CF Dictionary · Error Correction & Learning
Progress
Improvement in ideas, methods, or knowledge over time. CF treats unbounded progress as achievable through error correction.
Progress is improvement in ideas, methods, or knowledge. CF, with CR and David Deutsch, treats unbounded progress as achievable — through error-correction.
Why progress is possible
- Errors are real and identifiable. Not all of them, but enough.
- Criticism works. Refutation reduces errors.
- Knowledge is replicable. Good ideas can be transmitted and improved.
- Tools compound. New tools make new tools possible.
Why progress is not guaranteed
- Overreach can stall improvement.
- dogmatism can suppress criticism.
- Stagnation is real in many fields and institutions.
- Some errors are hard to find. Unknown unknowns persist.
Kinds of progress
- Conceptual. New ideas, better explanations.
- Practical. New tools, better methods.
- Institutional. Better organisations, better norms.
- Personal. Better habits, better skills.
CR's term
CR often says: "We can never guarantee progress but we can always look for opportunities for progress." The search for refutable claims is itself the engine of progress.
"Progress Despite Emotions and Bias; Mastery of Sentences" — example CF essay title showing how progress cuts across domains. — criticalfallibilism.com