Are There Things That We Know We Can’t Know?
17:18 minutes
What is time? If the universe is expanding, what is it expanding into? What happened just before the Big Bang?
Some of the most head-scratching ideas in physics strain the limits of what science can test. In her book Into the Unknown: The Quest to Understand the Mysteries of the Cosmos, astronomer Dr. Kelsey Johnson describes some of those concepts, and sketches out ways to try to wrap your brain around them. Johnson joins Host Ira Flatow to talk about the limits of scientific inquiry, and what mysteries lie at the limits of science.
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Segment Guests
Kelsey Johnson
Dr. Kelsey Johnson is author of Into The Unknown: The Quest to Understand the Mysteries of the Cosmos, and a professor of Astronomy at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Segment Transcript
The transcript of this segment is being processed. It will be available early next week.
Meet the Producers and Host
About Charles Bergquist
As Science Friday’s director and senior producer, Charles Bergquist channels the chaos of a live production studio into something sounding like a radio program. Favorite topics include planetary sciences, chemistry, materials, and shiny things with blinking lights.
About Ira Flatow
Ira Flatow is the founder and host of Science Friday. His green thumb has revived many an office plant at death’s door.