

#122
Mentioned in 102 episodes
The Beginning of Infinity
Explanations That Transform the World
Book • 2012
In this groundbreaking book, David Deutsch argues that explanations have a fundamental place in the universe and that improving them is the basic regulating principle of all successful human endeavor.
The book takes readers on a journey through various fields of science, history of civilization, art, moral values, and the theory of political institutions.
Deutsch explains how we form new explanations and drop bad ones, and discusses the conditions under which progress, which he argues is potentially boundless, can and cannot happen.
He emphasizes the importance of good explanations, which he defines as those that are 'hard to vary' and have 'reach', and argues that these explanations are central to the Enlightenment way of thinking and to all scientific and philosophical progress.
The book takes readers on a journey through various fields of science, history of civilization, art, moral values, and the theory of political institutions.
Deutsch explains how we form new explanations and drop bad ones, and discusses the conditions under which progress, which he argues is potentially boundless, can and cannot happen.
He emphasizes the importance of good explanations, which he defines as those that are 'hard to vary' and have 'reach', and argues that these explanations are central to the Enlightenment way of thinking and to all scientific and philosophical progress.
Mentioned by

























Mentioned in 102 episodes
Mentioned by 

as one of the smartest people alive, whose work on epistemology, evolution, quantum physics, and computation has influenced his thinking.


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Mentioned by 

as a book he carries with him and reads repeatedly.


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Mentioned by 

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796 snips
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Mentioned by 

as a book that shaped his thinking on explanations and the scalability of human understanding.


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Mentioned by 

as a book that substantially changed the trajectory of his life.


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Recommended by 

and 

for its transformative effect on their worldviews and its exploration of scientific theory.


Naval Ravikant


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Mentioned by 

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Mentioned by ![undefined]()

when discussing the significance of humanity and our role in shaping the universe.

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Mentioned by 

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455 snips
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Mentioned by 

among his favorite books on science and mathematics.


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437 snips
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Mentioned by Speaker 2 when discussing the limitations of understanding evolution.

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