Welcome back to the 1st Law Newsletter - Friday Edition.

In this email:

• The Theory(s) of Everything
• Reading Better
• Where are you going?

The Theory of Everything

In David Deustch's 1997 book The Fabric Of Reality, he outlines the four strands of knowledge that work together to define everything.

1. Hugh Everett's many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics.

The many-worlds interpretation implies that there are an uncountable number of universes, each one branching out at every moment a decision is made, realizing every possible quantum outcome.

2. Karl Popper's epistemology.

Epistemology is the study of knowledge itself, and what separates true knowledge and fact from opinion. As discussed in this past newsletter edition, there are requirements to justifying knowledge, the most important being that its claims are falsifiable.

3. Alan Turing's (quantum) theory of computation.

This theory answers the question: "what are the fundamental capabilities and limitations of computers?". Alan Turing created the Turing machine, which can solve any decidable pattern or problem. I may do a whole article on the Turing machine in the future.

4. Richard Dawkins' Darwinian evolutionary theory.

The theory of biological evolution stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce.

How to Read Better

"Read what you love until you love to read" - Naval Ravikant

Something that I find hard to implement is the fact that simply reading more is not better, only reading better is better. What does this mean? Setting goals for a number of books read in a year is adamant, but if the goal is comprehension and learning, you need to realize that rereading will often be necessary. That being said, I still have the goal of reading 52 books this year (currently at 18), but I am also making note of the best ones that I need to reread in the future. Practically, reading better takes this form:

Step 1: Read great books. It is better to read the top 10 books on a subject 10 times each than skim the top 100 books. Trial and error and/or research is required to find great books.

Step 2: Reflect on the book. Use writing to understand. Perhaps write a short book report or a list of the best ideas from the book to easily reference later.

Step 3: Integrate the learning. In order to be effective and not just busy, you must apply what you have learned from the book into your life.

Step 4: Repeat.

"99% of books are not worth reading. 0.99% of books are worth reading once. 0.01% of books are worth reading 100 times." - Unknown

Quote I Want To Share

"I don’t know where I am going, but I am on my way." — Voltaire

I think this is a beautiful outlook on life. It is impossible for any of us to know what the future holds, however by acting a certain way today, we can make certain outcomes more likely. I don't have any concrete direction or objective for writing these newsletters other than providing value to and growing my audience. Thank you for sticking with me as I attempt to find my voice through writing. I simply believe that if I stick with it for long enough, it will all make sense and be meaningful.

Thanks for reading!

Lucas