wb_sunny Optimism

Rational optimism and progress

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"The world doesn't just contain optimists and pessimists, and wise and unwise technology users. It contains enemies of civilization as well. And knowledge is impartial. It can be used for good or evil. But the enemies of civilization all necessarily have one thing in common. They are wrong. And so they fear error correction and truth. And that's why they resist changes in their ideas, which makes them less creative and slower to innovate. So our defense against the existential danger from malevolent uses of technology, the only defense, is speed. The good guys must use their only advantage to stay ahead."

— Deutsch, David

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"Everything that is not forbidden by laws of nature is achievable, given the right knowledge."

— Deutsch, David event 2011

menu_book The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World

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"Optimism is, in the first instance, a way of explaining failure, not prophesying success. It says that there is no fundamental barrier, no law of nature or supernatural decree, preventing progress."

— Deutsch, David event 2011

menu_book The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World

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"Problems are soluble. Given the right knowledge, any problem can be solved. The key is that we must be open to creating that knowledge through conjecture and criticism."

— Deutsch, David event 2011

menu_book The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World

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"The future is open. It is not predetermined and thus cannot be predicted — except by accident. The possibilities that lie in the future are infinite."

— Popper, Karl event 1994

menu_book The Myth of the Framework: In Defence of Science and Rationality