The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World Reprint Edition

by David Deutsch (Author)

173 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0143121350

ISBN-10: 9780143121350

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The New York Times bestseller: A provocative, imaginative exploration of the nature and progress of knowledge

In this groundbreaking book, award-winning physicist 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. Taking us on a journey through every fundamental field of science, as well as the history of civilization, art, moral values, and the theory of political institutions, Deutsch tracks how we form new explanations and drop bad ones, explaining the conditions under which progress—which he argues is potentially boundless—can and cannot happen. Hugely ambitious and highly original, The Beginning of Infinity explores and establishes deep connections between the laws of nature, the human condition, knowledge, and the possibility for progress.

The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World

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The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes--and Its Implications by David Deutsch Paperback $14.84
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Brilliant and exhilarating . . . Deutsch is so smart, and so strange, and so creative, and so inexhaustibly curious, and so vividly intellectually alive, that it is a distinct privilege to spend time in his head."
--The New York Times Book Review

"[Deutsch] makes the case for infinite progress and such passion, imagination, and quirky brilliance that I couldn't help enjoying his argument. . . . [He] mounts a compelling challenge to scientific reductionism."
--The Wall Street Journal

"Provocative and persuasive . . . Address[es] subjects from artificial intelligence to the evolution of culture and creativity."
--The Economist

“[Deutsch’s books] are among the most ambitious works of nonfiction I have read, in that their aim is no less than an explanation of all reality. . . . They are treatises that weave together not just physics and astronomy but biology, mathematics, computer science, political science, psychology, philosophy, aesthetics, and—most important for Deutsch—epistemology, among other fields, in fashioning a profound new view of the world and the universe.”
--The New Yorker’s Book Bench

“Deutsch has an important message . . . that our destiny is to be explainers of the world around us, and explaining is the key to our mastery. . . . He writes clearly and thinks wisely. His book could help the world toward better ways of dealing with its problems.”
--Freeman Dyson, The New York Review of Books

About the Author

Born in Haifa, Israel, David Deutsch was educated at Cambridge and Oxford Universities. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a professor of physics at the University of Oxford, where he is a member of the Centre for Quantum Computation. His papers on quantum computation laid the foundations for that field, and he is an authority on the theory of parallel universes. His honors include the Institute of Physics' Paul Dirac Prize and Medal. The author of The Fabric of Reality, he lives in England.

Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: Penguin Books; Reprint edition (May 29, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780143121350
ISBN-13: 978-0143121350
ASIN: 0143121359
Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1.1 x 8.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 173 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #217 in Books > Science & Math > History & Philosophy
- #316 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Philosophy
- #658 in Books > Business & Money > Management & Leadership > Leadership

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Top customer reviews

Great book for explanations of where we are in physics and philosophy of science

ByJuana Cusion July 2, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Dr. Deutsch is an extremely intelligent person, well versed not on science and philosophy, but in almost all facets of Western culture. He uses this knowledge wisely to bring forward his explanations (a term one finds central to this book) of how the Universe works. He's also an optimist and sees the emergence of intelligence as the take off point towards infinity. In this case "infinity" means the very long road that the Universe itself is beginning to take in order to know itself. And that's an amazing fact in itself, that the Universe, in its eternal process of emergence of things more interesting and complex at each turn, emerges conscience/intelligence, a property which can begin to understand the Universe itself.

The book is sometimes heavy because of its high density of ideas/page (a measure of how much attention you have to pay if you want to follow it). I think sometimes Dr. Deutsch goes a bit on a limb on certain topics that he cannot be an expert on, for nobody is an expert on everything. I am still unclear on whether memes have a drive to expand and if so, whether it means they posses some kind of will, which he makes quite clear they don't, but not too clear how they grow and expand. I guess some day will understand that when we have a theory of emergence, which to me is the next big big thing in physics.

I have never myself been a great fan of the multiverse theories and although Dr. Deutsch makes a good case for them, or at least one of them, his own version, I find that part the most questionable. To me, not yet a definite explanation of quantum weirdness.

I do recommend it to those who want to be aware of where we are in the frontiers of physics and philosophy of science.

