Harry Collins: Why the Michelson-Morley Experiment Is Misunderstood

Harry Collins, a distinguished sociologist of science, discusses how expertise, discovery, and social dynamics shape scientific inquiry, critiquing the legacy of the Michelson–Morley experiment and its impact on modern physics. The conversation explores the stages of discovery, the fractal model of society, and the interplay between moral truths and scientific truth.

0:00 Intro
1:11 How to Improve Science
5:56 Einstein and Hawkins
11:10 Discovery of Gravitational Waves
21:03 The Stages of Discovery
26:57 The Fractal Model of Society
36:52 How Society Forms You
45:08 Moral Truths and Science
55:30 Outro / Support TOE

SPONSORS:

- I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE
- Indeed: job visibility boost at https://www.Indeed.com/THEORIES
- HelloFresh: FREE breakfast for life at https://www.HelloFresh.com/freetheoriesofeverything

Every episode days early, ad-free, plus my essays: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe

RESOURCES:

- Rethinking the Foundations playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ7ikzmc6zlOYgTu7P4nfjYkv3mkikyBa
- Gravity's Kiss (book): https://www.amazon.ca/Gravitys-Kiss-Detection-Gravitational-Waves/dp/0262036185
- Professor Harry Collins: https://profiles.cardiff.ac.uk/staff/collinshm
- Gravity's Ghost and Big Dog (book): https://www.amazon.ca/Gravitys-Ghost-Big-Dog-Twenty-First-ebook/dp/B00HSOJ9KS
- Expertises (paper): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0039368107000593
- TOE’s String Theory Iceberg: https://youtu.be/X4PdPnQuwjY
- A Brief History of Time (book): https://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Time-Stephen-Hawking/dp/0553380168
- The Evolution of Physics (book): https://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Physics-Albert-Einstein/dp/0671201565/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2Y6PG41AKP0VB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hs3RH-krpskq--FQLA49yaEQo7mquj0dVMYsWaYwlJ6S2ahhlLC0fVa7ikYPe5BqvSYx4PH15Fn9pENdUIwDKzLVi5XF4JGC89uYR9jsX6dqpSUief3XMuD_igB_tJ8zi2ZuNGi4-3wvCzUxjIcxjw3Mf3u_1cXX1zI2IysdGDbt6Xmww980j2ShUKsvEbkK_Zm_tODCmdvhhgcL_shBOz5Av-uZtmVKg5RIWxXx0Xg.fEzRTtYSoAriPDuyZiJt2zf1aQeOkiCTWr-cf4z7pO0&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+evolution+of+physics&qid=1725909573&s=books&sprefix=the+evolution+of+physic%2Cstripbooks%2C101&sr=1-1
- Carlo Rovelli on TOE: https://youtu.be/r_fUPbBNmBw
- Harry’s paper with Gary Sanders (on expertise): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0039368107000593?via%3Dihub
- The TEA Set (paper): https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/030631277400400203
- Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal (early access to ad-free audio episodes!)
- Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e
- Become a YouTube Member Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join
- Join TOEmail at: https://www.curtjaimungal.org
- Crypto: https://nowpayments.io/donation/TOE
- PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/paypalTOE
- TOE Merch: https://tinyurl.com/TOEmerch

Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science.

FOLLOW: Substack | Spotify | YouTube | Twitter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices