The Beginning of Infinity
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and explanation 4–33, 122–3
dependent on existing knowledge 39, 60, 113
desire for 11, 19, 63, 133
Enlightenment, quintessential idea of 65
evolution does not necessarily constitute 91–2, 378–9, 382–3
explanationless 210
the jump to universality 125–47, 414
to less mistaken misconceptions 351, 446
limit to, supposed 53, 165–6, 205–6, 213, 445, 446
mathematical 189, 447
moral 23, 63, 121, 123
moving closer to reality through scientific instruments 34–41
optimism and 196–222
in philosophy 119, 209
rates of 55, 58
risks of 197, 201, 204, 311
and stasis vii, 19, 247–52
sustainability of 423–41
technological, dependent on explanatory 55; see also technology
unbounded/infinite vii–viii, 60–67, 69, 76, 81, 97, 165, 175, 195, 366, 423, 450, 457–9, 165
unpredictable 371
see also Enlightenment; innovation; inspiration/perspiration; perfectibility; problem-solving; tradition of criticism
proof 194
and intuition 189
and understanding 191–3
see also under physics; computation
prophecy 14, 21, 22, 198, 206, 432, 444
disaster prophecies 205–6, 219, 432, 435
and the postponement of disaster 437
distinguished from prediction 198
distinguished from speculation 458
in economic forecasts 439
gambler’s 14, 21, 22, 102
Horgan’s prophetic fallacy 448–9
Malthusian prophetic fallacy 206, 214, 432
pessimistic bias of 198, 206, 320, 444
prophetic optimism 204
proportional allocation/representation 326–33, 339, 346, 347–8
protons 290; see also hydrogen
Providence 52, 120, 189
proxies 72, 74, 317–18, 320–21
psychology 113, 157–8; see also behaviourism
pulsars 97, 38, 113, 290
puppy (and properties of a singularity) 174–6, 179
Pythagoras 119, 230, 233
qualia 153–4, 162–163, 319, 320–21, 354, 367, 458, 459
unpredictability of qualia 153–4, 268, 367
quantum computation 136, 187, 189, 295–6, 304
quantum parallelism 295–6
quantum suicide argument 453
quantum theory 60, 107, 181, 198, 258–304
and bad philosophy 305–6, 307–11
birth of 306–7
and the discrete 274, 294, 295, 298–9, 303, 304, 450
Everett interpretation 310
and the general theory or relativity 449–50
Heisenberg uncertainty principle 289, 291, 303–4
and motion 266, 274–5, 282, 289–90, 306
potentialities 309
quantum gravity 178, 449–50
quantum-mechanical motion 289–90
quantum-mechanical randomness 270, 278, 287
shut-up-and-calculate interpretation 307–8
of time 298–9
see also Copenhagen interpretation; entanglement; fungibility; interference; and under multiple universes
quasars 2–3, 52, 69, 71, 83, 113, 136–7, 144, 189, 275, 354
qubits 187, 295, 296, 460
‘queerer than we can suppose’ (Haldane–Dawkins) 53, 56, 59, 81
radiation, microwave background 46, 47, 68
radio telescopes see telescopes
radio waves 38, 68, 72–3, 114, 203, 274, 354, 398
radioactivity 1, 13, 439
radium 13–14
Ramanujan, Srinivasa 356
randomness
apparent 270, 304, 331
three possible reasons for 269–70
distinguished from unknowability 197
in quantum mechanics 270–94, 300–304, 307
random choices 35, 149, 318, 320, 331
random errors 94, 140, 331
random events 20, 207, 248, 269, 277–8, 281, 283, 287, 294, 299–300, 301–2, 304, 307, 358, 359, 440
random mutations/variations 78, 79, 89, 96, 160, 162, 240, 375, 378, 399, 400
random numbers 161, 162, 197, 269, 283, 331, 454
random states 102, 263
random truths 189
subjective 277–8
rational memes 388–90, 392, 393, 396, 397
see also memes
rationality see reason
reach 3, 28–30, 33, 123, 161–2, 166, 220, 393, 402, 423, 459
