"The fact that Science can call itself out when there are gaps in its knowledge - and it can update and make revisions overtime - people see that as being inconsistent, but it's actually more about being  being more and more confident over time as we update our understanding. People think that Science contradicts itself, but that's the best part."

My guest today is Alice O'Keefe. 

Alice is a PhD student at the University of Wollongong in Australia, where she is studying the usage of Nanoparticles for treating brain tumours - which turns out to be just as cool as it sounds. Alice also makes videos on TikTok about physics, most recently around the interpretations of Quantum Mechanics. 

The conversation you're about to hear was incredibly fun to record. When Alice and I first spoke on a call before the podcast, she said to me that she suspected that she and I were basically the same person, which was remarkably prophetic given how similar some of our ideas turned out to be. We start off talking a bit about her research, and then shift into talking about science and philosophy more broadly. We ask questions such as:
What qualities make for a good scientist and teacher? 
What are the interpretations of Quantum Mechanics and why are they needed? 
And we even touch on ideas in Buddhism and Daoism and how they relate to science. 

You can find more from Alice O'Keefe on her socials below:
Instagram: @aliceo.keefe
Tiktok: @labratbag

My socials:
Instagram/Tiktok: @jack.lawro
jacklawrence.net
Patreon.com/jacklawrence

In this highly requested solo episode I present an introduction to the Philosophy of Science.

I’ve explored some of these ideas in some tiktok videos, and have mentioned them in other episodes tangentially, giving brief explanations. In this episode, I offer a short crash-course into some of those key ideas. 

We will ask ourselves what Science fundamentally is? What separates it from other kinds of knowledge? How do we justify scientific knowledge - that is, how does science fundamentally work, what makes it so successful? 

I'll be primarily looking at the work of two philosophers who give two radically different, but both quite persuasive, accounts of science - Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn.

If you'd like to read further on this, some books mentioned:
The Knowledge Machine - Michael Strevens
What Is This Thing Called Science? - Alan Chalmers
The Logic of Scientific Discovery - Karl Popper
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions - Thomas Kuhn

Also note - I'll likely be switching to a fortnightly schedule for the forseeable future, just to make sure I can keep the quality of these episodes high while keeping up with everything else. It'll also allow me to edit together clips for YouTube and more tightly edit interviews.

My socials:
@jack.lawro for both Instagram and TikTok
patreon.com/jacklawrence 

"Find something you like doing, and go for it" - Dr Charlotte Waterfall

Dr Charlotte Waterfall is an astrophysicist specialising in Heliophysics and Space Weather. She is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher following the completion of her PhD work on flaring young stars. She is better known as Space_Waterfall on TikTok where she makes educational content around her career, the latest activity from the Sun, and wider Astrophysics topics.

In this conversation we do a deep dive into all the topics Dr Waterfall makes TikToks about. We start off with all things heliophysics including solar flares, magnetic storms, and their associated risks for our planet. Our conversation then shifts into talking about Dr Waterfall's academic path in physics, the culture of academia and women in STEM. This was a super fun episode that everyone can get something out of, particularly those between GCSE all the way up to first year undergrad who are curios about a career in physics. Without further ado, here is Dr Waterfall. 

"Don't answer the poll yet, it's time for another moral dilemma..."

My guest today is Ethan Milne, better known as TallPsychology on TikTok.

Ethan is a doctoral student at the Ivey business school at western university, where he researchers the role of aggression in consumer behavior.

Ethan has had his research published in top medical journals, holds two patents, and makes TikTok’s generally focused around psychology, behavioural science, and ethical dilemmas.

In this episode we discuss, among other things, combating misinformation on Tiktok, how brands are using social media in new ways, the pitfalls of empathy as a tool for moral decisions, why perhaps creators should block people more often, and of course, we consider some ethical dilemmas. Ethan's a great, fascinating guy, I learned a lot in this conversation, I hope you will as well. 

We also discuss Hank Green and Ratatouille. 

"I think there are two types of people that do science. People that like the process and people that just want to know more, and I am very much one of the people that just wants to know more. " - Dr Helena Bates

Dr Helena Bates is a Planetary Scientist, currently working as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Natural History Museum. She has a PhD in physics on the formation and evolution of asteroids through the analysis of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites,  facilitated by the university of Oxford and the Natural History Museum. She studied Geophysics at Imperial, and up until recently was actually the curator of the meteorite collection at the museum itself.

This conversation was amazing. Dr Bates is a fountain of knowledge. In this conversation we cover: What planetary science is and the current mysteries that are at the forefront of the field. We talk about how to identify a meteorite - that is, how to tell if a rock you've found landed from outer space. We talk about flat earthers, alien life, how science is portrayed in the media and what science is fundamentally about. We also discuss the lack of women in some STEM fields, particularly physics, and the challenges of being an academic generally.  

You can find Dr Helena Bates @Hellybates on Twitter.

My socials:
@jack.lawro for IG
@jack.lawro for TikTok
Jacklawrence.net 

If you'd like to support this podcast, please share it with a friend, give us a rating on your particular app of choice, or you can find my patreon at patreon.com/jacklawrence 

In this intro episode I talk about what shaped my thinking from a young age, focusing primarily on David Deutsch's book The Fabric of Reality. I also give an overview of my background, my intentions for the podcast, and some anecdotes from how I ended up here recording this. 

Books mentioned:
The Fabric of Reality by David Deutsch
A New History of Western Philosophy by Anthony Kenny

Book list:
http://jacklawrence.net/books

Socials:
@jack.lawro on IG
@jack.lawro on TikTok
Jacklawrence.net