Nobel Prize-winner Frank Wilczek talks to SPIEGEL about the universe’s extraordinary symmetry, the overlap between beauty and physics and why we may be on the verge of a bigger discovery than the Higgs particle.
SPIEGEL: Professor Wilczek, Goethe once said one should hear a little music, read a little poetry and look at a beautiful picture every day so that worldly cares don’t obliterate one’s sense of beauty. Have you already had your daily bit of beauty today?
Wilczek: More than just a bit today. I’ve been reading books about art history and looking at pictures. I also have a very ambitious summer reading program. Today I read a science fiction book, “Starmaker” by Olaf Stapledon. It may not be a literary masterpiece, but it’s full of inspiring visions. Normally I also play the piano quite a bit, but our piano has gotten out of tune while we were abroad.