ROME – The Cosmos Prize is an international initiative for the dissemination of astronomy, physics and mathematics, each year chooses the best books published on the subject. It was born from the initiative of a group of internationally renowned Italian scientists, in synergy with the Ministry of Education, the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, the Italian Astronomical Society, the Pythagoras Planetarium and the Foundation with the South, and with the patronage of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.
The Scientific Committee of the Award – made up of 12 Italian scientists of international standing – has declared the winner for 2021 – General Section – the statistician David mirror holder of the University of Cambridge, author de The art of statistics (Einaudi). The more than 200 students of Italian high schools or Italian schools abroad involved in the Jury of Student Award instead they indicated The bold beauty of the cosmos of Licia Troisi (Rizzoli), astrophysicist at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and one of the best known fantasy writers.
The president of the Scientific Committee, Gianfranco Bertone (Center of Excellence in Gravitational and Astroparticle Physics-GRAPPA of Amsterdam and founding director of the European Consortium for Astroparticle Physics) underlined: “The Award – born three years ago as a voluntary initiative of a group of internationally renowned Italian scientists – has steps forward: both the quality of the works in competition and the large number of young people who, thanks to the commendable activity of their teachers, have approached science and its protagonists testify to this “.
Connecting from Cambridge, David Mirror holder, took the opportunity to comment on information management during the pandemic: “There is a story behind the numbers: they do not speak for themselves, but we are responsible for the meaning we give them. In recent months there have been good readings of the data and statistics used to create misinformation: we must use our spirit and our critical awareness every time we hear a statement, be it from the government, the media, social media: it is okay to take a skeptical approach towards information, but not be cynical or denier. As “consumers of information”, we must refer to the reliability of the communicator: is he informing us or manipulating us? What are the reasons that determine certain statements? ” he concluded.
During his speech, Licia Troisi took the opportunity to address the issue of bringing young female students closer to the study of STEM disciplines: “There are many areas, in our society, in which it is necessary to intervene, starting with training at an early age: there is still this idea that the so-called hard sciences are a boy thing. There are girls, therefore, who have a passion for science and are discouraged as children: it should be explained that gender and sex do not determine a career. It is also necessary to consider that the working world of research is not favorable to the life of women, it also involves sacrifices for which personal decisions are often postponed: we should therefore also start thinking and solving the practical problems that affect the lives of women in the world of research ” concludes the author.
The reasons of the Jury
“In the book “The art of statistics” Sir David Spiegelhalter, director of the Winton Center for Risk and Evidence Communication at the University of Cambridge, guides the reader with simplicity and authority to discover the principles of modern statistics.
Starting from concrete problems, ranging from particle physics to medicine and from meteorology to various aspects of daily life, Spiegelhalter accompanies readers on a path of “data literacy”, which starts from the foundations of statistics and reaches the frontiers of artificial intelligence.
What emerges is the portrait of a discipline in continuous transformation, which has its roots in mathematical rigor, but in whose complex ramifications ambiguities and manipulations can lurk. Spiegelhalter’s book was written before the current pandemic, but it could not be more current: it provides essential tools for assessing the reliability of statistical statements, interpreting the new reality that surrounds us, and living as aware citizens ”. (Scientific Committee of the Cosmos Prize for the dissemination of astronomy, physics and mathematics)
“Born “The bold beauty of the cosmos”, Licia Troisi takes us on a journey to discover the beauty and mysteries of the cosmos, which begins with a famous painting by Giotto depicting the comet of the Magi and ends with the suggestive photo of the black hole: the photos become the opportunity to tell not only the extraordinary journey of man in space, but also to retrace the fundamental stages of scientific discoveries in the astronomical field. The merit of Licia Troisi was to be able with her book to describe in a simple way particularly complex concepts belonging to physics and astrophysics, using a simple and understandable language to the vast majority of readers. “The cheeky beauty of the cosmos” is not only a popular science book, but also a book capable of arousing in readers curiosity about the beauty of the universe ». (Classical high school “Tommaso Campanella” of Reggio Calabria).
The Scientific Committee
The five finalists of the Cosmos Prize were selected by a scientific committee composed of 12 leading personalities from the scientific world, with experience in scientific dissemination: Amedeo Balbi, professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Tor Vergata University of Rome; Roberto Battiston, Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Trento; Gianfranco Bertone, professor of Theoretical Astroparticle Physics at the Center of Excellence in Gravitational and Astroparticle Physics in Amsterdam and founding director of the European Consortium for Astroparticle Physics; Maria Luisa Chiofalo, professor of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Pisa; Andrea Ferrara, full professor of Cosmology at the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa and joint professor of the Institute for Physics and Mathematics of the Universe in Tokyo; Piergiorgio Odifreddi, internationally renowned mathematician and scientific popularizer; Carlo Rovelli, director of the Center de Physique Théorique Université de Aix-Marseille; Sandra Savaglio, professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Calabria and regional councilor with responsibility for the University, Scientific Research and Education; Ginevra Trinchieri, associated astronomer INAF Brera Astronomical Observatory; Pierluigi Veltri, Professor of Matter Physics at the University of Calabria; Lucia Votano, research manager associated with the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN); Paolo Zellini, professor of Numerical Analysis at the University of Rome Tor Vergata.