Entries in bold refer to defining or principal occurrences.
641 argument (Hofstadter) 115–18, 185
see also domino computer
abstractions 114–24, 166, 185, 266–7, 447
abstract replicators 95, 114, 266–7
abstraction from experience 16, 128, 129
confusions of abstract attributes with physical ones of the same name 182–8, 343
people as abstract information 59, 130
Achilles and the tortoise 182–3
creationism and the designers of 79–81
of creativity see creativity
by humans as universal constructors 58–60
and knowledge 55, 56–65, 78–81, 88; see also creation of knowledge
the reach of human adaptations 56–65
through technology 57–60, 61, 436; see also automation
Adleman, Leonard 145
Aeschylus 216
aesthetics 367
human appreciation of beauty 353–4, 356–8, 359, 362–7
the objectivity of beauty 122, 353–68
see also art
see also old age
agriculture 48, 50, 57, 207, 234, 320, 422, 431, 437, 438, 440
AI see artificial intelligence
algorithms 35, 36, 117, 295, 362
evolutionary 160
see also computer programs
Alhazen 220
Amadeus (Shaffer) 353
see also equivocation
analogue computers 140
Analytical Engine 136–8, 139, 140
animal minds 154, 268, 320–21, 358–9, 407, 410
anthropic reasoning 98–104, 105, 177–80, 452–6
anthropic principle 98
as an explanation of fine-tuning 98–103, 177–80, 452, 453
anthropocentrism 42–4, 51, 53–4, 75, 111, 155, 446
anti-anthropocentrism 43–4, 51; see also Mediocrity, Principle of
in conceptions of infinity 165–6, 181
in the interpretation of quantum theory 308–9, 319
in science fiction 262
see also parochialism
anthropomorphism 59, 148; see also animal minds
anti-rational memes see memes, anti-rational
antibiotics 436
apes/aping 60, 405, 407–9, 410
see also imitation
apportionment paradoxes 326–33; see also no-go theorems
Arecibo observatory 72
argument from design see under design
Aristarchus of Samos 27
Aristocles see Plato
Aristodemus 83
Aristophanes 216
Aristotle 216
arithmetic 128–32, 135, 136, 141, 233, 240, 252, 332, 374
Arrow’s theorem 336–8, 340–41, 343, 345
utilitarian theories of 366
see also aesthetics; music
artificial intelligence (AI) 137–8, 148–63
chatbots and 150, 152, 158, 160
and humour 157
and the simulation argument 455
Turing test 148, 149–50, 151, 152–3, 154–6, 158, 161, 320
The Ascent of Man 419, 440–441, 460
Asimov, Isaac
‘Jokester’ 372
The End of Eternity 443
asteroids 207
astrology 42
and astrology 42
and scientific instruments bringing us closer to reality 34–41
as representative of people 98–103, 177–80, 183, 452–3; see also anthropic reasoning
astrophysics 1–3, 6, 46–7, 70–71, 101, 275, 450–51
see also cosmology
Athens 83, 119, 216–18, 220–21, 427, 449
and ‘a dream of Socrates’ 224–5, 229–35, 244–51
Golden Age of 216–17, 254, 386
atomic bomb see nuclear weapons
atomic physics 312
atoms 43, 67, 70, 109–10, 258, 266, 288–91, 298, 301, 302, 312, 324
affected by waves of differentiation 274–5, 298
and people 306
of a stratum 293
structure of 445
see also particles, elementary
audiences 14, 17, 19, 259, 279, 357, 369, 403, 409–10
Augustine of Hippo 82
the Enlightenment’s rebellion against 12–13, 22–3, 32–3, 65
and knowledge 4, 8–13, 22–3, 123, 209, 227, 310, 311, 314, 356, 391, 395
see also justificationism
automation 36, 39, 57–8, 62, 76, 135–6, 141, 158, 160, 320, 438, 456
axis-tilt theory 23–5, 26–8, 44, 68, 458
Babbage, Charles 135, 136, 137, 139, 148
Babylonian numerals 131
background knowledge 16
Bacon, Roger 220
Balinski, Michel 334
Balinski and Young’s theorem 334, 339
Basalla, George 394
