0087 - The Power of ‘I Don’t Know' | Why Your Brain Loves Being Ignorant (And How That Makes You Smarter) ft Stuart Firestein

What if knowing less could actually make you more? In this riveting conversation, Ben Owden sits down with Dr. Stuart Firestein, former Chair of Columbia University’s Biological Sciences, neuroscientist extraordinaire, and author of Ignorance: How It Drives Science and Failure: Why Science Is Successful. Far from being gloomy topics, Stuart shows us how ignorance and failure are the secret engines of creativity and innovation, both in the lab and in life.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• Why “Not Knowing” Is Your Greatest Superpower – Stuart argues that curiosity lives between what we know and what we don’t. Learn how “negative capability” (a willingness to tolerate uncertainty) is the birthplace of every major discovery.
• How Failure Uncovers Hidden Possibilities – From Marie Curie to Richard Feynman, see why a “failed experiment” can be more valuable than hitting a bull’s-eye. (Hint: Nature’s top predators in nature only succeed 25% of the time!)
• The Art of Asking Better Questions – Forget “hypothesis‐driven” experiments: discover why wandering in the dark sometimes, not just under the lamp post, is where the real magic happens.
• Living with Revision — Why “Total Truth” Doesn’t Exist – What Newton, Einstein, and Keats taught Stuart about refining knowledge instead of clinging to “one final answer.”
• Practical Tips for Embracing Ignorance & Failure Today – From “failing better” to scheduling a daily “dark-room” hour, Stuart shares concrete ways to rewire your mindset—whether you’re a scientist, a middle manager, or just someone who wants to do more creative work.
  
  

Get a copy of Failure: Why Science Is So Successful

Important Links
*Join Thrive in the Middle Today!
*Book WhyLead to Train Your Teams
*Explore Our Services

Social Media
*Ben Owden's LinkedIn
*Ben Owden's Twitter