Ecstasy Recipe, East of Eden, Karl Popper's Wisdom
Three Point Thursday
Hola amigo,
This week’s edition features what I call the ecstasy recipe, a story of the philosopher of science Karl Popper, and a quote from one of the greatest novels of all time.
My daily ecstasy recipe.
Most days, I wake up early, drink strong coffee, and read and write. Without fail, it brings me an intense joy. I always feel such profound awe and wonder at the universe. Try it out. This ritual is both peaceful and endlessly fun.
Your theories influence your observations.
There is a famous legend about how Karl Popper would start some of his lectures. He would stand in front of the class and simply say, “observe.” Eventually, one of his students would ask, “observe what?” And to this Popper would reply, “exactly.” His point was that your theories influence your observations. He described observation as theory-laden, which, when you think about it, exposes some issues with empiricism. This means that the more important aspect of the growth of knowledge—as David Deutsch shows us in The Beginning of Infinity—is using creativity to conjecture bold new theories and criticizing them to see whether they are good explanations.
One of the greatest paragraphs ever written.
“And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about.”
—John Steinbeck, East of Eden
Keep shooting,
Jeff
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Great article! How early do you try to get up? I am trying to figure out my morning routine.