‘bat, what is it like to be a’ (Nagel) 367
beauty
and elegance 355
truth and 355
‘because I say so’ 311, 391–2, 395
see also memes, anti-rational; quantum theory: shut-up-and-calculate interpretation
Beethoven, Ludwig van 355, 356
beginning of infinity, introductory explanation of concept vii–viii; see also 443
behaviourism 157–8, 163, 316–20
Bell, Jocelyn 38
Big Bang 3, 6, 11, 96, 175, 197, 450–51
afterglow (microwave radiation) 46, 47, 68
in a parallel universe 263
biological weapons 196, 204, 205
automated environmental transformation 57–9
environmental control and the human reach 57–63
environments and knowledge 74–5
evolution and the biosphere–culture analogy 371–2
and fine-tuning of the laws of physics 97
global warming and climate change 437–41
and the problem of suffering/evil 80
see also ecosystems
see also biological weapons
birds
and music 356
reach and evolution of adaptations 54–5
see also parrots
bits (information) 187
black holes 2, 3, 173, 178, 203
Blackmore, Susan 394–5, 402, 404, 415
blind spot 80
Bohm, David 310
Bohr, Neils 308
Book of Nature 4
Bostrom, Nick 453
Botticelli, Sandro 219
Bradshaw, Elizabeth 320
adaptation, and knowledge in human brains 78–9, 95, 105–6
and the doomsday argument 455–6
encoding of knowledge in 50, 375–7
evolutionary process of creativity in 373
the human brain and scientific knowledge 72, 189
and the understanding of abstractions 119
British Enlightenment see Enlightenment: British
Bronowski, Jacob 121, 355, 419–20, 423, 441, 460
Caesar, Julius 423
calendars 7
Cantor, Georg 166, 170–71, 181, 182, 195
carbon-dioxide emissions 437–41
Carroll, Lewis: Through the Looking Glass 282
Carter, Brandon 96
catalysts 143
celestial sphere theory 8, 10, 112, 133
cells 39–40, 58, 95, 294, 372, 376, 384, 393
single- and multicellular organisms 144
certainty see fallibility
Chaerephon, and ‘a dream of Socrates’ 243–9, 251, 252, 253
chains
of instantiations of abstractions 114–15, 256
of universes 179
chemistry 13, 43, 46, 57–8, 61–2, 67, 73, 96–7, 142–3, 261, 301–2, 359, 362, 425
humans as chemical scum 44–8, 51, 72, 73
apportionment paradoxes 326–33
decision-making and social choice see decision-making
devising an electoral system 338–40
social-choice theory 335, 337–8, 342–3, 345, 352
applied to an individual mind 340–41
voters’ 342
cholera 207
cimenti 14
Athenian 216–18, 224–5, 229–33, 244–51, 246
of Easter Island 418, 419–23, 430–31
extra-terrestrial civilizations 202–4
present and pre-Enlightenment 204
survival 62–3, 196–7, 202, 204–5, 206–8
vulnerability of 201, 202–3, 207–8, 436; see also disasters, natural
see also societies
Colossus computers 139
common sense 266
mistaken 5, 26, 82, 122, 262, 279, 280, 340, 397, 403
see also reason
complementarity, principle of 308–9
complexity see simplicity and complexity
computer programs 36, 115–18, 129, 414
AI see artificial intelligence
evolutionary algorithms 160
and the simulation argument 453–5
computers/computation 36, 60, 95, 107, 119, 194
analogue 140
Analytical Engine 136–8, 139, 140
Colossus 139
coloured displays 434
computational universality 135–42, 189, 191
computer science and mathematical proof 184
connection between physics and computation 189–92
DNA computer 145
ENIAC 139
Hofstadter’s domino computer 115–17, 118
and physics 187, 189–92, 295–6
programs see computer programs
quantum computation 187, 295–6
and the silicon chip 139
and the simulation argument 453–5
supercomputer simulation predictions 439
Conan Doyle, Arthur 10
