Kelsey Johnson: My Quest to Decode the Cosmos [Ep. 467]

Into the Impossible With Brian Keating

Brian Keating

Science, Physics, Natural Sciences

4.7 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 24 November 2024

⏱️ 81 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Please join my mailing list here 👉 https://briankeating.com/list to win a meteorite 💥 Can science, philosophy, and religion work together to address humanity's biggest questions? What lessons can the cosmos teach us about our place in the universe and the future of humanity? And how do we bring back that sense of curiosity that seems to have faded among professionals? Here today to invite us into her daring quest to decode the universe’s secrets is the brilliant Kelsey Johnson. Kelsey is an accomplished astronomer, professor, and science communicator known for her groundbreaking work in astrophysics and her unique approach to blending science with philosophy and existential inquiry. She is a faculty member at the University of Virginia, where she has made significant contributions to the understanding of starburst galaxies, molecular clouds, and magnetic fields in the universe. Kelsey also founded the Dark Skies, Bright Kids program, which introduces rural communities to the wonders of astronomy. Tune in to learn more about curiosity, the intersection of science and philosophy, and the universe’s mysteries. Key Takeaways: 00:00:00 Intro 00:13:06 What inspired Kelsey to write Into the Unknown 00:16:23 Why scientists lose their curiosity 00:18:33 Judging a book by its cover 00:24:18 Balancing science and philosophy 00:31:55 The role of religion in understanding science 00:37:21 The cosmic marshmallow test 00:47:04 Dark Skies, Bright Kids 00:50:53 The Fermi paradox and the search for extraterrestrial life 01:00:55 Changing perspectives in cosmology 01:05:48 Starburst galaxies 01:08:03 Molecular clouds and feedback 01:10:38 Magnetic fields 01:12:59 Arthur C Clarke’s three laws 01:19:31 Outro Additional resources: ➡️ Learn more about Kelsey Johnson: 📚 Get Into the Unknown on Amazon: https://a.co/d/5XW0bmG ✖️ Follow Kelsey on Twitter: https://x.com/ProfKelsey ➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms: ✖️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating 🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1 📝 Join my mailing list: https://briankeating.com/list ✍️ Check out my blog: https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/ 🎙️ Follow my podcast: https://briankeating.com/podcast Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known. Make sure to follow/subscribe so you never miss an episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Some housekeeping notes before we begin today's episode with Kelsey Johnson.
0:04.8	I have a very large, hopefully meaningful conversation that I really think you're going to
0:12.1	enjoy coming out with Stephen Bartlett set for next Monday, which is, as I'm recording
0:19.5	now, it will be December 2nd., comes out at 8 a.m. in UK-tai, GMT.
0:28.8	And that was a great conversation that the two of us had that originally was only supposed to last for
0:35.9	three hours and ended up going about 50% longer.
0:39.3	So I think you're going to enjoy that.
0:41.3	And it really made me think about kind of the lifestyle sort of influencers that I am no longer willing to be competing with.
0:51.3	I'm still quite interested in being influential and perhaps making an
0:56.9	impact in the universe of ideas and the multiverse of minds that congregate on this channel.
1:03.2	But seeing the kind of lengths that Stephen Bartlett and others have gone to to maintain their
1:09.5	presence, their dominance in the sphere of social media,
1:13.6	especially in the podcast and YouTube and Instagram worlds, is really overwhelming to me.
1:23.0	And something that I may have aspired to in the past, but no longer do. And I want to sort of explain
1:29.7	my rationale for that with some examples from the current landscape of digital ideas and
1:39.3	influence, particularly in the arena of communication of science.
1:45.2	Now, let me be perfectly clear about something.
1:47.5	It's more important than ever to have the right types of information being promulgated
1:53.4	into the public sphere for many reasons, one of which is that you, the listening public,
1:59.7	are really the bosses of scientists.
2:01.6	Not that you can tell us what to do and even, as I've been told, I'm a public employee,
2:06.6	so you can tell me to get yourself a cup of water.
	...

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