Sharjah, November 6, 2025
Italian best selling author and theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli wowed the audience at the 44th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) with a fascinating take on time, connection and conflict, and the role that science can play in helping humanity find common ground in a fragmented world.
Speaking at a session titled “Global Unity, Peace, and Physics”, Rovelli – author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics that’s been translated into 41 languages shared, “Physics teaches us that everything is linked – space, time, matter and energy. That same sense of connection is what the world needs today, between people and nations.”
Holding up a bottle of water before the audience, the veteran scientist who works mainly in the field of quantum gravity, said: “Look at this bottle – it has mass, temperature, pressure. But that’s not its full story. There is salt, metals, minerals, that’s chemistry. There are bacteria – that’s biology. Zoom in and you find atoms with protons and neutrons dancing together – that’s physics. And the plastic itself carries a story of our economy and society.”
“Reality is never just one thing,” added the professor from Verona who currently serves as the Emeritus Professor at the Centre de Physique Théorique of Marseille. “The best description of the world comes from many perspectives – all connected and inside one another. When we learn to see that, we understand not only the universe better, but also each other.”
When asked by the moderator Big Hass how we perceive time, Rovelli didn’t hesitate. “Wrongly,” quipped the author of two monographs on loop quantum gravity. “We live as if time flows uniformly – from past to future, measured by clocks and calendars – but that’s just how our minds experience it. In reality, time is not absolute.”
He illustrated this with a simple thought experiment by placing his watch above the moderator’s. “Even small differences in position change how time passes – the higher clock ticks slightly faster. Gravity, energy, and motion all affect time. Our daily perception smooths over these subtleties, giving the illusion of a uniform flow. But the universe tells a different story: time is flexible, relational, and far stranger than our intuition suggests. How often do we realise that our head is older than our feet?”
Known for weaving philosophy and physics into accessible reflections on existence, Rovelli urged that scientific curiosity and compassion are not separate pursuits. “When we study the cosmos, we learn humility,” he said. “We realise we are all part of the same story.”
“Look at how protons and neutrons collaborate to form an atom, and how atoms come together to form a molecule—how our cells cooperate within organs to keep us alive. Why can’t we do the same?” he asked, in a scathing critique of war and the “colossal” sums poured into military research, including artificial intelligence. “The best defense,” he said, “is disarming each other, not arming, because the pursuit of peace is rational, even scientific. Just as the universe endures through balance and cooperation, so must we, if we are to survive within it.”
Organised by the Sharjah Book Authority under the theme It’s between you and a book the annual 12-day event is one of the world’s largest literary gatherings, attracting global authors, publishers, and thinkers to the UAE.
