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Futuro Antico. Interview with John C. Mather
12 lug 2022
Marco Bassan
The protagonist of the new chapter in Spazio Taverna’s future-focused series needs no introduction. John C. Mather is one of the scientists whose work has been pivotal in consolidating the Big Bang theory.
What are your sources of inspiration in art?
The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. The image invites scientists to investigate: how did it happen? Where do we come from? Who are "we"?
Now that we know about the expanding universe, have extensive geological records of Earth, and the long history of evolution here on Earth, we are asked to delve deeper into the details.
How does life begin? How does human existence evolve from atoms and quantum mechanics? And what does it mean to be conscious, to have rights and responsibilities, free will, and everything that defines being human?
Which project best represents you? Can you tell us about its genesis?
I've worked on two major projects, and I can't choose between them. The first was the COBE satellite, designed to measure the primordial heat radiation and search for the light of the first galaxies. At the time, I was a new postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City. NASA invited proposals for new satellites, and despite the failure of my thesis project, I proposed we try designing it for space. We reached out to colleagues, wrote a proposal, and two years later, I moved to the Goddard Space Flight Center to work on it. In 1989, COBE launched, confirming the universe's expansion and capturing a small picture of the cosmos. I loved working on COBE because I knew most of the team and could contribute technically.
The second project is the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). It was initiated by a group of people who realized we needed a successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. My role involves working with scientific teams to define our goals and collaborating with engineering teams to make them a reality. This project is at least ten times larger than COBE, and I've never even met most of the people who made it work. While I can't contribute technically to JWST, I have immense admiration for those who do.
What is the importance of the genius loci in your work?
No one could do science without a place and people to work with. The place where I work brings together top-level scientists and engineers, along with an organized support system that provides what we need to turn ideas into reality.
Without the Goddard Space Flight Center, there would be no COBE or JWST. Furthermore, our true "home" is the world: we draw on people and organizations from across the globe to contribute their expertise, tools, and systems.
How important is the past in imagining and building the future?
Everything we do is built on ancient foundations, starting even before early humans learned to speak, cook, farm, make tools, or exchange materials and knowledge. Someone discovered how to smelt metals from rock or make glass from sand. Someone invented writing.
When Newton said he was standing on the shoulders of giants, he couldn’t have known how far back our knowledge truly extends. He couldn’t have foreseen that all chemistry, biology, and technology would ultimately rest on the rules established by quantum mechanics.
For better or worse, much of what we have today comes from our frequent wars, where cutting-edge science and technology often mean the difference between life and death.
What advice would you give to a young person who wants to follow your path?
Pay attention to the unsolved problems worth working on. And if someone suggests solving a problem, and you like it and enjoy the people involved, say yes.
In an age of post-truth, does the concept of the sacred still have importance and strength?
There is no such thing as post-truth for a scientist. The truth may not be known, but it is our sacred duty to find it and record it for the benefit of all humanity. Scientists expect their mistakes to be discovered and corrected. However, just as with other predators, humans have discovered the power of deception for profit and power, and some will abuse science for their own purposes. My God is better than yours, my football team is better than yours, my laundry detergent cleans better than yours, those people are traitors to our culture.
We must be cautious with people who say such things.
How do you envision the future? Could you give us three ideas that you think will guide the coming years?
We are seeing how conflict has the power to cause rapid changes. There is nothing like the threat of disaster to convince people to change their plans. The economic forces are immense, and almost no one sees them; in this scenario, we prefer to discuss the sins of others.
We are seeing the power of humans as apex predators, the most invasive species on Earth, and yet prey to themselves. You have it, I don't, give it to me! Why don't we attack our neighbors? Maybe for a while it’s still better to trade than destroy.
Although fate and disaster are easily predictable, the future is truly unknowable. Perhaps we will find technical solutions to climate change, perhaps not. We don’t know what nature will allow us to find. We don’t know how people will act, either individually or collectively. We don’t know what they will imagine and invent. But I work every day knowing that what I do matters to me and others, whatever happens. No reason to stop now!