Episode Details
EPISODE INFO
- Released
- February 11, 2019
- Duration
- 1h 6m
- Channel
- Modern Wisdom
- Watch on YouTube
- ▶ Open ↗
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
Brian Keating is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the Centre for Astrophysics & Space Sciences at University of California. How would it feel to almost receive the Nobel Prize and have it torn from your grasp? Today we're going to find out, albeit at Professor Keating's expense. Expect to learn what it takes to build a telescope that can detect the farthest regions of space in the Antarctic, what the Nobel Prize originally set out to achieve and how the politics of the physics community can often get in the way of progress. Extra Stuff: Brian's Website - https://briankeating.com/ Losing The Nobel Prize - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Losing-Nobel-Prize-Cosmology-Ambition/dp/1324000910/ - Listen to all episodes online. Search "Modern Wisdom" on any Podcast App or click here: iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/modern-wisdom/id1347973549 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0XrOqvxlqQI6bmdYHuIVnr?si=iUpczE97SJqe1kNdYBipnw Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/modern-wisdom - I want to hear from you!! Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Email: modernwisdompodcast@gmail.com
SPEAKERS
Chris Williamson
hostNarrator
otherBrian Keating
guest
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Chris Williamson and Narrator, Losing The Nobel Prize | Dr Brian Keating explores cosmologist Brian Keating On Losing The Nobel And Loving Science Cosmologist and experimentalist Dr. Brian Keating recounts the rise and fall of the BICEP2 experiment, which appeared to detect primordial gravitational waves and seemed destined for a Nobel Prize before being overturned by better dust data. He explains the science behind inflation, gravitational waves, and the cosmic microwave background, and how a galactic dust signal mimicked the ‘smoking gun’ of the Big Bang. The conversation broadens into a critique of the culture and politics of modern physics, highlighting tensions between theorists and experimentalists and between collaboration and competition. Keating also dissects the Nobel Prize itself as an outdated, quasi-religious institution whose rules distort scientific incentives, and describes how losing his own Nobel chance reshaped his views on success and meaning in science.
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