“Human mind is not limited to comprehend the nature of reality”

An Interview with Prof. David Gross

Professor David Gross shared the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2004 for solving the last great remaining problem of ‘the Standard Model’ of the quantum mechanical picture of reality. He and his co-recipients discovered how the nucleus of an atom works.
He was in Mumbai to deliver 60th Homi Bhabha memorial Lecture at TIFR where Mr. Ibrahim Afghan interacted with him. Excerpts.

Q. You are associated with the research on The String Theory that, hopefully, will unite all the forces in nature. A dream Albert Einstein tried to realize in his last years, to explain the complete reality. Do you think the string theory will be the final answer to it?
Prof. Gross : It may be the final answer or may not be. It can be a step ahead. It may lead you to many more steps in between and maybe, the process just continues forever…
This theory, one must remember, is going deeper and is richer. There are theories within this theory. It is like reaching a peak of Himalaya. You know the peak, so the goal. To reach there, you may have to cross many valleys and mountains, you don’t know how many. Hence, you cannot set a timeframe for its success.

Q. Some senior scientists like Prof. Martin Rees believe that we may never understand the reality of the universe. Like, he said, my dog does not understand Quantum Physics.
Prof. Gross : I do not agree to it. I do not see a reason to believe that human mind is limited. 200 years ago, people in twenties were at the forefront to explore scientific mysteries. Today, even after there is so much to learn, people in the same age are at the frontiers.
Secondly, human mind and that of an animal differ on the basis of language. Even a child creates new sentence, which is an infinite capability human has. People now know much more at the early age. This amounts to believe that there is an indication that we will be, one day, able to know the reality.

Q. One question related to knowing the reality is ‘why do we exist?’ Do you think it is for the physicist to answer or it’s pure philosophical?
Prof. Gross : No, It is a totally philosophical. Even religious. They can take these questions and go nowhere. They have been since long. Right now it is not a question for physicists. May be 100 years from now, it can come under physics.

Q. Taking this string of reality further let me ask you about how this universe is going to end; your belief in the theories associated with it.
Prof. Gross : Latest predictions goes with the observation that the universe is expanding. Actually, it is acceleratingly expanding. So if after billion or so years you look out at night, you will not see any galaxies, only the Milky Way.

Q. One theory also predicts of sudden rip?
Prof. Gross : Yes, but, it‘s very unlikely. The research on the Dark Matter is hence very essential in this regard. (It will keep the physicists busy for next 25 years as behaviour of this dark matter is very crazy and nothing is known about it.)

Q. Coming to the issues in India, do you think that India can compete in Nobel arena in near future? How do you see the science scenario, especially that of physics?
Prof. Gross : India has a long tradition of Nobel prize winners, unlike China, where there is none. Talent here is of first rate. English language is an added advantage.
But, you also need to give good salaries to the professors; they are really very badly paid. To have a leadership position here, you should capture the brains. For that you have to pay. Indian scientists should be encouraged to come back. It is also very important to know that the scientists are not only attracted by salaries; they want to be in a place where action is; A place where frontrunner research is on.

Q. What about the work culture, and freedom to work?
Prof. Gross : Yeah, scientists love to be free. They do not like to be told to them what they should do or should not. In that sense, India is very close to the USA. Democracy here makes a big difference to them.

Q. It looks that the gap between science and common people still exists, whether in India or USA. What role can scientists play to make people think more rationally?
Prof. Gross : It’s a big challenge. Scientists need to explain science to more and more people. People are just scared about science thinking it’s too complicated or they may not just understand it. But whenever we interact with people I see lots of interest. They really want to know more and more about science. Scientists need to go out more often and interact with people to explain science.