Condorcet, Nicolas de 66
configurational entities 266–7
conformity 7, 217, 218, 231, 382, 402, 413
Congress, US, apportionment 326–33
conjecture 2, 9, 10, 17, 26, 78, 239–40
and abstractions 119
creative 412
and criticism 192, 239–40, 412; see also criticism
memes as conjectural explanations 412
conjuring tricks 10, 14–16, 17, 18–19, 29, 41, 79, 82, 113, 155, 214, 315, 324, 410
visions, perception and 229, 241–2
consciousness 153–4, 157, 162–3, 318, 415
test for judging claims to have understood 154
conspicuous consumption 433
constants of nature see physics, constants of
Constitution, US 335
and apportionment paradoxes 326–33
constructors, universal 58–60, 62, 76, 429
Continental Enlightenment 65–6, 313
continuum 43, 140–2, 159, 164, 181, 274, 298, 450
infinity of the 164, 170, 182, 195
control 45, 55–6, 62, 69–71, 88, 111, 130, 134–9, 159, 241–2, 384, 391–2, 415, 459
convergence
between Spaceship Earth and the Principle of Mediocrity 45, 53
convergent evolution 95
and error correction 350
upon the truth 231, 257, 350, 368
Conway, John 166
Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory 308–10, 312, 315, 322, 324, 325
copying
memes not replicated by imitation 402–10
replicators see memes; replicators
of theories with objective truth 353
one-to-one 167, 170, 171–2, 181, 193
tallying 128, 129, 130–31, 134, 140–41, 193, 356
cosmic significance see significance
cosmology 68, 81, 113, 445, 450–53
evolutionary cosmologies 178–9
see also astrophysics
cow, size of 35
and the argument from design 83–7
impeded by bad philosophy 305–25, 448
causing convergence 350
and error correction 140–2, 147, 271, 302
fine-tuning of the universe and 96–103, 104, 106
as a transition process from problems to better problems 446–7
and the limitation on predictability 104, 193, 197–8, 212
not affected by distance 275, 427
open-ended/unbounded vii, 60–65, 66, 67, 69, 81, 146, 165, 175, 450–52
requirements for 61
spark for 75
spontaneous generation and 81–3
creationism 79–81, 86, 104, 193
fine-tuning as supposed evidence for 97
and spontaneous generation 82
see also Paley, William
creativity 30
artificial 148–63; see also artificial intelligence (AI)
artistic 355–7; see also aesthetics
creative conjecture 412; see also conjecture
creatively changing the options 351
in discovering new explanations 7–8
as an evolutionary process in the brain 373
evolution of 398–400, 402–15, 416
mutual enhancement of meme transmission and 400
needed to improve explanations 342
puzzle of what use it was in non-innovating cultures 398–402, 410–15
as a hideous joke played on humans 416
criterion of demarcation (Popper) 14 see also testability
conjecture and 58, 192, 203, 239–40, 352, 412
immunity from 230–3, 310, 316, 324, 325, 346, 347
suppressed by anti-rational memes 391, 393
by testing see experimental testing
tradition of 13, 23, 31–3, 209, 216, 220, 231, 308, 390, 431
as variation of information 78
crystals 83
liquid 434
cubes, notional, in space 47, 66–8, 74–5
and the biosphere–culture analogy 371–2
and dynamic societies 387–8, 424
meme evolution 372–8, 400, 413
rational and anti-rational memes 388–90
and static societies 380, 383–6, 414
subcultures 393
culture 397 see also cultural evolution
cures 11, 153, 213, 272, 422, 437, 455
curvature of spacetime 107, 112, 183–4, 312, 450
dark energy 451
Darwin, Charles 80, 82, 87, 91
Marx on 371
neo-Darwinism 89–96, 103, 104–5
Dawkins, Richard 52–3, 56–7, 92, 93, 279
argument from personal incredulity 164
