000			02941cam a22003734a 4500
001			2011004120
003			DLC
005			20250203135727.0
008			110303s2011 nyua b 001 0 eng
010			_a 2011004120
020			_a9780670022755 (hardback)
020			_a0670022756 (hardback)
035			_a(OCoLC)ocn682892569
040			_aDLC _cDLC _dYDX _dBTCTA _dYDXCP _dABG _dDLC
042			_apcc
049			_aEY8Z
050	0	0	_aQ175.32.E97 _bD48 2011
082	0	0	_a501 _222
084			_aSCI075000 _2bisacsh
100	1		_aDeutsch, David, _d1953-
245	1	4	_aThe beginning of infinity : _bexplanations that transform the world / _cDavid Deutsch.
260			_aNew York : _bViking, _c2011.
300			_avii, 487 p. : _bill. ; _c24 cm.
505	0		_aThe reach of explanations -- Closer to reality -- The spark -- Creation -- The reality of abstractions -- The jump to universality -- Artificial creativity -- A window on infinity -- Optimism -- A dream of Socrates -- The multiverse -- A physicist's history of bad philosophy -- Choices -- Why are flowers beautiful? -- The evolution of culture -- The evolution of creativity -- Unsustainable -- The beginning.
520			_a"A bold and all-embracing exploration of the nature and progress of knowledge from one of today's great thinkers. 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"-- _cProvided by publisher.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 460-461) and index.
650		0	_aExplanation.
650		0	_aInfinite. _92733
650		0	_aScience _xPhilosophy.
948			_au333949
949			_aQ175.32 .E97 D48 2011 _wLC _c1 _hEY8Z _i33039001099174
596			_a1
903			_a20848
999			_c20848 _d20848