Good Morning Friends !
In this time of uncertainty, reading great books can offer solace and a quiet escape from cacophony of surroundings. It can help in nurturing peace with ourselves and by reminding us about great saying that : “This too shall pass.”
During past week, three things have inspired me:
Quote
"Our best theories are not only truer than common sense, they make far more sense than common sense does"
~ David Deutsch
Idea
Having common sense is widely regarded as beneficial. In words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes. However under the garb of common sense most of the time we acquire prejudices. It’s a common sense that we don’t feel Earth moving yet our scientific theories prove Earth’s rotation and revolution. It’s a common sense that whenever we throw any small objects between two gaps , then only two patterns will be formed in the wall, yet during scientific experiment we get multiple lines pattern as like small particles interfered with itself especially in Double Slit Experiment. It’s a common sense that heavy object falls faster than a light object when dropped, yet as per science in the absence of air resistance, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their mass. This was famously demonstrated by astronaut David Scott on the Moon, where a feather and a hammer dropped together and hit the surface simultaneously.
Scientific theories, while sometimes counterintuitive, provide a deeper, more coherent, and more accurate understanding of reality than common sense. Scientific theories advance knowledge by being falsifiable (aka testable, refutable, verifiable) , surviving critical tests, and offering explanations, unlike common sense, which is often vague, untested, and prone to error outside familiar contexts. So we must rely on scientific theories based on good explanations to understand entire universe rather than common sense.
Book
David Deutsch’s The Fabric of Reality belongs to that rare group of books that demand to be chewed and digested. It is one of the most difficult yet deeply transformative books I’ve ever read. It is a challenging but mind-changing read that asks us to take our best scientific theories seriously. David Deutsch argues that reality is best understood through four key ideas: quantum physics, epistemology (how we gain knowledge), computation, and evolution.
Quantum physics shows reality includes a multiverse where all possible events happen in parallel universes, as seen in experiments like the double-slit test.
Epistemology, inspired by Karl Popper’s falsifiability, says knowledge grows by guessing, testing, and improving explanations, not just collecting facts. This view rejects solipsism (the idea that only our mind exists) because reality “kicks back” in consistent ways, proving its existence.
David Deutsch also explains that computation reveals reality acts like a universal computer, capable of simulating any physical system.
Evolution shows life creates knowledge that can shape the universe, not just Earth.
By combining these theories, he says we get a unified “fabric of reality” that’s truer and more logical than common sense, which often misleads us. For example, common sense says two clocks in a spaceship tick together for everyone, but relativity shows a moving observer sees them tick at different times. Though complex, this book transforms how we see the world, making us realize reality is strange but knowable, and our minds can grasp it through better explanations. This book has changed my views so drastically that I’m forced to keep it in my best read. Hopefully you will like it too !
Have an inspiring week ahead.