The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World (77 page)

anthropic reasoning
98
–
104
,
105
,
177
–
80
,
452
–
6

anthropic principle
98

as an explanation of fine-tuning
98
–
103
,
177
–
80
,
452
,
453

and infinite sets
177
–
80

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

anti-realism
15
,
313
,
314

antibiotics
436

apes/aping
60
,
405
,
407
–
9
,
410

see also
imitation

Appollonius
132
–
3
,
166

apportionment paradoxes
326
–
33
;
see also
no-go theorems

Archimedes
132
,
133
,
166

Arecibo observatory
72

Ares
246
,
248

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

arrogance
45
,
51
–
2
,
314

Arrow, Kenneth
336
–
7

Arrow’s theorem
336
–
8
,
340
–
41
,
343
,
345

art

artistic problems
355
–
6

artistic values
366
,
388

attraction of
357
–
8

painting
219
,
356
,
357

pure and applied
365
–
6

as self-expression
366
–
7

utilitarian theories of
366

see also
aesthetics
;
music

artificial evolution
158
–
63

artificial intelligence (AI)
137
–
8
,
148
–
63

chatbots and
150
,
152
,
158
,
160

and creativity
148
–
63

Elbot
program
151
–
2
,
156

Eliza
program
148
–
9
,
161

and humour
157

and the simulation argument
455

and the Singularity
456
–
7

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

astronomy
34
–
7
,
58
,
68
,
443

and astrology
42

and scientific instruments bringing us closer to reality
34
–
41

astrophysicists
60
,
72

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

Athena
217
,
238
,
246

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 lasers
266
,
290

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

atomic configurations
109
–
10

and people
306

of a stratum
293

structure of
445

see
also
particles, elementary

Attenborough, David
419
,
421

attraction
357
–
60

and evolution
360
–
65

audiences
14
,
17
,
19
,
259
,
279
,
357
,
369
,
403
,
409
–
10

Augustine of Hippo
82

Australia
19
,
432

authority

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

bacteria
82
,
145
,
162
,
436

Balinski, Michel
334

Balinski and Young’s theorem
334
,
339

Basalla, George
394

‘bat, what is it like to be a’ (Nagel)
367

Bateson, Patrick
320
,
321

Bear, Greg
202
–
3

beauty

and attraction
357
–
9
,
360
–
65

and elegance
355

objectivity of
122
,
353
–
68

truth and
355

two kinds of
364
,
365

‘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

behaviour parsing
407
–
9

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

Big Crunch
450
–
51

biogeography
426
–
42

biological weapons
196
,
204
,
205

biosphere
44
–
5
,
48
–
51
,
69
–
70

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

biotechnology
95
,
196

see also
biological weapons

birds

and music
356

nesting
89
–
91
,
145

reach and evolution of adaptations
54
–
5

see also
parrots

bits (information)
187

Black Death
208
,
385
,
437

black holes
2
,
3
,
173
,
178
,
203

Blackmore, Susan
394
–
5
,
402
,
404
,
415

blind spot
80

Bohm, David
310

Bohr, Neils
308

Boltzmann, Ludwig
255
,
312

Book of Nature
4

Bostrom, Nick
453

Botticelli, Sandro
219

Bradshaw, Elizabeth
320

brains
78
,
379
,
415

adaptation, and knowledge in human brains
78
–
9
,
95
,
105
–
6

add-ons
456
,
457

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

Byrne, Richard
407
,
460

Caesar, Julius
423

calculus
164
,
194

calendars
7

cancer
294
,
437

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

cathode-ray tubes
433
–
5

causation
118
,
300
–
301
,
428

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 interpretation
38
–
9

of proxies
72
,
317

of instantiations of abstractions
114
–
15
,
256

of universes
179

chatbots
150
,
152
,
158
,
160

chemistry
13
,
43
,
46
,
57
–
8
,
61
–
2
,
67
,
73
,
96
–
7
,
142
–
3
,
261
,
301
–
2
,
359
,
362
,
425