Cover of The beginning of infinity

Book · 2011 · Science

The beginning of infinity

Explanations that Transform The World

by David Deutsch · Brought up by 22 people on 13 podcasts

The beginning of infinity by David Deutsch has been mentioned in 27 episodes across 13 podcasts (14 episodes recommend it and 13 episodes discuss it), through . Most frequently brought up by Jimmy Carr (3 episodes), Naval Ravikant (2 episodes) and D.A. Wallach (1 episode) on Modern Wisdom (6 episodes), Lex Fridman Podcast (5 episodes) and The Joe Rogan Experience (4 episodes).

#92 of 16,947 books, ranked by how many different people bring it up on podcasts

episodes
27
podcasts
13
people
22
episodes recommend it
14

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It’s basically optimism at a cosmic level, and it’s full of the realization that there are always problems and there are solutions, and that goes on infinitely.
Stewart Brand · The Ezra Klein Show · Apr 2026 Listen at 49:05

Questions about The beginning of infinity by David Deutsch

Who recommends The beginning of infinity by David Deutsch on podcasts?

Jimmy Carr (2 episodes), Naval Ravikant (1 episode), D.A. Wallach (1 episode), George Mack (1 episode) and Jim O'Shaughnessy (1 episode) have recommended The beginning of infinity by David Deutsch on podcasts. In all, 22 people brought it up across 13 podcasts (11 people recommended it).

Which podcasts mention The beginning of infinity the most?

Modern Wisdom (6 episodes), Lex Fridman Podcast (5 episodes), The Joe Rogan Experience (4 episodes), Dwarkesh Podcast (2 episodes) and The Tim Ferriss Show (2 episodes), among 13 podcasts in all.

Is The beginning of infinity recommended, or only discussed?

The beginning of infinity by David Deutsch was recommended in 14 episodes and discussed without a recommendation in 13 episodes, as of 2026-08-23.

What do people say about The beginning of infinity?

Stewart Brand on The Ezra Klein Show (2026-04-24): "It’s basically optimism at a cosmic level, and it’s full of the realization that there are always problems and there are solutions, and that goes on infinitely."

When was The beginning of infinity last mentioned on a podcast?

The beginning of infinity by David Deutsch was last discussed on David Senra by Sam Altman on 2026-08-23.

What they say about it

Grouped from 27 episodes
  • Highly recommended book“recommend David Deutsch's The Beginning of Infinity”
    4
  • Authored by a hero or great physicist“quantum physicist at oxford”
    4
  • Reread by speakers“reread called the beginning of infinity”
    3
  • Praised for optimism“optimism at a cosmic level”
    2
  • Described as dense or difficult“so dense that like I get through”
    2

The best things said about it

6 of 32 · every mention
Recommended
Maybe my favorite book is david deutsch's beginning of infinity um i just found that so optimistic.
Richard Craib Lex Fridman Podcast · Feb 2021
Recommended
There's an amazing book called The Beginning of Infinity by a quantum theorist named David Deutsch, and he has this incredible quote which says everything that is not forbidden by the laws of nature is achievable given the right knowledge.
Marie Forleo On Purpose with Jay Shetty · Sep 2020
Recommended
A book I reread called The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch, who is a quantum physicist at Oxford.
Jim O'Shaughnessy Modern Wisdom · May 2021
Discussed
A rather deep reflection on knowledge and the power of knowledge to improve the human condition.
Steven Pinker Lex Fridman Podcast · Oct 2018
Discussed
I've tried to read this book like I literally have started it 10 times and it's so dense that like I get through the first three chapters and I start over because I don't even understand half of what I've read.
Jason Calacanis This Week in Startups · Mar 2022
Discussed
Back to one of my heroes in life, David Deutsch, his book, The Beginning of Infinity and The Fabric of Reality, shaped me quite a lot.
Gustav Söderström Invest Like the Best · May 2025

Where and when it comes up

Mentions by year

02017120180201922020520211202252023220246202532026so far

Podcast episodes that discussed The beginning of infinity, by year. One episode counts once, however often the book came up.

Number 49 of the most mentioned books on podcasts in 2025

How it comes up

Recommended means the speaker tells listeners to read it.

Episodes, each counted once, by the strongest way it came up.