of the ability to replicate memes efficiently 411
of the adaptations of the human brain 54, 56–7
of aesthetic knowledge 364
of epistemology 253
always has an explanation 54, 126, 145
of the genetic code 144–5, 162, 458
of genetic knowledge (biological adaptations) 55, 59, 78–9, 92, 95, 105
of human ideas 34, 78–9, 105, 161–2
and the jump to universality 145–7
of mathematical knowledge 118, 123, 129, 131, 167, 194, 374
of Paley’s argument 87
of people 60, 66
of problems 458
of quantum theory 305–6
of rational institutions 351
of science 60, 197–9
of technology 60
universal 59, 75, 106, 123, 131, 133, 194, 305, 364, 374, 388
realism 15, 18, 31, 310, 312
anti-realism 15, 313, 314
reality
of abstractions 114–24, 165, 187–8
anthropocentric accounts of 42
criterion for 23, 40, 373
and beauty 355, 356, 359
‘elements of’ (Einstein) 307
and explanations/interpretations/theories 6, 9, 10, 19, 20–22, 27, 32–3, 78, 94, 102, 179, 263, 280, 290, 292, 301, 307, 308, 311, 314–15, 448, 449, 459
and experience as a waking dream 241–2, 252–3
moving closer to reality through scientific instruments 34–41
objective truth/reality vii–viii, 1, 7, 9, 11, 15, 18, 26, 98, 101, 173, 183, 227–9, 236, 240, 242, 253, 263–4, 272–3, 308, 314–15, 345, 350, 353
terminology of world/universe/multiverse/history 265, 303–4
unobserved 7, 8, 60, 252
virtual see virtual reality
reallocation schemes 327–8, 330
reason
faculty of 30, 149, 212, 229, 340–43
rational 31
reasonable ways of thinking 17, 31, 39, 42, 51, 62, 98, 102, 133, 166, 176–7, 180, 183, 186, 199, 210, 211, 215, 221, 224, 225, 229, 230, 241, 242, 249, 259, 269, 273, 331, 335–7, 344, 345, 352, 390, 392, 393, 404, 436, 440, 444, 447, 458; see also common sense
universality of 166, 194
values of 31, 343, 392, 457
versus unreason/the supernatural 15, 21, 110, 120, 166, 200, 213, 254, 307–8, 309–10, 312, 314, 316, 328, 339, 344, 358, 379, 388–90, 391–7, 413, 420, 428, 446, 457; see also the supernatural
reductionism 109–10, 114, 123, 361, 371, 429
Hofstadter and 117–18, 138
emptiness of 122
Rees, Martin 60, 196, 206, 208, 461
Our Final Century 196–7, 201, 202, 204–5
regress, infinite 174–5, 178, 190, 194, 226, 341
Reign of Terror 66
relativism 15, 314
cultural 314, 356
relativity
Einstein’s theory of 198, 199, 255, 256, 312
Einstein’s general theory of 29, 61, 107, 312, 315
and the problem of quantum gravity 298, 449–50
religions 80, 81, 82, 189, 359, 418, 457
memes and 93, 218 369, 370, 373, 377, 378–9, 384, 391
religious objections to study of infinity 166
Renaissance 218, 220, 366
, 385, 429
repetition 5, 7, 8, 20, 24, 30, 83
see also inductivism
replicators 93, 105, 114, 143–4
abstract 95, 114, 266–7, 369, 406
knowledge as a replicator 95, 114, 266–7
see also genes; memes
representative government 316
apportionment paradoxes 326–33
Arrow’s theorem and the principle of 336–8
changes in conception of 351
for non-voters 329
proportional representation 326–33, 339, 346, 347–8
resonance (chemistry) 301–2
resources 35, 52, 56–7, 59, 62, 66, 67, 202–3, 213, 425, 429, 439
Ehrlich’s pessimism over 431–2
management of 423, 432, 434–6
population and 48–9, 205–6
and sustainability 421–3, 431–2
revolution, scientific vii, 12, 14, 23, 32, 53
RNA 142–4 376
robots 36, 57–8, 60, 101, 151, 196, 203
and artificial evolution 158–62
see also automation
Roma Eterna (Silverberg) 259
Roman numerals 128–30
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques 390
Royal Society 13, 281n, 457, 460, 461
