Science Friday
Are There Things That We Know We Can’t Know?
May 5, 2025
Join Kelsey Johnson, a professor of astronomy and former president of the American Astronomical Society, as she unravels the cosmos’s biggest mysteries. She addresses profound questions about time, the universe's expansion, and what preceded the Big Bang. Delving into the limits of scientific inquiry, Kelsey discusses the implications of dark energy and gravity. She also explores the tantalizing concept of a multidimensional universe and the crucial role of curiosity in science, blending rigorous science with philosophical musings.
18:24
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Quick takeaways
- The podcast emphasizes the profound limits of scientific inquiry, highlighting the uncertainties surrounding dark energy and dark matter, which constitute 96% of the universe.
- It explores the philosophical implications of the universe’s origins, illustrating how even proposed causes lead to further questions about existence and knowledge.
Deep dives
The Limits of Scientific Knowledge
The pursuit of knowledge in astronomy and astrophysics raises fundamental questions about the scope of what can be known. The podcast emphasizes that even well-tested scientific theories can face challenges that render previously accepted truths uncertain. Notably, it highlights the mystery surrounding dark energy and dark matter, which together constitute around 96% of the universe—indicating that our understanding of the cosmos remains profoundly incomplete. This pursuit of understanding is characterized by a continual cycle of testing and retesting theories, bringing into question the very nature of knowledge itself and what it means to claim certainty in science.
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