Most episodes, by podcast

Top 9 of 13 shows

22 people who brought it up

Most recommendations first

Also: Aravind Srinivas · Dwarkesh Patel · Gad Saad · Gustav Söderström · Jason Calacanis · Neal Stephenson · Sam Altman · Sam Harris · Steven Pinker · Tim Ferriss

Why people recommend it

David Deutsch's The Beginning of Infinity is a philosophy book that champions cosmic optimism and argues that human problems are infinite but always solvable through creativity and science. Stewart Brand enthusiastically recommended the work to Ezra Klein on The Ezra Klein Show as an essential read on progress and solutions. On Modern Wisdom, George Mack mentioned the title while discussing infinite problems, and Jimmy Carr shared on both Modern Wisdom and The Joe Rogan Experience how the text completely transformed his perspective on humanity and knowledge. Naval Ravikant strongly endorsed Deutsch's ideas on The Tim Ferriss Show, where the book's philosophy served as a foundational framework for discussions on education and child-rearing. D.A. Wallach brought up the work on This Week in Startups to illustrate how technological progress continuously solves old dilemmas while creating new ones, and Sarah Fitz-Claridge recommended a specific chapter on Dwarkesh Podcast for its insights into the evolution of creativity.

Every mention

32 quotes from 27 episodes · 8 passing or ad reads below
Jimmy Carr and I read um uh David deutsche's uh the beginning of infinity and was just blown away by 3
Discussed
“I love that thing with uh that book, The Beginning of Infinity. I can't get over that. What book is that? Who wrote that? It's uh uh beginning of infinity. I think it's uh David Deutsch.”
Recommended
“and I read um uh David deutsche's uh the beginning of infinity and was just blown away by”
Recommended
“and that thing of uh when and when you think about Humanity I read this uh I read this book recently um David Deutsch the beginning of infinity M and it's like it blew my mind”
Naval Ravikant So, I can't recommend them highly enough. 2
Discussed
“this is the beginning of infinity guy that's theity is always reference”
Recommended
“So, I can't recommend them highly enough.”
D.A. Wallach you share your book agent john with um david deutsch who i really admire great physicist in the uk he wrote… 1
Recommended
“you share your book agent john with um david deutsch who i really admire great physicist in the uk he wrote a wonderful book called the beginning of infinity and he says something in that book that's always stuck with me”
George Mack I hate to sound like I'm doing an affiliate link for the beginning of infinity which I am. I'll post it in… 1
Recommended
“I hate to sound like I'm doing an affiliate link for the beginning of infinity which I am. I'll post it in the link problems are infinite.”
Jim O'Shaughnessy but who i even recommend you read more is a book i reread called the beginning of infinity by david deutsch… 1
Recommended
“but who i even recommend you read more is a book i reread called the beginning of infinity by david deutsch who is a quantum physicist at oxford”
Recommended
“and if they said hey read the beginning of infinity by david deutsch i would read that book”
Marie Forleo there's an amazing book called the beginning of infinity by a quantum theorist named david deutsch and he h… 1
Recommended
“there's an amazing book called the beginning of infinity by a quantum theorist named david deutsch and he has this incredible quote which says everything that is not forbidden by the laws of nature is achievable given the right knowledge”
Natalya Bailey the beginning of infinity do you know what by david deutsch um so he's a physicist um i think at cambridge… 1
Recommended
“the beginning of infinity do you know what by david deutsch um so he's a physicist um i think at cambridge or oxford and so i was introduced like more formally to a lot of the ideas”
Richard Craib maybe my favorite book is david deutsch's beginning of infinity um i just found that so optimistic 1
Recommended
“maybe my favorite book is david deutsch's beginning of infinity um i just found that so optimistic”
Sarah Fitz-Claridge yeah um with regard to uh how this could have evolved uh you might want to read david deutsch as the beginn… 1
Recommended
“yeah um with regard to uh how this could have evolved uh you might want to read david deutsch as the beginning of infinity i think it's chapter 16 the evolution of creativity”
Discussed
“and again this is something that is in the beginning of infinity by david deutsch which is the idea of anti-rational memes so um whereas rational memes replicate themselves with criticism”
Stewart Brand What are three books you’d recommend to the audience? I recommend David Deutsch’s "The Beginning of Infinit… 1
Recommended
“What are three books you’d recommend to the audience? I recommend David Deutsch’s "The Beginning of Infinity" It’s basically optimism at a cosmic level, and it’s full of the realization that there are always problems and there are solutions, and that goes on infinitely.”
Tomer Cohen And then lastly uh it's a book that also came out many years ago but it's called The Beginning of Infinity… 1
Recommended
“And then lastly uh it's a book that also came out many years ago but it's called The Beginning of Infinity uh which I really like by um uh Deutsch and it's it's uh it's wasn't an easy read for easy read for me”
Chris Williamson So you know if you're trying to read beginning of infinity by David do you got Yeah. Exactly. you're switch… 2
Discussed
