Roberto Battiston: science is curiosity driven

Why do we go to space? What prompted man to discover the atom?

These and many more are the questions we all ask when faced with the great discoveries of science, and we try to answer them with the new round of BG4SDGs Talks. This time, together with Roberto Battiston, physicist and former president of the Italian Space Agency, we put a lens on everything related to innovation in order to understand what is the engine that drives human beings towards the unknown.

According to Battiston, "Science is curiosity driven. As a derivative of intelligence, curiosity drives human beings to look and try to go further to learn and learn in a continuous motion. Astronomy, one of the oldest and most fundamental sciences for the evolution of humankind, offers precisely the possibility of traveling outside the atmosphere, taking knowledge gained on Earth outside and bringing it back improved or changed. Space is knowledge and curiosity taken to the extreme."

Education and training are crucial aspects in creating new skills useful for scientific research and human progress. Science has taken us far and is the only beacon that illuminates the complex and unpredictable reality. Indeed, Battiston adds that it is "increasingly important that science, even with its limitations, be fully embraced in public discussion so that well-informed citizens can participate effectively in democratic life."