How Black Holes Break Reality | Marcus Chown [Ep. 493]

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Could a black hole erase your past? Wipe out every memory, every detail, that makes you who you are?

That’s just one of the crazy questions we explore as we encounter the insane paradoxes of black holes. 

Black holes don’t just trap matter. They trap information too. This is what makes them one of the greatest mysteries of our universe. They challenge our fundamental understanding of physics and our reality. Everything we know about our world breaks down when we confront their mystifying properties.

Today's guest, Marcus Chown, has spent years tracing the history of black holes—not just the science, but also the brilliant scientists who gave us the knowledge and insight into these marvels. From equations scribbled in the trenches of WWI to a vanishing dark star in the 1970s, Marcus takes us on a journey from discovery to understanding…of all that we know so far.

His latest book, A Crack in Everything, tells the astonishing story of how black holes went from absurd fantasy to perhaps the fundamental phenomenon that shapes our entire reality.

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Key Takeaways: 

• 00:00:00 Intro

• 00:01:09 The most terrifying object in the universe

• 00:03:05 Judging a book by its cover 

• 00:05:10 Paradoxes and information in black holes 

• 00:10:26 Historical figures and black holes

• 00:23:23 The future of black hole research 

• 00:34:44 Are black holes responsible for our existence?

• 00:38:53 Do black holes create universes? 

• 00:44:06 Human stories that didn’t make it into the book 

• 00:59:37 Outro

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Additional resources: 

➡️ Learn more about Marcus Chown: 

📚 A Crack in Everything: https://a.co/d/5KI9iZK

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Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known.

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