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Carlo Rovelli says fundamental physics is overrated
Chris Stokel-Walker is a freelance journalist in Newcastle, UK.
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Carlo Rovelli is a physicist and writer whose research focuses on quantum theories of gravity. Credit: David Stock/eyevine
On the Equality of All Things: Physics and Philosophy Carlo Rovelli Allen Lane (2026)
Physicist Carlo Rovelli has spent much of his career working on the theory of quantum gravity, which seeks to reconcile quantum mechanics with the general theory of relativity. But, as he explores in his latest book, On the Equality of All Things, he is increasingly pondering an even bigger question: whether there is an ultimate description of reality at all.
I think physics is a fabulous enterprise, but the world is more complicated than just a fundamental equation. It is genuinely complex, which means that understanding the basic rules doesn’t tell us much about understanding the phenomena that we are interested in.
In the book, I say that fundamental physics is overrated. High-energy physics, particle physics, quantum gravity — it’s great science. I love it. It’s fantastic. It tells us something about the world. But stop thinking that it is the root of everything else.
My work is on quantum gravity, trying to write a theory that describes gravitational phenomena for which quantum theory cannot be disregarded. I find it super interesting because it pushes us to rethink reality. But I think it is a mistake to see physics as getting to the ultimate reality. The question of whether there is an ultimate reality is a bad question. ‘Ultimate’ doesn’t mean anything. Generality doesn’t mean better understanding.
I go running in the morning, and I try to run faster and faster. I have an objective to run faster, but that does not mean I want to reach the speed of light. In the same way, I want to know more about the world, but the very idea of knowing the ultimate reality seems an illusion and part of a world view that I think we should drop.
Yes, I think it does. I don’t think it is a particularly serious sin, but it has created problems for physics. Physicists have oversold the field, sometimes with good motivation. I think about theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking saying “philosophy is dead now”. This has created a colossal push against science, which I think is bad. People say: “Come on, you scientists pretended to be the arbiters of reality. You’re not.”