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Show notes
One of the paradoxes of science is that it seeks objectively true understanding of the world, but its methodology is driven by ignorance, failure, and uncertainty. Some phenomena we understand pretty well, but interesting research happens at the boundary of what we do and don't know. And there is no foolproof algorithm for moving in the right direction; we need to make conjectures and test them against the world. Biologist Stuart Firestein has been advocating for a better public understanding of the true methods of science, most recently in his new book It">https://bookshop.org/p/books/it-could-be-otherwise-science-in-the-age-of-uncertainty-stuart-firestein/dcf275ffbb4f8693">_It Could Be Otherwise: Science In the Age of Uncertainty_. Stop piecing your software together. Go to [Odoo.com/mindscape]( https://odoo.com/mindscape">Odoo.com/mindscape to learn more. #ad Mindscape listeners can try StatsKey Pro free for one month [with">https://statskey.ai/mindscape">with]( https://preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026/08/17/364-stuart-firestein-on-how-science-relies-on-ignorance-and-failure/">]( ) _Support Mindscape on [https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll"]( Patreon(opens in new tab)._ Stuart Firestein received his Ph.D. in neurobiology from the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently Professor of Neuroscience at in the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University, and Fractal Faculty at the Santa Fe Institute. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Sloan Foundation, and the Guggenheim Foundation. His research studies cellular mechanisms of signal transduction and olfaction. His previous books include Ignorance:">https://global.oup.com/academic/product/ignorance-9780199828074?lang=en&cc=us">_Ignorance: How It Drives Science_ and Failure:">https://global.oup.com/academic/product/failure-9780199390106?cc=us&lang=en&">_Failure: Why Science Is So Successful_. - [Columbia">https://senate.columbia.edu/people/stuart-j-firestein">Columbia]( https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ohOOcAEAAAAJ">Google]( https://www.amazon.com/stores/Stuart-Firestein/author/B00731BRBU">Amazon]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart\_Firestein">Wikipedia