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Into the Impossible With Brian Keating

Jim Al-Khalili Why I Love the Life Scientific! (#223)

Into the Impossible With Brian Keating

Brian Keating

Science, Physics, Natural Sciences

4.71.1K Ratings

🗓️ 11 April 2022

⏱️ 55 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Jim is a theoretical physicist at the University of Surrey where he holds a Distinguished Chair in physics as well as a university chair in the public engagement in science. He received his PhD in nuclear reaction theory in 1989 and has published widely in the field. His current interest is in open quantum systems and the application of quantum mechanics in biology. He is a prominent author and broadcaster. He has written 14 books on popular science and the history of science, between them translated into twenty-six languages. His latest book, The World According to Physics, was shortlisted for the Royal Society Book Prize. He is a regular presenter of TV science documentaries, such as the Bafta nominated Chemistry: a volatile history, and he hosts the long-running weekly BBC Radio 4 programme, The Life Scientific. Jim is a past president of the British Science Association and a recipient of the Royal Society Michael Faraday medal and the Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Medal, the Institute of Physics Kelvin Medal and the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication. He received an OBE in 2007 and a CBE in 2021 for ‘services to science’. In his latest book, The Joy of Science, Jim presents 8 short lessons on how to unlock the clarity, empowerment, and joy of thinking and living a little more scientifically. In this brief guide, Professor Al-Khalili invites readers to engage with the world as scientists have been trained to do. The scientific method has served humankind well in its quest to see things as they really are, and underpinning the scientific method are core principles that can help us all navigate modern life more confidently. Discussing the nature of truth and uncertainty, the role of doubt, the pros and cons of simplification, the value of guarding against bias, the importance of evidence-based thinking, and more, Al-Khalili shows how the powerful ideas at the heart of the scientific method are deeply relevant to the complicated times we live in and the difficult choices we make. Available on Amazon https://jimal-khalili.com/ https://twitter.com/jimalkhalili Topics in this interview include: The tension between art (poetics) and science. What can science learn from poetry? What is the difference between wisdom and knowledge? What does the phrase "follow the science" mean to you? What is the "scientific method”? What do you think about Karl Popper's philosophy and the falsification rule? The problem with authority bias. What's your philosophy regarding science outreach and popularization? Please Visit our Sponsors: LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/impossible to post a job for FREE Athletic Greens, makers of AG1 which I take every day. Get an exclusive offer when you visit https://athleticgreens.com/impossible AG1 is made from the highest quality ingredients, in accordance with the strictest standards and obsessively improved based on the latest science. All 33 Chairs. My All33 Chair is the ideal chair for all of us ‘knowledge workers’ suffering through unending Zoom calls. Sitting still is bad for you. All33 chairs are my choice because they allow your pelvis to move the way it does while you walk — so all 33 vertebrae align into perfect posture. The result? Better breathing, better blood flow, and relief from pain. It’s crazy what you can do when you set your body to it. To get $100 off your order, visit https://all33.com/impossible Search for The Jordan Harbinger Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you listen to podcasts, or go to jordanharbinger.com/subscribe Be my friend: 🏄‍♂️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating 🔔 Subscribe https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1 📝 Join my mailing list; just click here http://briankeating.com/mailing_list.php ✍️ Detailed Blog posts here: https://briankeating.com/blog.php 🎙️ Listen on audio-only platforms: https://briankeating.com/podcast.php A production of http://imagination.ucsd.edu/ Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/drbriankeating Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to a phenomenal conversation with one of the most brilliant minds alive today.

0:05.0

Jim Alkulele, a renowned scientist, theoretical physicist, and popular science communicator.

0:10.0

Jim and I discussed what does it mean to do science, to follow the science, to trust the science,

0:17.1

what does it mean when scientists say, scientists say?

0:20.2

These are the topics that impact your life in a way that almost nothing else in modern culture

0:24.6

does.

0:25.6

People look to scientists like Jim and they look to us for answers, perhaps, to some of the most meaningful

0:31.7

questions about their day-to-day lives, but also for the existential

0:35.7

questions.

0:36.7

And we got into that at the very end.

0:38.2

So Jim and I didn't shy away from controversial subjects like what to do with models of controversies such as global warming,

0:45.0

COVID-19 and many many other fascinating subjects that scientists are

0:50.0

participating in and with more and more importance placed upon them.

0:54.7

We talked about how he got interested in science, what it means to popularize science.

0:58.7

Do scientists have a moral obligation to share the love for that which they would do for free and I speak for myself

1:04.2

and for Jim in saying that.

1:06.3

I also got into my patented final thrilling three questions.

1:09.3

You'll have to subscribe to my mailing list at Brian Keating.

1:12.6

Put the link over there.

1:14.0

And now I want to give you a slight insight

1:16.7

into this wonderful new book by Jim L. Kalelely,

1:19.3

courtesy of his publisher, which is Princeton University Press.

...

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