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“We know that achieving arbitrary physical transformations that are not forbidden by the laws of physics (such as replanting a forest) can only be a matter of knowing how. We know that finding out how is a matter of seeking good explanations.”
― The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World
― The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World
“If something is permitted by the laws of physics, then the only thing that can prevent it from being technologically possible is not knowing how.”
― The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World
― The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World
“Whenever we try to improve things and fail, it is not because the spiteful (or unfathomably benevolent) gods are thwarting us or punishing us for trying, or because we have reached a limit on the capacity of reason to make improvements, or because it is best that we fail, but always because we did not know enough, in time.”
― The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World
― The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World
“The Principle of Optimism
All evils are caused by insufficient knowledge.”
― The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World
All evils are caused by insufficient knowledge.”
― The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World
“Who was I, at my core? Was I primarily a schizophrenic? Did that illness define me? Or was it an “accident” of being—and only peripheral to me rather than the “essence” of me? It’s been my observation that mentally ill people struggle with these questions perhaps even more than those with serious physical illnesses, because mental illness involves your mind and your core self as well. A woman with cancer isn’t Cancer Woman; a man with heart disease isn’t Diseased Heart Guy; a teenager with a broken leg isn’t The Broken Leg Kid. But if, as our society seemed to suggest, good health was partly mind over matter, what hope did someone with a broken mind have?”
― The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness
― The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness
Ryan’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Ryan’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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Favorite Genres
Art, Biography, Business, History, Non-fiction, Philosophy, Psychology, Science, Science fiction, Self help, and Travel
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