Science is often presented as a search for definitive answers. But Stuart Firestein argues that uncertainty and unanswered questions are not weaknesses of science — they're what make discovery possible.
Firestein, a professor of neuroscience at Columbia University and author of "It Could Be Otherwise: Science in the Age of Uncertainty," discusses how changing the way we think about uncertainty could help strengthen public trust in science. He argues that science is less about accumulating absolute truths and more about expanding what is possible by asking better questions.
The conversation explores how curiosity, uncertainty and even failure drive scientific progress, and why those ideas matter at a time when misinformation and skepticism are challenging public understanding of science.
