Ep 5. How human history shapes scientific inquiry

In this episode, we examine how the course of human history has shaped our scientific knowledge, why the physics community prioritizes some questions over others, and why progress in complex systems research is especially difficult. Academia continues to operate within set boundaries and students are taught certain concepts as fundamental and to skirt others completely. However, the history of science demonstrates that such concepts aren’t always set in stone. It’s possible that blowing open the “shackles of reality,” such as redefining the concept of life itself, and reprioritizing the problems that scientists want to tackle, might help scientists make more progress in this very difficult world of complexity research.
Guests:
David Krakauer, President and William H. Miller Professor of Complex Systems at the Santa Fe Institute
Sean Carroll, External Professor and Fractal Faculty at the Santa Fe Institute, Homewood Professor of Natural Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University
Hosts: Abha Eli Phoboo & Chris Kempes
Producer: Katherine Moncure
Podcast theme music by: Mitch Mignano
Additional sound credits: Digifishmusic, Trundlefly, Greenvwbeetle, Miksmusic, Brewlabboffin
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SFI programs: Education
Complexity Explorer:
Origins of Life: The Multiple Origins of Life - Part 1 | David Krakauer
Origins of Life: The Multiple Origins of Life - Part 2 | David Krakauer
Origins of Life: The Multiple Origins of Life - Part 3 | David Krakauer
Origins of Life: The Multiple Origins of Life - Part 4 | David Krakauer
Complexity Explorer Lecture: David Krakauer • What is Complexity?
Books:
Disputed Inheritance: The Battle over Mendel and the Future of Biology by Gregory Radick
Quanta and Fields: The Biggest Ideas in the Universe by Sean Carroll
Worlds Hidden in Plain Sight: The Evolving Idea of Complexity at the Santa Fe Institute, 1984-2019 Edited by David Krakauer
Talks:
The Many Worlds of Quantum Mechanics Sean Carroll
Papers & Articles:
“The Multiple Paths to Multiple Life,” in Journal of Molecular Evolution (July 12, 2021), doi.org/10.1007/s00239-021-10016-2