Throughout
history, mankind has struggled to understand life's mysteries, from the mundane
to the seemingly miraculous. In this important new book, David Deutsch, an
award-winning pioneer in the field of quantum computation, argues that
explanations have a fundamental place in the universe. They have unlimited
scope and power to cause change, and the quest to improve them is the basic
regulating principle not only of science but of all successful human endeavor.
This stream of ever improving explanations has infinite reach, according to
Deutsch: we are subject only to the laws of physics, and they impose no upper
boundary to what we can eventually understand, control, and achieve. In his
previous book, The Fabric of Reality, Deutsch describe the four deepest strands
of existing knowledge-the theories of evolution, quantum physics, knowledge,
and computation-arguing jointly they reveal a unified fabric of reality. In
this new book, he applies that worldview to a wide range of issues and unsolved
problems, from creativity and free will to the origin and future of the human
species. Filled with startling new conclusions about human choice, optimism,
scientific explanation, and the evolution of culture, The Beginning of Infinity
is a groundbreaking book that will become a classic of its kind.
