David Deutsch is a physicist at the University of Oxford, widely considered one of the most profound thinkers alive today. He’s the author of The Beginning of Infinity and The Fabric of Reality, and a pioneer of quantum computing and Popperian epistemology, follow David on Twitter
We talk about the nature of truth, creativity, optimism, education, AGI, and why error correction is the key to human progress. Topics are outlined in the timestamps below.
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Timestamps
00:00 – Intro
03:13 – Can we eliminate error without ever knowing the final truth?
06:21 – Why knowledge is always incomplete
08:22 – Sam Harris, meditation, and mental frameworks
09:41 – The mind as an explanation-generator
13:22 – Anti-rational memes and the Enlightenment break
17:28 – What caused progress to finally take off?
20:29 – The nature of universal theories
23:43 – Epistemic patience vs persuasive narratives
27:16 – Institutions and pruning the “search tree” of ideas
30:21 – AGI, refusal to respond, and creative isolation
33:16 – Political promises and the irrationality of reelection incentives
37:45 – School vs justice systems: arbitrary rules and real freedom
41:43 – Creativity and the labor market
44:25 – Henry Ford and the problem of sameness
47:15 – Innovation, taxation, and punishment
50:16 – How to become a better problem solver
54:27 – Blind optimism vs blind pessimism
57:59 – Popper, Bronowski, and the power of explanation
1:01:22 – David’s most important lesson: Popperian epistemology
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