David Deutsch

Quotes are word for word from the source.

• Thought as error correction

  “That's the whole point of what human thought is: it's error correction. Therefore, it will take more than just a cosmic ray hit to make the difference between deciding something yes or no.”

  Our noteDavid discusses how human decision-making works within the multiverse.

• Change across universes

  “You change yourself gradually over time. It's exactly the same in different universes. In different universes, you value different things.”

  Our noteDavid compares personal change over time to variations across the multiverse.

• Universal laws

  “There's no such thing as the laws of physics for our universe. There's just the laws of physics.”

  Our noteDavid argues that physics applies to the entire multiverse, not just our observable part.

• Problem solving focus

  “As a physicist, I'm interested in what the laws of physics tell us is so, rather than in philosophical reasoning about things, unless they impinge on a problem that I have.”

  Our noteDavid describes his pragmatic approach to philosophy and physics.

• Rules and Rights

  “the functioning of rights in political systems can't possibly depend on the system knowing who is right in a given dispute: it must follow rules, and these rules are never perfect.”

  Our noteDavid explains why political systems must rely on evolving rules rather than individual judgment.

• Defining Institutions

  “By institutions, I don't mean buildings like the Supreme Court building or something. I mean the manner of thinking: in the case of the Supreme Court, the manner of thinking that's shared by hundreds of millions of Americans”

  Our noteDavid clarifies that institutions are shared expectations and ways of thinking, not just physical structures.

• Standardization versus diversity

  “Any kind of standardization is the opposite of diversity. Just like I say you should have disobedience lessons in schools, so you should have unstandardizing objectives for science education and for how you run scientific research.”

  Our noteDavid Deutsch discusses the negative impact of standardized testing and the need for diversity in education and research.

• Matching AI speed

  “if somebody builds a computer that can think faster than the brain, then we can use that very computer or that very technology to make our thinking go just as fast as that.”

  Our noteHe argues that any computational advantage in AI can eventually be integrated into human cognition.

• Unlimited horizons

  “The fact that our horizons are unlimited, does not guarantee that we will get anywhere and that we won't start declining tomorrow. I don't think we are currently declining.”

  Our noteDavid discusses whether the recent economic and research slowdown implies a limit to human progress.

• Rational decision making

  “The rational thing for a layperson to do is to take seriously the prevailing scientific theory.”

  Our noteHe explains how non-experts should approach scientific knowledge.