Prof Dr. Stefan Klein und Prof. Dr. Thomas Düllo im Gespräch mit

Prof. Dr. Carlo Rovelli
Reality Is Not What It Seems. On the Order of Time and Other Puzzles

Freitag, 12. Oktober 2018, 18 Uhr
Raum 310, Hardenbergstr. 33, 10623 Berlin
Veranstaltung in englischer Sprache.
Eintritt frei.
ACHTUNG: Begrenzte Sitzplatzkapazität; wir danken für Ihr Verständnis, falls nicht ausreichend Plätze zur Verfügiung stehen. Keine Reservierung möglich.

Abstract: Science often challenges common sense. It teaches us that the reality of things can be very different from our instinctive naive image of it. But the scientific image of the world must be also able to account for our own common sense view, namely include our own perspective on reality. As a result, the notion of reality that is useful for science is subtle and multilayered. I discuss the many issues open by these problems and illustrate them focusing on a particular fascinating open question in modern physics: the nature of time.  

Carlo Rovelli is an Italian theoretical physicist and writer who has worked in Italy, the United States and since 2000, in France. His work is mainly in the field of quantum gravity, where he is among the founders of the loop quantum gravity theory. He has also worked in the history and philosophy of science. He collaborates with several Italian newspapers, in particular the cultural supplements of the Corriere della Sera, Il Sole 24 Ore and La Repubblica. His popular science book Seven Brief Lessons on Physics has been translated in 41 languages and has sold over a million copies worldwide.

Carlo Rovelli was born in Verona, Italy, in 1956. He attended the Liceo Classico Scipione Maffei in Verona. In the 1970s, he participated in the student political movements in Italian universities. He was involved with the free political radio stations Radio Alice in Bologna and Radio Anguana in Verona, which he helped found. In conjunction with his political activity, he was charged, but later released, for crimes of opinion related to the book Fatti Nostri, which he co-authored with Enrico Palandri, Maurizio Torrealta, and Claudio Piersanti. In 1981, Rovelli graduated with a BS/MS in Physics from the University of Bologna, and in 1986 he obtained his PhD at the University of Padova, Italy. Rovelli refused military service, which was compulsory in Italy at the time, and was therefore briefly detained in 1987. He held postdoctoral positions at the University of Rome, Trieste, and at Yale University. Rovelli was on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh from 1990 to 2000.He currently works in the Centre de Physique Théorique de Luminy of Aix-Marseille University. He has also held the post of Affiliated Professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science of the University of Pittsburgh.