“We need to revive our sense of overall knowledge” to give our young people a complete education where science is a basic component. Carlo Rovelli, professor of Theoretical Physics at Aix-Marseille Université – a researcher at the Centre de Physique Théorique – is one of the theorists of loop quantum gravity. In his conversation with Aspen, he explained how giving renewed importance to scientific culture could bring new life to Italian education. “Ultimately,” he says, “there is the same depth of thought to help us understand the world in quantum physics as in the frescoes of Piero della Francesco.”
How much of a gap still exists in Italy between humanistic and scientific culture? Is there any awareness of the importance of science?
I think that what is lacking in Italy is a clear perception of culture as something vast and complex that embraces all philosophic and scientific knowledge. Scientific culture is a basic part of our civilization. Teaching young people to be cultured means educating them to be as moved by Einstein as by Beethoven Ultimately, there is the same depth of thought that helps us to understand the world in quantum mechanics as in the frescoes of Piero della Francesca. In Italy, however, humanistic and scientific cultures often appear to be different worlds that cannot communicate. That is why I believe that we need to revive general learning, stimulating a new way of thinking and abandoning the idea that there are two different and unrelated cultures. We also need to teach more science in Italy’s schools, combining it with humanistic studies – which remain essential – instead of substituting one for the other. Many of Italy’s best scientists attended a classical lyceum.
Italy has had a first-class tradition in physics. Is that still valid?
Of course, Italy’s tradition in physics is still alive. At CERN – located in Europe but the largest physics lab in the world – there are scientists from all over the world, but one nationality is heavily represented: Italy. I once asked the CERN directors about this and they said that the reason is simple: Italians are good, they know how to solve problems, they are more cultured, more inventive and can work in a team. All in all, I think that the level of Italian science is one of the highest in the world and that Italian scientists are still some of the most respected. Of course, we cannot ignore that fact that the scientific world is certainly not chasing after Italy. And there is a risk here: if Italy continues to offer inadequate resources for research, even the excellence of physics will end sooner or later.
How can theoretical physics contribute to other sciences and what are the challenges that researchers are still facing?
We have to consider physics as fundamental. There would be no engineering, electronics or telecommunications without Maxwell, Newton and the others. Physics is at the heart of our learning. It offers us a vision of the world that developed during the 20th century but still has enormous gaps to be filled. That is the scope of our work, combining quantum theory with Einstein’s theory of relativity, ultimately the Holy Grail of theoretical physics. There are theories that would seem to solve the problem but for now, we are travelling along different pathways. And schools of physics seem to be at war, although it is really a “good war” because we are exchanging clashing ideas, and we are learning from each other in the hope of finding a solution that will tell us something more about the world. The “battlefield” is quantum gravity, and it is actually the great open question for physicists all over the world.
A good basic preparation is still a decisive factor. How can we transfer this strong point to scientific research?
I think we need to have more young people working in our universities. Also, we obviously need to give priority to the best without those cuts that – in the long term – keep us from infusing new energy. We can of course carry out specific initiatives. We could, for example, start with doctoral programs, whose present organization in Italy needs changing. The model is that of US and British universities where doctoral programs have been transformed into opportunities for real research. The problem perhaps is that Italian doctoral degrees are a newer institution compared to other countries and in general, academe has not invested enough to create real schools. But there are excellent examples of Italian universities that have made a full commitment. One is the Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) of Trieste, which really impressed me. If a group of young people like those I saw is debating vivaciously, that means that the school is really working.
