Episode 81: Easy to Varyness vs Ad Hocness episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 19, 2024 · 2H 14M

Episode 81: Easy to Varyness vs Ad Hocness

from The Theory of Anything · host Bruce Nielson and Peter Johansen

Bruce sympathetically critiques David Deutsch’s concept of “easy to varyness” as a way to judge our explanations. Are our best theories about reality truly hard to vary? Bruce makes the case that Popper’s concept of “ad hocness” may be a strangely interwoven concept. Along the way we get deeper into whether Popperian epistemology is best seen as an attitude or a methodology.

Bruce sympathetically critiques David Deutsch’s concept of “easy to varyness” as a way to judge our explanations. Are our best theories about reality truly hard to vary? Bruce makes the case that Popper’s concept of “ad hocness” may be a strangely interwoven concept. Along the way we get deeper into whether Popperian epistemology is best seen as an attitude or a methodology.

NOW PLAYING

Episode 81: Easy to Varyness vs Ad Hocness

0:00 2:14:02

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of The Theory of Anything?

This episode is 2 hours and 14 minutes long.

When was this The Theory of Anything episode published?

This episode was published on March 19, 2024.

What is this episode about?

Bruce sympathetically critiques David Deutsch’s concept of “easy to varyness” as a way to judge our explanations. Are our best theories about reality truly hard to vary? Bruce makes the case that Popper’s concept of “ad hocness” may be a strangely...

Can I download this The Theory of Anything episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!