Haldane–Dawkins ‘queerer-than-we-can-suppose’ argument 53, 56, 59, 81
death 48, 63, 69, 436, 453, 459
evil of 213
fear of 84
decision-making 335
conventional model of 341
democratic 344–5; see also voting
and Popper’s criterion of ridding ourselves of bad governments without violence 344–51, 352
social-choice theory and 335, 337–8, 342–3, 345
society-wide planning and 335–51
deconstructionism 314
deduction 5
deep space 47–8, 66–9, 71–2, 293
deforestation 418, 420–21, 422
democratic decision-making in elections 344–5
see also voting; plurality voting 346–50
design 44, 125, 131, 139, 144, 155, 159–162, 201, 357, 367
appearance of 44, 50, 84–6, 87, 97, 98, 106, 357, 363–4
creationism and designers 43, 49, 51, 73, 79–81, 97
deterministic laws 263, 265, 267, 268, 270, 275, 276, 279, 305
Deutsch, David, The Fabric of Reality 109–10, 450, 460
Diamond, Jared 425–9, 430, 442
dictatorship see tyranny
meaning of ‘dictator’ in Arrow’s theorem 343
no-dictator axiom 336
Difference Engine, The (Gibson and Sterling) 137
differentiation
calculus 164
of histories in a multiverse 273–5, 276–9, 287–8
decoherence and 285
interference and 283–7, 291, 293
rate of growth of distinct histories 287; see also waves of differentiation
disasters, natural 42, 49, 63, 200, 202, 206–7
discrete variables 128, 140, 142, 274, 305, 450
discrete/continuous dichotomy 140, 142, 274, 298, 450
disease 59, 63, 196, 200, 213, 294, 385, 437
cholera 207
cures 11, 153, 213, 272, 422, 437, 455
pandemics/epidemics 196, 208, 418, 436; see also Black Death above
DNA 56–7, 62, 67, 78, 95, 162, 375, 376
computer 145
damage 294
and the genetic code’s jump to universality 143–6, 162–3
in pollen 360
dogmas/dogmatism 13, 23, 26, 66, 122, 445, 447
domino computer (Hofstadter) 115–17, 118, 185, 358
doppelgangers 258, 263–4, 265, 270–72
Doyle, Arthur Conan 10
Dragon’s Egg (Forward) 97
dream
hallucination 301
Popperian epistemology taught in a ‘dream of Socrates’ 223–54
reality and experience as a waking dream 241–2, 252–3
economic forecasts 371, 437, 439
artificial/virtual 68
see also biosphere
Edison, Thomas 36, 41, 158, 341
see also inspiration/perspiration
education 123, 203–4, 210, 217–18, 230–31, 244, 247, 252, 254, 311, 377–8, 382, 389, 391, 392, 393, 400, 409, 431, 435
academic knowledge 4, 255, 369, 393, 446
because I say so 311, 391–2, 395
university 34–6, 158, 255, 308, 309, 403, 406, 409, 433, 446
see also fun; Popper on instruction
Einstein, Albert 60, 104, 113, 255, 256, 307, 310, 312, 446–7, 451
explanation of planetary motion 112, 113
general theory of relativity 29, 61, 107, 312
and the problem of quantum gravity 449–50
special theory of relativity 199
and democratic decision-making 344–5
plurality voting system 346–50
see also proportional representation
electron(s) 70, 108, 289–91, 293, 294, 298, 324, 454
field 291
microscope 39
elegance 3, 25, 32, 42, 94, 199, 355, 367, 387
elementary particles see particles, elementary
elements
ancient theory of 14
formation of 1, 2, 40, 50, 61–2, 96
see also chatbots
emergence 104, 108–11, 118–19, 123, 156, 292, 302–3, 305, 395
causation as emergent 118
levels of emergence and of explanation 114, 116, 118, 123, 124, 130, 141, 293, 373, 444, 459
empiricism 4–29, 32, 119, 122, 155, 165, 311–12, 358, 361, 411
and the deceptiveness of the senses 8, 14, 301
failed to eliminate authority 8–10; see also justificationism
the falseness of 7–8, 32, 39, 120, 209–10, 403
and the history of ideas 311–12, 314–16, 325, 345, 354
Horgan’s misconceptions based on 448
