Physicist Tara Shears on Falsification

Physicist Tara Shears on Falsification

Science is based on fact, right? Cold, unchanging, unarguable facts. Perhaps not, says physicist Tara Shears.

Tara is more inclined to follow the principles of the Anglo-Austrian philosopher, Karl Popper. He believed that human knowledge progresses through 'falsification'. A theory or idea shouldn't be described as scientific unless it could, in principle, be proven false.

Raised in a Vienna in thrall to Marxism and Freudianism, Popper bristled against these 'sciences' which could adapt and survive to prevailing political and social conditions. They could not be proven false and so they were not science. The ideas of Einstein, by contrast, could be tested scientifically and might one day be proven false.

An interesting principle certainly, but potentially demoralising for a scientist who could see her life's work dissolve in front of her eyes. Tara joins her colleagues at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva to ponder the implications of Popper's work. She also meets Popper's former student, John Worrall and string theoretician David Tong.

This is part of a week of programmes asking how we can know anything at all.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(60)

Neuropsychologist Paul Broks on Wittgenstein

Neuropsychologist Paul Broks on Wittgenstein

Paul Broks looks at the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and the problem of "other minds". How do I know you are not a zombie who behaves like a human but actually has no consciousness? Even if you are...

7 Elo 201512min

Philosopher Clare Carlisle on Reality and Perception

Philosopher Clare Carlisle on Reality and Perception

If a tree falls in a forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound?That's the kind of head-scratching question that's popularly believed to occupy the time and brains of philosophers. It...

6 Elo 201512min

Lawyer Harry Potter on Eyewitness Testimony

Lawyer Harry Potter on Eyewitness Testimony

Barrister Harry Potter asks whether we can believe the evidence of our own eyes. It's a vital question for the justice system today and Harry traces it back to the work of 18th century Philosopher Dav...

4 Elo 201513min

How Can I Know Anything at All?

How Can I Know Anything at All?

A history of ideas. Presented by Melvyn Bragg but told in many voices. Each week Melvyn is joined by four guests with different backgrounds to discuss a really big question. This week he's asking 'How...

3 Elo 201513min

Writer Lisa Appignanesi on the Love of Children

Writer Lisa Appignanesi on the Love of Children

How should we love our children? Can we build on the feelings we experience when we see them for the first time, raise them by instinct and personal principles or should we consult the childcare gurus...

31 Heinä 201512min

Psychotherapist Mark Vernon on Freud

Psychotherapist Mark Vernon on Freud

What is love? Psychotherapist Mark Vernon looks at Freud's ideas on the Greek god Eros, which he saw as a kind of life force running through us, shaping our desires and passionsFreud is often thought ...

30 Heinä 201512min

Theologian Giles Fraser on Altruism

Theologian Giles Fraser on Altruism

Giles Fraser discusses gene theory versus altruism with playwright Tom Stoppard whose play The Hard Problem explores the extent to which our genes dictate human acts of love and kindness, and Armand L...

29 Heinä 201512min

Suosittua kategoriassa Historia

olipa-kerran-otsikko
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
mayday-fi
huijarit
rss-ikiuni
mystista
totuus-vai-salaliitto
konginkangas
tsunami
rss-subjektiivinen-todistaja
sotaa-ja-historiaa-podi
rouva-diktaattori
rss-historian-pitka-oppimaara
rss-sattuu-sita-suomessakin
historiaa-suomeksi
apinan-vuosi
rss-i-dont-like-mondays-2
rss-peter-peter
slangiradio-helsingin-historiaa-lahiradiossa
rss-kirkon-ihmeellisimmat-tarinat