On this episode of Behind the Scenes, we speak with theoretical physicist and ace science communicator Jim Al-Khalili about his new book THE JOY OF SCIENCE. Read our excerpt, "Mysteries Are to Be Embraced, But Also to Be Solved," here: nautil.us/mysteries-are-to-be-embraced-but-also-to-be-solved-18972/
Subscribe to Nautilus: join.nautil.us/membership-a
Follow Nautilus on Twitter: twitter.com/nautilusmag
THE CASE FOR LIVING SCIENTIFICALLY
Do you have a memorable example admitting you were wrong? Jim Al-Khalili does. He’s an Iraqi-British theoretical physicist, an ace science communicator, and author most recently of The Joy of Science. (Read our excerpt of the book, "Mysteries Are to Be Embraced, But Also to Be Solved.”) Several years ago, while preparing to do voice-over work for Gravity and Me: The Force That Shapes Our Lives, for the BBC, he realized an error. They had finished filming, but they would have to reshoot one scene. Al-Khalili noticed that he’d made a mistake in explaining how, depending on the strength of Earth’s gravity, clocks can run at different rates.
The editors at the BBC wanted to cut the error—but Al-Khalili wanted to keep it alongside his correction. He wanted his viewers to see his original mistake, and then watch him admit it. “The guys at BBC, the commissioning editor, were quite nervous about this,” Al-Khalili told me. "They said, 'Oh, Jim, we are concerned about your reputation as a professor of physics if you admit your mistake publicly like that.' I said, 'Well, clearly you don't understand how science works. It's not something to be ashamed of to admit you are wrong.'"
That’s just one virtue of the scientific method that Al-Khalili believes we should strive to apply in our daily lives. In our conversation he also discussed, among other things, the importance of questioning our own motives behind the beliefs we cherish. "Just because you want something to be true or correct, doesn't make it so,” he said. “We are trained to do that in science, and I think it's a nice lesson that wider society could adopt."
Al-Khalili felt it was time, at this point in his career, to impart some veteran advice. "I've reached that stage,” he said, "where I arrogantly think I can impart wisdom to the world about how you should behave and live better lives.”
–Brian Gallagher, associate editor