and instrumentalism 15
mistaken idea of theory-free observation 39
see also knowledge
end-of-the-world prophet 14, 21–2; see also Malthusian prophetic fallacy
dark 451
law of conservation of 109
needed for knowledge creation 61–2, 146
of photons in different universes 297–8
Engels, Friedrich 426, 428, 430, 442
ENIAC (computer) 139
Enlightenment, the 31
and progress 12–14, 22–3, 29, 32–3, 65–6, 133, 203, 390–91
and the scientific revolution 12, 14, 23, 32, 53
and the evolution of memes 390–93
mini-enlightenments 23, 31, 216–21
and our view of the Earth 443
utopian (Continental) 65–6, 313
entanglement 284–5, 293, 295, 296–7, 303, 308
entanglement information 281, 289–90, 307
protection of qubits from 295
time as an entanglement phenomenon 299
environment see biosphere
epidemics/pandemics 196, 208, 418, 436
see also Black Death
and ‘a dream of Socrates’ 226–43, 245, 252–3
empiricism see empiricism
see also knowledge
equivocation 309, 318, 325, 448
Eratosthenes of Cyrene 443, 458
error correction 94, 136, 140–42, 147, 192, 209, 210, 211, 222, 271, 302, 322, 323, 328, 389, 395, 409, 411–12
and convergence 350
requires digital information 140–42
in plurality voting 348
and universality 147
see also fooling ourselves
Euclid
theory of geometry 42, 183, 184
Euripides 216
Everett, Hugh 310
interpretation of quantum theory 310
evidence 22, 25, 27–8, 39, 49, 73, 75, 103
circumstantial 10
as an essential requirement for knowledge creation 61, 67
we are inundated with 61–2, 66
literally within arm’s reach 62
in philosophy 209
of our senses 4
is the same throughout the universe 62, 67–9
evils 199–200, 212, 213, 221, 319, 395, 435
evil of death 213
co-evolution 360–62, 400, 414–15
convergent 95
of creativity see creativity: evolution of
of culture see cultural evolution
Darwinian 105
of the human species 48, 55, 394, 412–13
natural selection 52, 56, 78, 87,
not necessarily adaptive 91
of non-explanatory knowledge 94
‘survival of the fittest’ 91, 371
see also adaptation; Lamarckism
evolutionary cosmologies 178–9
see also regress, infinite
experience, sensory see sensory experience
experimental testing 13–14, 26
falsification through 26
Galileo and 14
principle of testability 14, 26, 111
explanationless theories 15, 16, 158, 210, 316, 318–19, 320–23, 325
see also philosophy, bad; inexplicability; rules of thumb
explanations 30
bad (easy to vary) 19–22, 25–6, 29, 31, 53–4, 64, 80, 83, 97, 101–2, 150, 154, 174, 199–200, 260, 264, 282, 311, 324
are conjectural 2, 9, 10, 17, 26, 191–3
creating new problems 64, 76, 350, 422
and decision-making 341
discrete options between 342
and elegance 355
evolution of explanatory theories 94
falsified 26
good (hard to vary) vii, 6, 24, 25, 28, 31, 78–9, 94, 156, 209, 257, 306, 341, 342, 353
imitation and 410
instrumentalist conception of 13
open-ended stream of explanatory knowledge 60–65, 67, 69, 81, 175, 450, 457–9
the quest for good explanations vii, 22–3, 26, 39, 314
reach of 1–33, 59–60, 75, 78–9, 105, 118, 123, 166–7, 197, 220, 458–9
and reality 6
reductive 109–10, 116, 361, 371, 429
scientific theories as 3, 14, 113
of seasons 19–21, 23–5, 26–9, 42, 44, 458
and technology, fundamental link with 55–6, 58
universal explainers 123, 157, 415
explicability 53–4, 60, 64, 103, 108, 111, 121, 146, 193, 200, 213, 260, 264–5, 270, 272, 282, 300–301, 358, 445–6, 459
extinction of species 48, 49, 90, 95–6, 428, 436, 437
caused by their own evolution 49, 55, 92
hedge against extinction of human species 62–3
