You know who Paul Krugman is -- but who's this David Deutsch guy?
Well, he's one of the most intelligent physicists working right now to
create a quantum computer. Deutsch is way up there in the stratosphere,
but he's such an intellectually engaging guy that he takes the time to
tell us about his mental adventures. I could go on and on about how much
I enjoy Deutsch's writing, but I'd like to make a point.
Today on his blog, Krugman talked about the difference between the liberal and conservative mindset. Why is their approach to reality so different? Here's an excerpt:
Today on his blog, Krugman talked about the difference between the liberal and conservative mindset. Why is their approach to reality so different? Here's an excerpt:
One possible answer would be that liberals and conservatives are very different kinds of people — that liberalism goes along with a skeptical, doubting — even self-doubting — frame of mind; “a liberal is someone who won’t take his own side in an argument.”
Since I'm reading "The Beginning of Infinity"
by Deutsch, I couldn't help but notice the concordance between this
notion and one of Deutsch's primary premises in the book. Deutsch
believes that the launching point for infinity -- the point beyond which
humanity soars in soon-to-be-discovered ways -- is the willingness to
call out untruths wherever and whenever we see them.
A
society without error-correction will always go nowhere. Look toward
faith for a great example of a tradition that is hidebound and
calcifying. If you can't question the tenets of your religion, and
update them in light of new discoveries, then your faith is worth
nothing. It is unconnected to the coming "infinity".
Even our computers operate with the understanding that there will be errors. Error
correction is built into the software that we use every day. And in
countries where the populace can vote down an insane idea, there is also
a form of error correction. Contrast this with the ruling ethos of
Saudi Arabia, for instance. There, you can't question anything. This is a
society that will fail. Staying the same is no guarantee of future
viability -- quite the contrary. The world is always changing.
So
I was happy to see Krugman hone in on this crucial difference between
Democrats and Republicans. We (Democrats) see errors and want to correct
them. They (Republicans) don't. The future belongs to those who are
willing to question everything.
(And hey, wasn't that a popular hippie phrase back in the day? Question everything.
Question authority. Yup, I remember seeing those phrases and they are
indeed a form of error correction. Hippies got a lot of things right.)