rules of thumb 4, 14, 16, 19, 28, 29, 31, 35, 55, 72, 94, 111, 154, 208, 316, 422, 445
and explanations 16, 28, 29, 94, 114, 315, 449
mistaken for universal laws 44, 94; see also parochialism
in quantum theory 307–8
testing 14, 35
see also explanationless theories
Russian roulette 197, 206
Rutherford, Ernest 1, 13–14
Savonarola, Girolamo 219, 221, 429
Schopenhauer, Arthur 200
Schrödinger, Erwin 255, 306, 310
equation 306, 307, 310
Sciama, Dennis 99–101
science see explanations
science fiction 97, 137, 202–3, 258, 259, 262, 264, 268, 299, 302, 372, 443
scientific instruments see measuring instruments
scientific revolution vii, 12, 14, 23, 32, 53
scum, humans as chemical 44–8, 51, 72, 73
scurvy 57
sea-level rises 437–40
Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence see SETI
Searle, John 138
seasons
mythical explanations of 19–21, 24, 25
scientific explanation of 23–5, 26–9, 44, 68, 458
self-awareness 154
self-expression 366–7
sense organs 10, 144, 159
sensory experience 4, 9, 32, 39, 227–9, 240–2, 252–3
deceptiveness of the senses 8
see also eyes; qualia
SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) 72–3, 179–80
sexual reproduction 372, 375
mating 90, 91, 359, 360, 362, 401, 402, 413
sexual selection 91–2, 360, 362, 365, 401, 415
Shaffer, Peter: Amadeus 353
shut-up-and-calculate interpretation of quantum theory 307–8
significance vii-viii, 43. 75–6, 123, 124, 146, 229, 458
Silverberg, Robert: Roma Aeterna 259
simplicity 5, 25, 26, 126, 135, 353
and complexity 104, 107–8, 160, 186–7, 190, 195
The Simpsons 259–60
simulation argument 453–5
Singularity, the 456–7
singularities 173, 175, 194, 450–51
naked 175
see also Big Bang; black holes
slavery 92, 120, 130, 134, 218, 243, 244, 246, 248, 318, 319, 329, 350
to genes 92, 371, 383, 384
to memes 130, 383, 384, 392
Sliding Doors 259, 269
Smolin, Lee 178–9
social-choice theory see under choice
societies
dynamic 387–90, 396; see also Enlightenment; memes, rational
of Easter Island 418, 419–23
open 216, 460
pre-human 400, 412–13, 414
static 247, 249, 379–87, 396, 413–14, 416, 420–23, 428, 430, 435; see also memes: anti-rational
see also civilization
Socrates 83–4, 216, 447
Socratic problem 254
story of a dream of 223–54
Socratic method 245
Soddy, Frederck 1, 13–14
software see computer programs
solubility of problems see problems are soluble
sophists 236, 248
Sophocles 216
Soviet ideology 428
space
Euclidean 164, 183, 184, 188
intergalactic 47, 48, 66–9, 71–2, 74
stations 66–7, 69, 398
see also spacetime
Spaceship Earth 44–5, 48–51, 52, 53–4, 61, 64, 69, 76, 167
and blind pessimism 203
Easter Island and the metaphor of 421–3
spacetime 43, 170
curvature 107, 112, 183–4, 312, 450
Sparta 218, 221, 429
and ‘a dream of Socrates’ 224, 230–3, 235, 242, 244–51
speculation 240, 262–4, 292, 458
Spencer, Herbert 91
spheres of differentiation see waves of differentiation
splitting
of histories 273–5, 276–9, 285–8, 293–4; see also histories (sequences of events in a multiverse)
of scientific theories 315–16
spontaneous generation 81–3, 85, 87, 88, 96, 103, 105
Standage, Tom 137
Star Trek 258
stars and solar systems 1–2, 8, 28, 29, 17, 35, 47, 63, 101, 203, 373
neutron stars 97, 290
see also supernovae
stasis see societies, static
The State of the Planet (Attenborough) 419, 421
statues
of Ares outside Sparta 248
of Churchill outside Parliament 109
on Easter Island 418, 419–20, 421, 422, 430, 435
of Justice 340
Sterling, Bruce 137
strata 293
structuralism 314
