This Idea Is Brilliant: Lost, Overlooked, and Underappreciated Scientific Concepts Everyone Should Know

This Idea Is Brilliant: Lost, Overlooked, and Underappreciated Scientific Concepts Everyone Should Know

Author: Airwave Literature December 8, 2020 Duration: 16:12:21
by John Brockman—The latest volume in the bestselling series from Edge.org—dubbed “the world’s smartest website” by The Guardian—brings together 206 of the world’s most innovative thinkers to discuss the scientific concepts that everyone should know.As science informs public policy, decision making, and so many aspects of our everyday lives, a scientifically literate society is crucial. In that spirit, Edge.org publisher and author of Know This, John Brockman, asks 206 of the world’s most brilliant minds the 2017 Edge Question: What scientific term or concept ought to be more widely known?Contributors include: author of The God Delusion RICHARD DAWKINS on using animals’ “Genetic Book of the Dead” to reconstruct ecological history; MacArthur Fellow REBECCA NEWBERGER GOLDSTEIN on “scientific realism,” the idea that scientific theories explain phenomena beyond what we can see and touch; author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics CARLO ROVELLI on “relative information,” which governs the physical world around us; theoretical physicist LAWRENCE M. KRAUSS on the hidden blessings of “uncertainty”; cognitive scientist and author of The Language Instinct STEVEN PINKER on “The Second Law of Thermodynamics”; biogerontologist AUBREY DE GREY on why “maladaptive traits” have been conserved evolutionarily; musician BRIAN ENO on “confirmation bias” in the internet age; Man Booker-winning author of Atonement IAN MCEWAN on the “Navier-Stokes Equations,” which govern everything from weather prediction to aircraft design and blood flow; plus pieces from RICHARD THALER, JARED DIAMOND, NICHOLAS CARR, JANNA LEVIN, LISA RANDALL, KEVIN KELLY, DANIEL COLEMAN, FRANK WILCZEK, RORY SUTHERLAND, NINA JABLONSKI, MARTIN REES, ALISON GOPNIK, and many, many others.

Warren Buffett’s idea that reading is the ultimate level playing field is where this conversation begins. The Bookshelf: Business & Self-Improvement, from Airwave Literature, isn’t about quick tips or hype. Instead, it’s a quiet, thoughtful space dedicated to the books that shape how we think about work, leadership, and personal growth. Each episode takes a single title-whether a timeless classic or a contemporary analysis-and unpacks its core ideas, not just summarizing but exploring how its lessons apply to real decisions and challenges. You’ll hear the host reflect on key passages, connect themes across different authors, and consider the practical implications of what’s on the page. The tone is more like a guided reading session than a lecture, designed for anyone who believes that deep understanding comes from engaging seriously with good writing. This podcast operates on the belief that the right book, properly considered, can change a mindset or a method. It’s for listeners who want to move beyond the headlines and dig into the substance that fuels lasting improvement, making your reading time more focused and impactful. Tune in to fill your own shelf with ideas that matter.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Bookshelf: Business & Self-Improvement
Podcast Episodes
Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:18:15
by David Eagleman—The magic of the brain is not found in the parts it's made of but in the way those parts unceasingly reweave themselves in an electric living fabric. And there is no more accomplished and accessible gui…
Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:49:32
by David Eagleman—If the conscious mind—the part you consider you—accounts for only a tiny fraction of the brain’s function, what is all the rest doing? This is the question that David Eagleman—renowned neuroscientist an…
Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:56:56
by Leonard Mlodinow—Leonard Mlodinow, the best-selling author of The Drunkard’s Walk and coauthor of The Grand Design (with Stephen Hawking), gives us a startling and eye-opening examination of how the unconscious mind s…
Love Is Not Enough [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:33:52
by Mark Manson—Best-selling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Mark Manson, deploys his signature no-nonsense wisdom on the subject that he started his career by covering: relationships. It may feel like rain…
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:21:33
by Phil Knight—In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the w…
Rising Strong [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:51:33
by Brené Brown—The physics of vulnerability is simple: If we are brave enough often enough, we will fall. The author of Daring Greatly and The Gifts of Imperfection tells us what it takes to get back up, and how owning o…