The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World (81 page)

management
423
,
424
–
5
,
430

Forward, Robert:
Dragon’s Egg
97

fossils
51
,
95
–
6
,
121
,
292
,
315
–
16

Free Democratic Party (FDP, Germany)
339
–
40

freedom
51
,
217
,
250
,
343
,
369
,
392
,
405
,
457

French Revolution
66

Freyr myth
20
,
21
,
25

Friedman, David
444

fun
35
,
36
–
7
,
41
,
115
,
149

fundamental theory or phenomenon
see
significance

fungibility
265
–
9
,
270
,
272
–
305
,
450

difficulty of imagining
269

diversity within
268
,
278
,
289

future

anthropic reasoning about the future
452
–
6

of creativity
358
,
415
–
16

not yet imaginable
444

optimism and the desirable future
446
–
7

and the pessimistic view of bounded knowledge
198
,
445
–
6
,
447
–
9

and the shedding of parochialism
444
–
5

and the simulation argument
453
–
4

unpredictability of knowledge growth
see under
unpredictability

won’t resemble the past
5
–
7
,
29
,
31

see also
prophecy

galaxies
2
–
3
,
28
,
34
–
40
,
44
–
5
,
58
,
68
,
101
,
275
,
281
,
302

clusters of
34
–
6

effects of dark energy on
451

effects of dark matter on
46

Milky Way
1
,
2
,
47
,
70
–
71
,
101
,
202
–
3

space between
see
space, intergalactic

Galileo Galilei
14
,
219
–
20
,
390

gambler’s prophecy
see
prophecy

game theory
see
social-choice theory

gamma rays
68

bursts of
2
,
208

Gauss, Carl Friedrich
183

generation ship
44
,
69

genes
29
,
43
,
56
–
7
,
58
,
59
,
78
,
80
,
89
–
92
,
105
–
6
,
142
,
158
,
315
,
316
,
364
,
371
,
378
,
399

and co-evolution
360
–
64
,
414
–
15

of endangered species
95

genetic code and the jump to universality
142
–
6
,
162
–
3
,
458

genetic engineering
see
biotechnology

genetic evidence
49
,
56
,
206

genetic explanations of individual human attributes
317
–
19
,
323
,
356
,
359
,
401
,
410
,
429

knowledge implicit in
29
,
50
,
56
–
7
,
59
,
60
,
72
,
88
,
111
,
114
,
366
,
400

and memes
372
–
97
,
404
,
405
,
407
,
408
,
413
,
414

and neo-Darwinism
89
–
96

see also
DNA
;
genomes
;
replicators

genomes
56
–
7
,
144
,
362
,
364
,
378
,
379
,
411

geocentric theory
8
,
42

see also
celestial sphere theory

geography

biogeography
425
–
31

of Mars
5

of the universe
443

geometry
7
,
23
,
24
,
42
,
113
,
119
,
161
,
183
–
4
,
188
,
230
,
233
,
240
,
252

see also
space, Euclidean
;
space, curvature of spacetime

Gibson, William:
The Difference Engine
137

giraffes, evolution of the neck
88
,
362

global warming
437
–
41

God
52
,
80
–
81
,
87

argument from design for existence of
83
–
7

creationism and
81

and mathematical infinities
166

gods
21
,
26
,
42
,
43
,
60
,
64
,
79
,
80
,
81
,
97
,
104
,
203
,
217
,
243

Gödel, Kurt
184
–
5

gold
1
–
2
,
30

golden age

of Athens
216
–
17
,
254
,
386

of Florence
218
,
386

Islamic
220

myths
52
,
63

Grace, Fall from
52

grammatical rules
374
–
5

gravity
29
,
107
,
112
–
13

gravitational effects of dark matter
46

gravitational energy
3

quantum
178
,
449
–
50

see also
space, curvature of spacetime
;
relativity

Great Rift Valley
48
,
50
,
58
,
69

guessing
see
conjecture

Gutenberg, Johannes
134

Hades
19

Haldane, John
53
,
56
,
59
,
81
,
95

hallucination
301

see also
mirages

Hamilton, Alexander
330

Hamilton’s rule
330
,
331
,
332

Hanson, Norwood Russell
10
n

Hanson, Robin
457

happiness
316
–
19

Harris, Robert:
Fatherland
259

Harris, Roger
321

Hawking, Stephen
44
,
45
,
63
,
175
,
202
,
203
,
204
,
208

Heisenberg, Werner
255
,
289
,
306
–
7
,
309

Heisenberg uncertainty principle
289
,
291
,
303
–
4

heliocentric theory
8
,
26
–
7

helium
1
,
47
,
96

helots
218
,
247

Heraclitus
7

Hermes, and ‘a dream of Socrates’
223
–
43

Herodotus
216

high-level phenomena
108
–
10
,
114
,
160
,
300
–
301
,
371

Hilbert, David
186
,
189

Infinity Hotel thought experiment
167
–
77
,
181
,
185
–
6
,
195

Hill, Joseph Adna
334

historians of science
256

histories (sequences of events in a multiverse)

coarse-grained
293
,
298

definition
265

differentiation/splitting of
273
–
5
,
276
–
9
,
285
–
8
,
293
–
4

distinguished from universes
265

and entanglement information
281
,
289
–
90

and explicability
301

and fungibility
see
fungibility

and interference
283
–
8
,
291
,
293

measurement and
307

multiplicity of histories between observations
308

rate of growth of distinct histories
288

rejoining of split histories
282
–
5

and strata
293

history
265
,
429

alternative-history fiction
259
,
294

distinguished from ‘world’, ‘universe’ and ‘multiverse’
265

of ideas
4
,
5
,
43
,
216
,
305
–
16
,
428
,
442
see also
philosophy

of life
68
,
92
,
95
,
379
–
80

of optimism
216

pessimism in
216

of philosophy
255

see also
civilization
;
prehistory

Hofstadter, Douglas
115
–
18
,
138
,
149
–
50

holism
110
,
123
–
4

Homo erectus
400

Horgan, John
447
–
9

House of Representatives, US
326
,
330
,
331
,
349
–
50

humanism
219

humans

anthropocentrism
see
anthropocentrism

not supported by the biosphere
48
–
50

as channels of information flow
302

as chemical scum
44
–
8
,
51
,
72
,
73

and the doomsday argument
455
–
6

escapes from extinction
49
,
196
–
7
,
204
–
5
,
206
–
7

as glowing
46

human appearance
365

and matter
46

as problem-solvers
435
;
see also
problem solving

the reach of human adaptations
56
–
65

significance of knowledge and
70
–
75
,
76

as spark for knowledge creation
75

survival of civilization/species
49
,
62
–
3
,
196
–
7
,
202
,
204
–
5
,
206
–
8

as universal constructors
58
–
60
,
62
,
429

see also
people

Hume, David
118
,
120

humour
150
,
151
,
156
–
7
,
174
,
310
,
355
,
372
–
3
,
374

origin and evolution of jokes
93
,
372
–
3
,
374
,
388

Hunt, Terry
418

Huxley, Thomas
355

hydrogen
47
,
56
,
66
,
73
,
75
,
96
,
145
,
290
–
91

bombs
139
,
196

transmutation of
1
,
61
,
67

ideas

conjectural
see
conjecture

replicating
see
memes

see also
explanations

ignorance, infinite
447

imagination
26
,
264
–
5

see also
fiction
;
science fiction

imitation
402
,
403
–
10
,
417

aping
405

behaviour parsing
407
–
9

parroting
405
,
406
–
7

immortality
63
,
214
,
455
,
459

impartiality
see
fairness

incredulity, argument from personal
164