BOOK · [081]
The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World
Philosophy of Science
Deutsch argues that good explanations—hard to vary, testable, and infinite in reach—are the engine of all human progress, from the Enlightenment to quantum mechanics. He extends this to politics, art, and the future, claiming that problems are solvable in principle as long as knowledge growth is not blocked. A foundational text for the Progress Studies movement that Collison co-launched.
Endorsed By
2 People-
Naval Ravikant
“Not the easiest read, but it made me smarter.”
Naval recommends it as the deepest available account of why good explanations—not data—are the engine of all human progress.
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Patrick Collison
Flagged green (particularly great); Deutsch's epistemology of progress is a direct intellectual ancestor of Progress Studies, which Collison co-founded with Tyler Cowen.