The Science of Can and Can't Quotes

“We can never know whether a physical theory that we have formulated is true; all we can say is that it has so far not been found to be false.”
― Chiara Marletto, The Science of Can and Can't: A Physicist’s Journey Through the Land of Counterfactuals

“Something can hold information only if its state could have been otherwise:”
― Chiara Marletto, The Science of Can and Can't: A Physicist’s Journey Through the Land of Counterfactuals

“Universal computers are capable of performing all the computations permitted by the laws of physics. Once a universal computer is constructed, all you have to do is to load it with the right programme, and it can simulate any other system that is physically allowed. This includes the biosphere, with all its splendid richness of animals, plants, and microorganisms; and, in principle, it even includes your brain, together with thoughts and emotions.”
― Chiara Marletto, The Science of Can and Can't: A Physicist's Journey Through the Land of Counterfactuals

“We must be wary of not entering such states both as individuals and as societies. Particularly detrimental to knowledge creation are the immutable limitations imposed by dogmas, as they restrain the ability to conjecture and criticise.”
― Chiara Marletto, The Science of Can and Can't: A Physicist’s Journey Through the Land of Counterfactuals

“Just as the theory of information led to the theory of universal computation, this theory I am envisaging could be the seed for designing a machine that generalises the universal computer, which scientists call the universal constructor.”
― Chiara Marletto, The Science of Can and Can't: A Physicist's Journey Through the Land of Counterfactuals