YouTube’s #1 Astronomer Dr. Becky Smethurst: “Don’t Dumb It Down!” (#069)

Into the Impossible With Brian Keating

Brian Keating

Physics, Natural Sciences, Science

4.7 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 September 2020

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Rebecca Smethurst is known as Dr. Becky on her popular YouTube channel. She is an astrophysicist and science communicator, answering questions about physics and astronomy in engaging videos. Dr. Becky is also the author of the new book “Space at the Speed of Light: The secrets of 14 billion years for people short on time.” She joins me on this episode of INTO THE IMPOSSIBLE to discuss her popularity and the importance of communicating science effectively. Subscribe to my mailing list to receive show notes for this episode: https://briankeating.com/mailing_list.php 04:22 Science communication isn’t “dumbing down” science. 10:07 The value of citizen science to discovery. 16:44 Working towards gender equality in physics. 24:24 Balancing the work of being a minority in academia. 31:36 Dr. Becky explains galaxy quenching. 37:00 The art and title of Dr. Becky’s physics book. 42:22 What ethical will does Dr. Becky plan to leave? 46:03 What knowledge would Dr. Becky put on her monolith? 49:39 What did Dr. Becky think was impossible until she did it? Dr. Becky Smethurst is a Junior Research Fellow at University of Oxford, where she also earned her PhD. She studies galaxy quenching and supermassive black holes. Her YouTube channel Dr. Becky has over 150,000 subscribers. Buy “Space at the Speed of Light” here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1984858696/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_XaxsFbSQ9HCAZ Watch Dr. Becky’s “A day in the life of an astrophysicist in LOCKDOWN” video: https://youtu.be/qXkM0ItZ_X8 Find Dr. Becky on the web: https://rebeccasmethurst.co.uk and Twitter: https://twitter.com/drbecky_ Would you help with a citizen science project like the one Dr. Becky describes? Brian Keating’s most popular Youtube Videos: Eric Weinstein: https://youtu.be/YjsPb3kBGnk?sub_confirmation=1 Jim Simons: https://youtu.be/6fr8XOtbPqM?sub_confirmation=1 Noam Chomsky: https://youtu.be/Iaz6JIxDh6Y?sub_confirmation=1 Sabine Hossenfelder: https://youtu.be/V6dMM2-X6nk?sub_confirmation=1 Sarah Scoles: https://youtu.be/apVKobWigMw Stephen Wolfram: https://youtu.be/nSAemRxzmXM Host Brian Keating: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I thought I would never write a book, right?
0:02.4	I read so many books.
0:03.4	I thought I'd never write one, because I was told in high school
0:06.3	that I was a terrible writer, because I write the way that I speak,
0:11.0	which supposedly during high school English was not a good thing to my teacher, but apparently to a publisher and to a public audience, like that's what they love.
0:21.0	Dr. Becky is a force of nature.
0:25.4	She's really set an incredible standard
0:27.6	for people like me who enjoy both communicating
0:30.8	scientific discoveries with the general public, i.e. some of you out there.
0:36.9	But also she does actual real life science in a way that's almost unparalleled involving
0:41.9	millions of people around the world.
0:44.0	Safe to say she's had as much influence on modern astronomical outreach and
0:49.7	astronomical research as any living scientist.
0:53.0	She's a delight to talk to and you're really going to enjoy it.
0:57.0	So I invite you to sit back, relax, enjoy the ride through the Cosmos, pick up a copy of her book, and do me a favor.
1:05.5	Leave a review of this on iTunes or wherever you get your podcast caught up each week. This is one of many podcasts that we put out here as part of the
1:16.6	Into the Impossible Podcast series. Check me out on YouTube and follow me elsewhere all over the multiverse of social media.
1:25.0	So with that, please sit back, enjoy the Cosmic Voyage at the speed of light.
1:39.0	Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Hey everybody, have you ever wondered what it's like to be an astrophysicist and
1:48.5	get paid to answer some of the most interesting exciting, mesmerizing questions in the universe.
1:55.6	First of all, is that true?
1:56.9	Because I think a lot of people would love to have that as their day job, but as their night
	...

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