TRENTO. The stage transforms into a vast classroom where spectators become students again, engaging in a fascinating lesson that intertwines physics experiments with the various influences this subject can exert in our daily lives.
This happens with Vincenzo Schettini, who returns to Trento after a previous sold-out show with 'La fisica che ci piace.' The event is set for today, October 17, at 9 PM at the Auditorium (tickets still available). We spoke with Professor Schettini, who became a social media phenomenon after posting his first viral video in 2017.
After your sold-out show last May, what is your state of mind returning to Trento with 'La fisica che ci piace'?
“In the last six months, I have changed a lot. My television experience related to 'La fisica dell'amore' has made me realize how much we need kindness, culture, less rudeness, and positive messages today. I return to Trento charged not only with the theme of culture but also with the mission to soften the new generations, helping them understand that only culture will dictate the rules of a world that can be saved from the abyss we see approaching. I hope that culture can intoxicate the youth and make them a different generation than ours.”
Did you expect this level of success for your show?
“When I started with theater, I didn’t want to get my hopes up, and I remain amazed every time I see such an immediate and significant response from the audience. It’s not a matter of success but of the affection from people, which is very rare to achieve. I hope I never lose this sense of gratitude towards them.”
The attention towards you has stemmed from your online videos. What fears did you have about bringing this into a theatrical dimension?
“The same fear I had for television: I was afraid that people would feel betrayed and think I had gotten a big head. Instead, the opposite happened: one in a thousand thinks that, but the others are happy that I share with them 'the physics we like,' which they already knew in other ways. I always bring myself, whether on television, in theater, in books, or in videos; I haven’t changed.”
But how do you make physics understandable to someone, like me, who didn’t grasp it at school?
“You can only convey concepts if they are clear in the minds of the teachers, and that is not always the case. I try to translate them using simple words, just as Mike Bongiorno or Maestro Manzi entered our homes, taking inspiration from the teachers I had in school. Finally, one thing not to overlook is the enthusiasm that inevitably captivates those who listen to you.”
Does your show also discuss artificial intelligence?
“There is a segment of the show where I talk about it, particularly when discussing quantum mechanics and quantum computers that enable increasingly faster data processing. I mention artificial intelligence as one of the greatest resources that will be in the hands of competent people. For example, a brilliant doctor with artificial intelligence becomes a third-level super saiyan doctor, just as a methodical university student becomes a super-student, while a high school student without skills and method becomes just an amoeba.”
Regarding your program 'Fisica dell'amore,' are you satisfied?
“Very much: it’s precisely the program I have always wanted to bring to TV, and I don’t take it for granted that I am doing it. I find it doubly beautiful to have the opportunity to talk about physics, values, school, and future research on state television; it has a hundred times more value than doing it elsewhere.”
What can physics gift us in the future?
“I expect a revolution in the understanding and use of the concept of energy because we still don’t understand anything about energy transition and circular economy. We fill our mouths with words, but we still don’t apply Lavoisier’s concept: 'nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, everything is transformed.' When we understand that energy is transformation, engineers and architects of the future will design smart homes where just walking will produce energy, or even speaking will generate energy through sound sensors. Only when this is understood and applied will we have entered the true era of energy consciousness, and humanity will have taken a step forward.”
I feel a great responsibility on my shoulders, and I want to educate young people towards these frontiers. As Italy, we cannot fall behind: we are a nation with incredible know-how, and an excellent educational system, but then the best minds flee abroad, which will impoverish us.”