Born in Verona, Italy, in 1956, theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli is known for his writing on the philosophy of science. His books include the bestselling Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, The Order of Time and Helgoland and have been translated into more than 40 languages. He heads the quantum gravity research group at Aix-Marseille University, France, and is adjunct professor at the University of Western Ontario’s philosophy department, Canada. Carlo Rovelli’s latest book, White Holes, is out now on Allen Lane. He will be in conversation with Dara Ó Briain for a Guardian Live event at London’s Cadogan Hall on Monday 30 October.
1. Essays
Why Empires Fall by John Rapley and Peter Heather
I read the famous book by [Theodor] Mommsen about the fall of the Roman empire in my youth, but this essay has changed my view both of the past and the present. Rapley and Heather have condensed the last 10 years of work about the fourth century. They make the point that the Roman empire fell not because it became weaker, but because it was a particularly expansive period, so the periphery became rich, and this was a power imbalance Rome was not able to deal with. It’s convincing and relevant to the west today.
2. Film
Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan)
I saw this at the New York premiere, and was on a panel commenting on it with Christopher Nolan and others. It’s about the Manhattan Project and the creation of atomic bombs. Oppenheimer was the project director. I thought in the movie he was a little too lionised – he was a top level scientist, but certainly not among the greatest of that period. But it’s a very relevant movie: we are once again on the brink of nuclear catastrophe, and the only solution is international cooperation rather than confrontation. It was also nice to see the communists as the good guys for once.
3. Photography
This is the famous picture of a black hole obtained with radio telescopes all over the world. It’s a major step for humankind: the existence of black holes changes the way we think about the world. For me it is particularly moving because I’ve been studying black holes since I was at university and few believed they existed at the time. We thought the universe was this great expanse of space, but it’s not – it has holes. And we don’t know what’s deep inside those holes. We have theories, we have science, but we don’t have the clearest ideas about them yet.
4. Poetry
Collected Poems of Lenore Kandel
When I was a kid in Italy I was fascinated by the beat-hippy movement in California: Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and so on. But I did not know this particular poet until I recently stumbled upon her by chance. She’s remarkable and should be better known. Her themes are quite wide, but she created a scandal in the late 60s writing about sex in a very strong, explicit, vivid way, talking about how female desire is beautiful and sacred.
5. Cultural institution
In June I was invited to a conference in Venice with politicians, intellectuals, economists and historians. It was organised by the Berggruen Institute, which deals with global political issues regarding governance of the planet, with a clear view to the common good rather than a particular part of us against the others. The 20th century was a disaster. Our century may be even worse unless we find a way to live together. So the institute organises meetings, bringing together suggestions with the hope these ideas can change the world. It’s a long shot, of course, but I think it’s what we need.
6. Music
Classical music on YouTube
For more than a year I have been exchanging emails with a wonderful Italian classical music singer, Erik Battaglia, whom I have never actually met in person. We discuss the nature of music and he sends me recordings on YouTube – with good headphones the quality’s not bad. So I’ve spent the last month listening to a lot of fantastic classical music with him as a guide: the wartime Furtwängler recordings of Beethoven’s symphonies (the 1943 seventh symphony is absolutely spectacular); Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau singing Schubert’s Im Abendrot or Bach’s Kreuzstab cantata. I could go on. It’s been illuminating for me.