Forrest Mims: The Essential Role of Skepticism in Science

Intelligent Design the Future

Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture

Science, Life Sciences, Society & Culture, Philosophy, Astronomy

4.3 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 29 December 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Science is a very human enterprise, so it can fall prey to very human problems. How a scientist conducts himself or herself professionally matters. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid begins a two-part conversation on the importance of skepticism and integrity in science with engineer, inventor, writer, and self-taught scientist Forrest Mims. How important is skepticism to scientific research? How can scientists collaborate respectfully? In what ways can scientists honor their profession while interacting honrably with the public? Forrest shares stories and examples from his decades-long career in science as he answers these and other questions. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Look for Part 2 in a separate episode.

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0:00.0	Before we get to today's show, I'd like to mention that although ID the Future is free content,
0:05.0	it's not free to produce. If you're enjoying the interviews, commentaries, and readings you
0:09.9	hear on the podcast, would you consider partnering with me to create more new content next year?
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0:28.3	Support the ID the Future podcast directly by going to IDtheFuture.com and clicking on the donate button at the top of the page.
0:36.1	That's IDthefuture.com and click on the donate button at the top of the page. That's IDthefuture.com and click on the donate button
0:39.6	at the top of the page. Thanks for your support. If we're not skeptical of our results,
0:45.7	our results are highly skeptical. That's the problem. And unfortunately, I've known a few scientists
0:51.6	who were not skeptical of their results. They'd already made up their mind before they even begin their research.
0:57.4	And there's only a few I've met like that, but that's very disturbing, in my opinion,
1:02.0	because it blocks out other results that they may have had that are very different
1:06.2	from the previously thought out results that were just simply guesses.
1:13.8	ID, the Future, a podcast about evolution and intelligent design.
1:20.2	Well, welcome to ID the Future. I'm your host, Andrew McDermott. And today, I welcome back to the show
1:26.0	engineer, inventor, writer, and self-taught
1:29.1	scientist, Forrest Mims. In his 2024 memoir, Maverick Scientist, Mims recounts his many adventures
1:36.4	as an amateur scientist. In previous episodes of the podcast, we've discussed highlights of
1:42.0	his career as a writer and scientist, including his time
1:45.2	writing books on electronics for Radio Shack, how he used his own homemade instruments to point out
1:50.6	errors in NASA's own atmospheric data, his dust up with Scientific American Magazine, and
	...

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