All Episodes

October 22, 2025 69 mins

Facts change — and that's a good thing.

In this episode, Samuel Arbesman, complexity scientist and author of The Half-Life of Facts, joins Aidan McCullen to explore how what we know — and believe to be true — constantly evolves.

Together, they unpack how facts have a "half-life," why collaboration matters in a changing world, and how exponential knowledge growth reshapes science, strategy, and society.

In this episode:

 

  • Why facts and truths decay over time

  • How science self-corrects — from the Brontosaurus myth to the spinach iron story

  • The concept of "meso-facts" — slowly changing knowledge

  • How exponential growth drives innovation and discovery

  • Why curiosity, humility, and adaptability are essential for leaders

  •  

📚 Guest: Samuel Arbesman — author of The Half-Life of Facts, Overcomplicated, and The Magic of Code.

🌐 https://arbesman.net | https://arbesman.substack.com

 

🎙️ Hosted by Aidan McCullen — international keynote speaker on change, transformation, and innovation, author of Undisruptable, and host of The Innovation Show.

 

 

💼 Brought to you by Kyndryl – helping leaders harness the power of technology for smarter decisions and faster innovation.

👉 https://www.kyndryl.com/ie/en/institute

 

📘 Connect with Aidan McCullen:

🌐 https://theinnovationshow.io

📰 Substack: https://thethursdaythought.substack.com

📕 Book: Undisruptable

🎤 Speaking: https://aidanmccullen.com

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.