subcultures 220, 393, 395
suffering, problem of 80
sun, the 1, 5, 8, 14, 23–4, 44, 47, 50, 74, 84, 112, 113, 203, 208, 228, 275, 366, 420, 445
compared with a clock 86, 363
sunlight 47, 57, 441
sunrise/sunset 6, 7, 27, 36, 363
supercomputers 107, 140, 437–9, 441
the supernatural 42, 43, 60, 106, 138, 213, 260, 377, 384, 393, 445
and creationism 79–81, 82, 97, 104
and inexplicability 16, 53–54, 166, 203, 212, 423–4
knowledge and 113, 119, 236, 238
see also God; gods; magic; the paranormal
supernovae 1–2, 3, 30, 35, 47, 50, 70, 71, 84, 275, 431
superstition 14, 21–2, 102
‘survival of the fittest’ 91, 105, 371
sustainability 421–2, 441
of progress 423–41
unsustainability 422, 441
Swade, Doron 135
taboos 81, 219, 381, 402, 427
tallying 128, 129, 130–31, 134, 140–41, 193, 356
Taylor, Brook 135–6
tea making 108, 300
technology
adaptation through 57–60, 61
fundamental link with explanation 55–6, 58
and our view of the Earth 443
see also specific technologies; wealth
Tegmark, Max 101
telegraphy 137
teleportation (fictional) 258, 277, 281, 322–3
telescopes 2, 37, 38, 39, 40, 47, 59, 68, 85, 220, 452
radio 38, 40, 50, 56, 72, 354
television, colour 433–4, 435, 436
testability 8, 10, 12–13, 15, 19–21, 22, 25, 27, 56, 95, 180, 211, 318
insufficient for science 22
principle of 13
, 26, 111
see also experimental testing
Thales of Miletus 216
theology 52, 63, 80, 82, 84, 166, 254, 423
theories
and creativity 7–8
letting them die in our place see under Popper
mistake of separating prediction from explanation 315–16, 326
needed to build and operate instruments 40
theory-laden observation 10, 30, 38–41, 165, 199
see also explanations; testability
thermodynamics, second law of 110, 111
Thucydides 216
tides 143
tidal forces 3, 450
time 298–9
see also spacetime
Tipler, Frank 178–9, 450–51
Titanic 201
tolerance 23, 121, 217, 250, 343
tools 12, 50, 92, 154, 381, 383, 384, 399–400
trade 131, 217, 234, 419, 427, 428, 436
tradition of criticism 13, 23, 31–3, 209, 216, 220, 231, 308, 390, 431
transmutation 1, 2, 3, 11, 13–14, 40, 58, 61, 67, 71, 84, 97, 203, 266, 425
trees see forests
trial and error 36, 160, 392, 399, 400, 408, 411–12
triangles 119, 183–4, 188, 233
truth
convergence upon 231, 257, 350, 368
and beauty 355
mathematical 183, 185, 186, 188, 189
necessary truths 183
random truths 189
Turing, Alan 138, 139, 148, 152–3, 154–5, 156, 184, 187, 461
Turing test 148, 149–50, 151, 152–3, 154–6, 158, 161, 320
tyranny 66, 200, 209, 211, 214, 337, 343, 431, 445, 447
Uglow, Jenny: The Lunar Men 66
uncertainty principle 289, 291, 303–4
undecidable questions/statements 185, 186, 187, 191, 192, 195
universality
universal explainers 123, 157, 415
and AI 157
computational 135–42, 148, 189, 191
and the Enlightenment 133–4
and infinity 164–5
the jump to 125–47, 146, 414
in computers 135–42
in the genetic code 142–6, 162–3, 458
necessity of digital systems for 139–42
and error correction 147
in numerals and arithmetic 128–33
in printing 134
unintended 127, 129, 131, 133, 134, 135, 136, 139, 147
in writing systems 125–7
of the laws of nature vii, 6, 32, 54, 56, 75, 191, 192
prediction, the brain and 189
of reason 166
universal constructors 76, 145
DNA as 142–6, 162–3, 458
humans as 58–60, 62, 429
universe
in an astronomer’s view 1–3
distinguished from ‘world’, ‘multiverse’ and ‘history’ 265
initial expansion rate 96–7
initial state 118
‘omega-point universes’ 450–51
recollapsing 450–51
unknowability 103, 190, 197, 198, 199, 204, 208, 214, 215, 221–2, 358