human escapes from 49, 196–7, 204–5, 206–7
mass extinction events 49, 95–6
and storing the genes of endangered species 95
extraterrestrials 2, 60, 145, 322, 414
art and 354
detecting life on distant planets 68, 73
extraterrestrial civilizations 79, 101, 202–4, 399
search for intelligent (SETI) 72–3, 179–80
see also Fermi’s problem
eyes 1, 2, 3, 11, 37, 40, 46, 52, 54–5, 59, 68, 80, 83–4, 85, 226, 229, 231, 240n, 241, 252, 261, 294, 316, 355, 383
Fabric of Reality, The (Deutsch) 109–10, 450, 460
apportionment paradoxes 326–33, 334
misconceptions in social-choice theory 345–6
Fall from Grace 52
fallibilism 9, 32, 64, 65, 193, 211, 232, 233, 395, 446, 448
fallibility 66, 135, 192, 226, 233–5, 240, 242, 252–3, 254–5, 311, 317, 413
see also fallibilism
farming see agriculture
Fascist ideologies 371
see also Nazism
Fatherland (Harris) 259
FDP (Free Democratic Party, Germany) 339–40
Fermi, Enrico 101
Feynman, Richard 22, 39, 101, 209, 305, 355, 444
see also science fiction
fine-tuning of the universe/laws of physics 96–103, 104, 105, 106, 111, 113, 294, 434
problems with anthropic explanation of 177–80, 195, 452, 453
fire 12, 50, 111, 202, 207, 400
see also elements, ancient theory of
first-past-the-post (plurality) voting system 346–50, 352
flagellants 385
Flew, Antony 97
flowers, and the objectivity of beauty 360–64
food
and co-evolution 360
supply 11, 48, 89, 206, 400, 408
see also agriculture
fooling ourselves, keep from 22, 209, 301, 317
deforestation 418, 420–21, 422
Forward, Robert: Dragon’s Egg 97
fossils 51, 95–6, 121, 292, 315–16
Free Democratic Party (FDP, Germany) 339–40
freedom 51, 217, 250, 343, 369, 392, 405, 457
French Revolution 66
Friedman, David 444
fundamental theory or phenomenon see significance
fungibility 265–9, 270, 272–305, 450
difficulty of imagining 269
diversity within 268, 278, 289
future
anthropic reasoning about the future 452–6
not yet imaginable 444
optimism and the desirable future 446–7
and the pessimistic view of bounded knowledge 198, 445–6, 447–9
and the shedding of parochialism 444–5
and the simulation argument 453–4
unpredictability of knowledge growth see under unpredictability
won’t resemble the past 5–7, 29, 31
see also prophecy
galaxies 2–3, 28, 34–40, 44–5, 58, 68, 101, 275, 281, 302
effects of dark energy on 451
effects of dark matter on 46
Milky Way 1, 2, 47, 70–71, 101, 202–3
space between see space, intergalactic
Galileo Galilei 14, 219–20, 390
gambler’s prophecy see prophecy
game theory see social-choice theory
gamma rays 68
Gauss, Carl Friedrich 183
genes 29, 43, 56–7, 58, 59, 78, 80, 89–92, 105–6, 142, 158, 315, 316, 364, 371, 378, 399
and co-evolution 360–64, 414–15
of endangered species 95
genetic code and the jump to universality 142–6, 162–3, 458
genetic engineering see biotechnology
genetic explanations of individual human attributes 317–19, 323, 356, 359, 401, 410, 429
knowledge implicit in 29, 50, 56–7, 59, 60, 72, 88, 111, 114, 366, 400
and memes 372–97, 404, 405, 407, 408, 413, 414
see also DNA; genomes; replicators
genomes 56–7, 144, 362, 364, 378, 379, 411
see also celestial sphere theory
geography
of Mars 5
of the universe 443
geometry 7, 23, 24, 42, 113, 119, 161, 183–4, 188, 230, 233, 240, 252
see also space, Euclidean; space, curvature of spacetime
Gibson, William: The Difference Engine 137
giraffes, evolution of the neck 88, 362
argument from design for existence of 83–7
creationism and 81
and mathematical infinities 166
gods 21, 26, 42, 43, 60, 64, 79, 80, 81, 97, 104, 203, 217, 243
