The Beginning of Infinity — An Animated Film

What if every problem we face is solvable, and the only thing standing in the way is knowledge we haven't created yet? This 57-minute animated film, in a shadow-puppet silhouette style, walks through the big ideas of David Deutsch's book The Beginning of Infinity. Follow Mira, a girl who turns up in every era asking "What are they?", and the Spark, a small living light that stands for a good explanation. What you'll see Why stars are furnaces, and how we know it though we've only ever seen dots Why a good explanation is hard to vary (the Persephone myth versus the tilt of the Earth) Why Earth is no "Spaceship" and humans are no "chemical scum" The jump to universality, with Hilbert's Infinity Hotel and a puppy lost in the rubbish Why optimism is a principle: a talking horse, Socrates' dream at Delphi, Florence and the Bonfire of the Vanities Easter Island, memes, the 1971 doom lecture and why only progress is sustainable Why the future is open, and why we are only at the beginning Chapters 0:00 Prologue: Dots 2:02 I. The Reach of Explanations 4:50 The Persephone Play 9:28 The Galaxy That Wasn't 12:23 II. The Spark 14:10 The Death Trap 16:41 Priming the Void 21:07 III. The Jump to Universality 28:44 Welcome to Infinity Hotel 32:05 IV. Optimism 36:58 The Talking Horse 38:56 A Dream at Delphi 42:34 The Bonfire of the Vanities 44:24 V. Statues and Sparks 49:39 The Lecture, 1971 52:24 VI. The Beginning 56:42 End Title About this film This is an independent, original work based on The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch (Viking, 2011). It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the author or publisher. Where the film presents Deutsch's contested views (voting systems, climate policy, the many-worlds interpretation), it presents them as his arguments. If you enjoy it, please read the book. #TheBeginningOfInfinity #DavidDeutsch #AnimatedFilm #Philosophy #Science #Optimism #Knowledge #Epistemology