Written by Lorenzo Gavassino, Ph.D.
I am a mathematical physicist with Italian roots. This, in brief, sums up my biography. Now that’s settled, I imagine you, the reader, might be more interested in why I am passionate about math and physics, and what invisible drive leads me to pursue such an uncertain career. So, here it is.
We once believed the internet and AI would end all disputes, casting light on objective truths like high beams cutting through a dark road. We were wrong. In 2025, everything remains up for debate (climate change, evolution, even vaccines). Rather than dispelling misinformation, the new media have plunged us into a deeper fog, where every opinion, no matter how unhinged or unethical, stands shoulder to shoulder with science and philosophy, creating enormous confusion. This leaves many of us (myself especially) filled with doubts, constantly questioning the inner workings of both ideas and people. Indeed, I confess that one of my greatest fears is befriending someone, only to discover they quietly reject fundamental human rights due to some strange worldview cultivated online. This eventuality is both scary and confusing, and it happens to me far too often.
Amid this chaos, I decided to take refuge in math. There, things still make perfect sense. Truth unfolds patiently, revealing its many facets with quiet inevitability. Biases crumble gently under the weight of evidence, and when a question is finally resolved, a deep peace settles in, as if all the pieces have clicked into place. I seek that feeling every day. When it arrives, I can almost delude myself into believing I’m a stoic sage, able to glimpse perfect order in a violent world… and then the phone buzzes.
A call to everyone in the Vanderbilt community: Whether your field is STEM or the humanities, approach your studies like a philosopher, namely one who studies “for love of knowledge, and of knowledge alone”. We are in the midst of an information crisis, and we need people to pass down the real knowledge to the next generations. Otherwise, we risk that everyone will just end up doing math because it is the only uncontroversial subject left in the curriculum.