golden age
Islamic 220
Grace, Fall from 52
gravitational effects of dark matter 46
gravitational energy 3
see also space, curvature of spacetime; relativity
Great Rift Valley 48, 50, 58, 69
guessing see conjecture
Gutenberg, Johannes 134
Hades 19
Haldane, John 53, 56, 59, 81, 95
hallucination 301
see also mirages
Hamilton, Alexander 330
Hanson, Norwood Russell 10n
Hanson, Robin 457
Harris, Robert: Fatherland 259
Harris, Roger 321
Hawking, Stephen 44, 45, 63, 175, 202, 203, 204, 208
Heisenberg, Werner 255, 289, 306–7, 309
Heisenberg uncertainty principle 289, 291, 303–4
Heraclitus 7
Hermes, and ‘a dream of Socrates’ 223–43
Herodotus 216
high-level phenomena 108–10, 114, 160, 300–301, 371
Infinity Hotel thought experiment 167–77, 181, 185–6, 195
Hill, Joseph Adna 334
historians of science 256
histories (sequences of events in a multiverse)
definition 265
differentiation/splitting of 273–5, 276–9, 285–8, 293–4
distinguished from universes 265
and entanglement information 281, 289–90
and explicability 301
and fungibility see fungibility
and interference 283–8, 291, 293
measurement and 307
multiplicity of histories between observations 308
rate of growth of distinct histories 288
rejoining of split histories 282–5
and strata 293
alternative-history fiction 259, 294
distinguished from ‘world’, ‘universe’ and ‘multiverse’ 265
of ideas 4, 5, 43, 216, 305–16, 428, 442 see also philosophy
of optimism 216
pessimism in 216
of philosophy 255
see also civilization; prehistory
Hofstadter, Douglas 115–18, 138, 149–50
Homo erectus 400
House of Representatives, US 326, 330, 331, 349–50
humanism 219
anthropocentrism see anthropocentrism
not supported by the biosphere 48–50
as channels of information flow 302
as chemical scum 44–8, 51, 72, 73
and the doomsday argument 455–6
escapes from extinction 49, 196–7, 204–5, 206–7
as glowing 46
human appearance 365
and matter 46
as problem-solvers 435; see also problem solving
the reach of human adaptations 56–65
significance of knowledge and 70–75, 76
as spark for knowledge creation 75
survival of civilization/species 49, 62–3, 196–7, 202, 204–5, 206–8
as universal constructors 58–60, 62, 429
see also people
humour 150, 151, 156–7, 174, 310, 355, 372–3, 374
origin and evolution of jokes 93, 372–3, 374, 388
Hunt, Terry 418
Huxley, Thomas 355
hydrogen 47, 56, 66, 73, 75, 96, 145, 290–91
ideas
conjectural see conjecture
replicating see memes
see also explanations
ignorance, infinite 447
see also fiction; science fiction
aping 405
impartiality see fairness
incredulity, argument from personal 164
indiscernibles, Leibniz’s doctrine of 265–6
induction see inductivism
inductivism 5–7, 9, 27, 30, 210, 220, 318, 340, 403
and Lamarckism 89, 106, 210, 411–12
principle of induction 5, 7, 28, 31
inexplicability 53–4, 104, 103, 264–5, 281–2, 445–6
see also supernatural
inexplicit knowledge 365, 367, 369, 374, 375, 380, 403–5, 408, 412, 414
and confusions of abstract attributes with physical ones of the same name 182–6
of the continuum 164, 170, 195
ideas with infinite reach 167–93
our infinite ignorance 447
infinite ignorance and potential for knowledge 447
the infinite reach of ideas 167–93
infinite regress 174–5, 178, 190, 194, 226, 341
infinite sets 102, 118, 122, 164, 167–80, 277, 453
Infinity Hotel thought experiment 167–77, 181, 185–6, 195
introduction to concept of beginning of vii–viii
mathematics and 164, 166, 167–77, 186
measuring instruments and 181
physics and 164, 173, 175, 177–81, 182–3, 193–4
potential 165