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Not as good as "The Fabric of Reality"

ByRoberto M. Pensottion April 19, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

If you hoped for a book of the same breadth as David Deutsch's "The Fabric of Reality" you'll be disappointed.
However, Deutsch is such a tremendous physicist and thinker that you can enjoy anything he writes.

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Brilliant, compelling, and beautiful

ByJohn Campbellon June 2, 2011

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I cannot add much to the two excellent reviews by Elliot Temple and Michael Golding. They obviously have more background in the four themes that David Deutsch masterfully weaves together: quantum physics, universal computing, evolution, and epistemology. In The Beginning of Infinity, Deutsch develops and expands upon the idea that we may be at a point in our knowledge and explanations, that we have developed "the first real Theory of Everything." This is not just the narrow, parochial theory regarding particle physics, but really, everything.

The quotation comes from David Deutsch's earlier book, The Fabric of the Reality. The Beginning of Infinity is more sweeping and developed than The Fabric of Reality, but both books are brilliant and utterly vital.

The Beginning of Infinity is both a culmination of our most powerful explanations on the nature of reality and the launching point for a breathtaking future of greater explanations and unlimited progress, if we embrace the challenge of the Enlightenment.

I have always loved ideas and pursued many different ones in the undisciplined fashion of an amateur thinker. David Deutsch is a virtuoso in his ability to develop, explain, and connect so many powerful ideas.

I made this book my first purchase on my Kindle and am so glad that I did. I could re-read this book a hundred times and am reading The Fabric of Reality for the third time. Reading David Deutsch is like listening to a great piece of music - it bears repeating many times.

I would encourage anyone who is interested in understanding reality, or even just their own small part of it, to read this book. Deutsch has given us a great gift, but as he readily says, we are all fallible. This book is just the beginning, but what a start.

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Change The World

Byhellcatson March 4, 2012

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

One of the most important books of the new millennia. Prof Deutsch describes how a way of thought is the key ingredient behind the rapid expanse in knowledge and technology beginning with the Enlightenment and continuing through to this day. The book is filled with bold claims that rankle on first encounter, but then you are led down a gentle path of deductive reasoning in which each step is easy and agreeable, only to find yourself standing at the exact place of that initial bold claim! And that is the very essence of the book: that an enquiring and critical mind can find solutions to seemingly intractable problems. The power of this mode of thought is so great that it benefits the whole of humanity while only requiring a tiny fraction of the population to actually understand it. How much better off would we all be if more people were aware of and applied these successful thought patterns in their daily lives? If you only buy one book this year, then this should be it; the world desperately needs more people who can think for themselves.

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Most recent customer reviews

Five Stars

Awesome. Mind-straining.

Published 1 month ago by a book reader

Great philosophy.

Well reasoned and unique conclusions about explanations. Gives you optimism about human capacity for reason and logic. Quantum chapter sort of difficult to wrap head around.

Published 1 month ago by Ben Brostoff

Great read.

Insightful!

Published 2 months ago by Benjamin Arreola

A complete software upgrade for your brain

I stumbled across this book by accident, and it changed my life. It is the product of a beautiful mind which has thought deeply about topics that matter in an attempt to...Read more

Published 3 months ago by S. Rasch

Truly horizon expanding!

This book was a rare experience for me, one of those very few sources that come along only a few times in one's life to provide intellectual underpinnings for understanding how...Read more

Published 3 months ago by Riccardo Leggio

Five Stars

One of the most informative books I have ever read. Deutsch is truly a visionary.

Published 3 months ago by Savvy Shopper 17

Important and innovative book on the philosophy of science though a bit dry

This is a book mostly about the philosophy of science. Specifically, it's about how the scientific method is the best way to increase our understanding and control of the world...Read more

Published 3 months ago by Alexandra Hopkins

Wow. Take a garden walk with this guy.

You're going to know every atom in every flower. Put your brain on this torture rack and stretch a bit. Difficult in parts because of the abstractions, but stay racked up.Read more

Published 5 months ago by Don Bethel

The beginning of the next reading of the book

David produces here something that is so difficult yet so inspiring and clear that I will immediately start reading it again, how many times?Read more

Published 5 months ago by Greger Hagstrãm

Great antidote to fears of runaway AI

Deutsch does a great job explaining what makes humans exceptional. Beginning of Infinity is supremely optimistic and uplifting. Read it.

Published 6 months ago by Anonymous

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