#1317 Samuel Arbesman - The Half-life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date
RECORDED ON JULY 8th 2026.
Dr. Samuel Arbesman is a former Scientist in Residence at Lux Capital. He is also an Adjunct Professor and xLab senior fellow at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management; a Senior Fellow of the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado Boulder; and a Research Fellow at the Long Now Foundation. He is the author of The Half-life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date.
In this episode, we focus on The Half-Life of Facts. We talk about scientometrics, the science of science, how scientific knowledge is established, how long it takes for facts to change, and how they change. We talk about practical applications for people’s daily lives. We discuss how language changes. Finally, we discuss how doctors can keep up with the latest research, and why people hold on to outdated facts.
Time Links:
Intro
Scientometrics
How is (scientific) knowledge established?
How long does it take for facts to change?
How do facts change?
Practical applications
How language changes
How can doctors keep up with the latest research?
Why do people hold on to outdated facts?
Follow Dr. Arbesman’s work!
Follow Dr. Arbesman’s work:
Website: https://arbesman.net/
Substack: https://tinyurl.com/5n7tter3
The Half-Life of Facts: https://tinyurl.com/msyzpzb4