principled rejections of 132–3, 165–7, 459
religious objections to study of 166
uncountable 171–2, 177, 181, 182
see also Zeno’s mistake
information flow 238, 263, 265, 266, 281, 282, 292
people as channels of 302
in quantum theory 282, 287, 295, 304
see also histories (sequences of events in a multiverse)
innovation 125, 127, 133, 147, 197, 202, 204, 205, 392, 394, 398–401, 402, 410, 413–14, 435
and catastrophes 201
and criticism 222
suppression of 202, 204, 384, 416, 423, 427
see also universality, the jump to
insoluble problems 53, 193, 213
see also problems are soluble; undecidable questions
inspiration 36, 37, 41, 42, 58, 158–60, 333, 341, 440
inspiration/perspiration 36, 37, 41, 58, 76, 158–60, 341–2, 456
see also automation
instrumentalism 15–16, 26, 31, 110, 112, 210, 325, 356
see also behaviourism; finitism
instruments, scientific see measuring instruments
artificial see artificial intelligence (AI)
and explanations 30
extraterrestrial see extraterrestrials
see also fine-tuning
interference, quantum 282–8, 291, 293, 295–8, 301–2, 303
see also Mach–Zehnder interferometers
interpretation 36, 45, 65, 115, 127, 144, 164, 178, 216, 219, 253, 255, 301, 311, 318–19, 329n, 330, 337, 344, 423, 428–9, 436
of experiences 7–10, 17, 18, 22, 30, 38, 151, 317, 359, 369, 370, 403, 404, 407, 410, 448
of quantum theory 263, 266, 306–10, 312, 322, 325, 460
split from prediction in scientific theories 315–16, 323, 324–5, 449
introspection 154
Jacquard, Joseph Marie 134
Jefferson, Thomas 330
joke, hideous, played on humans 416
jokes see humour
jump to universality see universality
justificationism 9, 31, 120, 187, 189
see also authority and knowledge
Kant, Immanuel 183
Keats, John 355
Kennedy, John F. 215
Kepler, Johannes 112
Kepler’s laws 112, 113, 256, 446
knowledge 78
in adaptation 55, 56–65, 78–81, 88
and the problem of creationism 79–81
and authority see authority and knowledge
creation of see creation of knowledge
and deduction 5
certain see fallibilism
and ‘a dream of Socrates’ 226–43, 245, 252–3
effects on an environment 74–5; see also under biosphere
encoded/embodied in matter 50, 56, 74–5, 266–7, 375–7
explanatory see explanations; scientific theories
genetic see DNA; genes; genomes
inexplicit see inexplicit knowledge
infinite ignorance as potential for 447
moral see moral knowledge
non-explanatory 29, 73, 78, 94; see also inexplicit knowledge; rules of thumb
objective vii, 15, 31, 122, 185, 193, 203, 209, 221–2, 226, 236, 238, 242, 253, 255, 308, 314, 345, 350, 353–4, 358–68, 388, 394, 448
Plato’s theory of 119, 252, 252–3
as a replicator 95, 114, 266–7
significance of people and 70–75, 76
see also epistemology
Kuhn, Thomas 313
Kurrild-Klitgaard, Peter 339
Lagrange, Joseph-Louis 198–9, 206, 445, 446
Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste 87–8, 89
Lamarckism 87–9, 96, 103, 105, 106, 158, 210, 376, 411, 446
language 93, 94, 125–6, 142, 154, 268, 280, 309, 311, 315, 323, 363, 365, 366, 369–70, 405, 407, 409, 413, 414, 428
other than natural language 144, 154, 159–62, 199, 292, 361, 365, 366, 399
see also universality: the jump to; writing systems
Laplace, Pierre Simon 133
lasers 73, 266, 267, 273–4, 294, 393, 446
see also atomic lasers
laws of nature see nature, laws of
laws of physics see physics, laws of
Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm 137, 164, 181, 199–200, 265–6, 268, 269
Leonardo da Vinci 219
liberty see freedom
life-support system 44–51, 45, 64, 71 see also Spaceship Earth; sustainability