Harvard Book Store Virtual Event: Carlo Rovelli

presenting Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution
in conversation with KATIE MACK

Harvard Book Store’s virtual event series, the Harvard University Division of Science, and the Harvard Library welcome renowned theoretical physicist CARLO ROVELLI—author of Seven Brief Lessons in Physics and The Order of Time—for a discussion of his latest, highly anticipated book, Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution. He will be joined in conversation by fellow theoretical physicist KATIE MACK, author of the celebrated The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking).

Ticketing

There are two ticket options available for this event.

Admission Ticket – $24.50: Includes one admission link, one copy of Helgoland, and one bookplate signed by the author. US shipping also included. Books will be shipped to ticket-holders following the event. Please note: we are unable to ship internationally.

Pay-What-You-Can Ticket: Includes one admission link. We suggest a $5 donation to support Harvard Book Store’s staff and our virtual event series during these difficult times. Thank you for your support!

About Helgoland

One of the world’s most renowned theoretical physicists, Carlo Rovelli has entranced millions of readers with his singular perspective on the cosmos. In Helgoland, he examines the enduring enigma of quantum theory. The quantum world Rovelli describes is as beautiful as it is unnerving.

Helgoland is a treeless island in the North Sea where the twenty-three-year-old Werner Heisenberg made the crucial breakthrough for the creation of quantum mechanics, setting off a century of scientific revolution. Full of alarming ideas (ghost waves, distant objects that seem to be magically connected, cats that appear both dead and alive), quantum physics has led to countless discoveries and technological advancements. Today our understanding of the world is based on this theory, yet it is still profoundly mysterious.

As scientists and philosophers continue to fiercely debate the meaning of the theory, Rovelli argues that its most unsettling contradictions can be explained by seeing the world as fundamentally made of relationships rather than substances. We and everything around us exist only in our interactions with one another. This bold idea suggests new directions for thinking about the structure of reality and even the nature of consciousness.

Rovelli makes learning about quantum mechanics an almost psychedelic experience. Shifting our perspective once again, he takes us on a riveting journey through the universe so we can better comprehend our place in it.

Praise for Helgoland

“[An] intellectually exhilarating dive into the profoundest scientific conundrums.” —Booklist, Starred Review

“Physicist Rovelli (The Order of Time) dazzles with this look at the ‘almost psychedelic experience’ of understanding quantum theory . . . These are big ideas, but Rovelli easily leads readers through the knotty logic, often with lyricism . . . Readers who follow along will be left in awe.” —Publisher’s Weekly, Starred Review

“Charmingly idiosyncratic. . . . [Rovelli is] perhaps the finest author now writing on physics and the quantum world.” —The Article