“So you know if you're trying to read beginning of infinity by David do you got Yeah. Exactly. you're switched on, right?”
Discussed
“the answer I've had for this is if you look at something like David Deutsch's beginning of infinity which I think is an amazing idea”
Aravind Srinivas Like that's the whole concept of 'The Beginning of Infinity' book by David Deutsch. 1
Discussed
“Like that's the whole concept of 'The Beginning of Infinity' book by David Deutsch.”
Dwarkesh Patel do you uh from the beginning of infinity do you buy david deutsche's term a universal explainer that people… 1
Discussed
“do you uh from the beginning of infinity do you buy david deutsche's term a universal explainer that people are universal explainers”
Gad Saad He wrote two uh best-selling books I think one of them is called the edge of infinity 1
Discussed
“He wrote two uh best-selling books I think one of them is called the edge of infinity”
Gustav Söderström Back to one of my heroes in life, David Deutsch, his book, The Beginning of Infinity and the Fabric of Real… 1
Discussed
“Back to one of my heroes in life, David Deutsch, his book, The Beginning of Infinity and the Fabric of Reality, shaped me quite a lot.”
Discussed
“Yeah, so David Deutsch has been a hero of mine since I read The Beginning of Infinity, and then he wrote another book called The Fabric of Reality.”
Jason Calacanis you bring up this beginning of infinity i've tried to read this book like i literally have started it 10 ti… 1
Discussed
“you bring up this beginning of infinity i've tried to read this book like i literally have started it 10 times and it's so dense that like i get through the first three chapters and i start over because i don't even understand half of what i've read”
Neal Stephenson david deutsch in particular his book the beginning of infinity um is that he talks about the power of expla… 1
Discussed
“david deutsch in particular his book the beginning of infinity um is that he talks about the power of explanations and the fact that”
Sam Altman We were talking earlier about this this book The Beginning of Infinity and rereading that book from today's… 1
Discussed
“We were talking earlier about this this book The Beginning of Infinity and rereading that book from today's vantage point I'm like man, AI's really going to help us do this do this important thing of understanding everything or as much as we can.”
Sam Harris The first came out about 10 years ago, The Fabric of Reality, and the more recent one is the beginning of i… 1
Discussed
“The first came out about 10 years ago, The Fabric of Reality, and the more recent one is the beginning of infinity, an extremely smart guy and very nice guy.”
The Joe Rogan Experience #804 - Sam Harris 2016-06-01
Steven Pinker certainly this book enlightenment now is influenced by David Deutsch as the beginning of infinity a rather… 1
Discussed
“certainly this book enlightenment now is influenced by David Deutsch as the beginning of infinity a rather deep reflection on knowledge and the power of knowledge to improve the human condition”
Tim Ferriss The Beginning of Infinity and The Fabric of Reality. When you and I were chatting earlier today, you mentio… 1
Discussed
“The Beginning of Infinity and The Fabric of Reality. When you and I were chatting earlier today, you mentioned that you've largely read and reread these books over the last several years.”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker3
Recommended
“all of this comes down from Deutsch's philosophy so beginning of infinity fabric of reality great books although they don't explicitly talk about children”
Discussed
“so like David deutch's book the beginning of infinity I read it and it's quite dry”
Recommended
“there's a book that I take every opportunity I can find to recommend and the beginning of infinity by David Deutsch I think it's really great part of the book is elucidating different kinds of incipient infinities”
Other mentions (8: passing, ad reads, own books)
Plugged
“Um we we are all at like I say in in my book we're all at the beginning of infinity. We're only ever at the beginning.”
Plugged
“Another thing is I'm I'm writing uh the third book in my sort of sequel to my first two books u fabric of reality and the beginning of infinity.”
Passing
“Pro almost certainly another Rory Sutherland. Maybe David Deutsch guy that wrote the beginning of Infinity.”
Passing
“Our topic today isn't the interesting books that you've written, The Fabric of Reality, The Beginning of Infinity.”
Passing
“I've seen him while he's reading David Deutsch's The Beginning of Infinity with ChatGPT open again.”
Passing
“What does he do? Meanwhile, he's reading David Doo's The Beginning of Infinity with all right. Uh, should we do a lesson?”
Passing
“He is the author of The Fabric of Reality and The Beginning of Infinity and he is an advocate of the philosophy of Karl Popper.”
Plugged
“I recommended it long ago in my 2010 number one New York Times bestseller, The 4-Hour Body, and I did not get paid to do so.”

Portraits from Wikimedia Commons: Stewart Brand, cellanr / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0); Steven Pinker, Christopher Michel / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); Jason Calacanis, Christopher Michel / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0); Naval Ravikant, kris krüg / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0); Chris Williamson, CiaPeterson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); Tim Ferriss, Mukhatir at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).