are subject only to the laws of physics, and they impose no upper boundary to what we can eventually understand, control, and achieve. In his previous book, Deutsch described the four deepest strands of existing knowledge-the theories of evolution, quantum physics, knowledge, and computation-arguing jointly they reveal a unified fabric of reality. In this new book, he applies that worldview to a wide range of issues and unsolved problems, taking us on a journey through virtually every fundamental field of science as well as the history of civilization, art, moral values, and the theory of political institutions. In each instance he tracks how we form new explanations and drop bad ones, explaining the conditions under which progress can and cannot happen. Errors are common in the pursuit of knowledge, and correcting them will always reveal further and better problems. Problems are inevitable, yet they are also solvable, and none of the endless stream of problems will even constitute an impassable barrier to progress. Uncompromisingly rational and optimistic, Deutsch comes to startling new conclusions about human choice, optimism, scientific explanation, and the evolution of our species and of ideas. Artificial intelligence is achievable, but is still a long way off. The earth's biosphere is incapable of sustaining human life, because unlike other species, we are sustained by the knowledge that we have to keep creating. Objective knowledge is possible about abstract entities such as numbers, infinities, morality, and aesthetics. Our capacity for creativity co-evolved with memes, not to facilitate progress but, ironically, to prevent it, which is why there was so little of it for so long. All but the most trivial choices are made not by weighing the options but by creating new options and new preferences. Hugely ambition, highly original, and persuasively argued, "The Beginning of Infinity" explores and establishes deep connections between the laws of nature, the human condition, knowledge, and the potential for progress.
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