364 | Stuart Firestein on How Science Relies on Ignorance and Failure

Neuroscientist Stuart Firestein discusses how real scientific progress depends on ignorance, failure, and uncertainty rather than a tidy accumulation of established facts. He argues that the most interesting research happens at the edge of what is known, and that there is no foolproof algorithm for making discoveries. Firestein makes the case for a public understanding of science that better reflects the messy, contingent nature of actual scientific practice.