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David Deutsch on Optimism

Royal Society of Arts · 46.2K views · 2015-11-17 · 7:00

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Overview

An excerpt from an RSA event in which physicist David Deutsch makes the case for optimism as a driver of progress in the 21st century. It is a short highlight of a longer discussion.

On Hacker News

Pointed to as an antidote to pessimism about the future, tied to Deutsch's ideas in The Beginning of Infinity.

Recommended by 2 HN people across 2 months · HN mentions 2018–2022

Topics

Futurism & technology and societyPhilosophy & ethics
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david deutschoptimismenlightenmentknowledgefuture

What people said

ridewinter · 2019-10 · Strong recommendation

I encourage everyone pessimistic about our future to learn about David Deutsch's infinite optimism: [VIDEO]

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nubero · 2022-08 · Recommendation

You need to read “The Beginning of Infinity” by David Deutsch. It will help clear up all the muddled thinking I see going on when I read those lines of yours. Edit: You can also go here and watch this: [VIDEO] I still recommend the book though.

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trukterious · 2018-10 · Reference

Say we were to crash potentially earth-destroying asteroids into the moon and then offer free mining rights to companies on a first-to-get-there basis. I think we would still hear a a cacophony of moral objections. A spirit of pessimism seems to be hanging over us these days: [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by Royal Society of Arts, played through YouTube.

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