Professor Carlo Rovelli
Desert Island Discs
BBC
4.3 • 14.3K Ratings
🗓️ 2 July 2017
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Kirsty Young's castaway is the theoretical physicist, Professor Carlo Rovelli. His book 'Seven Brief Lessons on Physics' became one of the fastest-selling science titles of all time, catapulting him from the world of academia into the global spotlight. Committed to bridging the gap between science and art and making complex scientific issues comprehensible for the lay person, he is currently Professor of Physics at Aix-Marseille University.
Born in Verona, and an only child, he was encouraged to learn, to be independent and dreamed of travelling through space. By the age of 12 his long-standing rebellious streak was visible and he would later interrupt his university career to travel. Now in his early sixties, his academic career has seen him work in Europe and America and among the scientific community he is best known as one of the founders of Loop Quantum Gravity theory.
Producer: Cathy Drysdale.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the BBC. |
| 0:03.2 | Hello, I'm Kirstie Young. |
| 0:04.9 | Thank you for downloading this podcast of Desert Island Discs from BBC Radio 4. |
| 0:09.6 | For rights reasons, the music choices are shorter than in the Radio broadcast. |
| 0:14.0 | For more information about the programme, please visit bbc.co.uk- Radio 4. |
| 0:30.0 | Music |
| 0:42.0 | My castaway this week is the physicist Professor Carlo Dovelli. |
| 0:46.4 | He is one of the founders of loop quantum gravity theory and yes, it is as complex as it |
| 0:51.5 | sounds, but take heart. |
| 0:53.4 | He's not just a wizard understanding, glue on hot black holes and discontinuous time, |
| 0:58.7 | but he's really good at explaining it too. |
| 1:01.0 | His most recent book, Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, is an international bestseller, |
| 1:06.4 | and the importance of his original scholarship is considered so significant. |
| 1:10.8 | He's even had a five-day scientific symposium devoted entirely to his work. |
| 1:15.9 | Such is his rock star status they called it Carlo Fest. |
| 1:20.2 | If you tend to think of science as a reassuring depository of certainties, then think again. |
| 1:26.0 | According to my guest, the foundation of science is an acute awareness of the extent of our ignorance. |
| 1:33.5 | He says, I think physics is about escaping the prison of the received thoughts |
| 1:39.0 | and searching novel ways of thinking of the world, about trying to clear a bit the misty |
| 1:44.2 | lake of insubstantial dreams which reflect reality like the lake reflects the mountains |
| 1:50.0 | and so welcome, Professor Ovelli. |
| 1:52.1 | Your most recent book then, so far I think it sold well over a million copies. |
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