Leading particle physicist Dr Brian Greene highlights huge scientific discoveries that have helped drive mankind’s progress, explaining how these were not carried out for financial gain but rather in a spirit of discovery

Dubai-UAE: 12 February, 2017:  An investment in science for the sake of intrinsic interest - rather than actual investment - is key for any real human development, said world renowned scientist Dr Brian Greene on the opening day of the World Government Summit (WGS 2017) in Dubai today.

Dr Greene, an acclaimed particle physicist, cosmologist, professor of Physics and Mathematics and director of the Center for Theoretical Physics at Columbia University, offered some stunning examples to validate how such an attitude will help in the context of the modern world in the long-term.

Speaking at a session entitled 'How Advanced Science Shapes the Future of Government’, Professor Greene highlighted examples such as the Gravitational Wave Observatories in the US and the Hadron Collider in Geneva, as well as a ‘double slit’ experiment conducted some 90 years ago to demonstrate how human life continues to benefit from mankind’s ”deep yearning to understand the universe”.

Professor Greene urged governments to adopt a supportive and progressive culture to science as he said: “If you follow any chain of disruption back to its source you will inevitably run into fundamental, basic science. It is not pursued for investment but for intrinsic interest. The real fuel for growth is an investment in basic science.  It creates a pervasive culture of innovation. It distinguishes countries that will follow and those that will lead.'

Pointing out some of science's biggest achievements and its impact on our day-to-day lives, Professor Greene showed how a famous ‘double slit’ experiment carried out some 90 years ago led to the discovery that every particle has a wave like quality. “This discovery allowed us to then build integrated circuits, a breakthrough that informs our everyday modern world through mobile phones and much more.”

He added: “With this discovery, everything takes off. Everything with an Integrated circuit comes from quantum physics. That is a beautiful example of science put forward to understand the intrinsic value of figuring things out, of how the world works.”   

Expanding on the culture that should be cultivated by governments, Dr Greene pointed to the World Science Festival, an event he co-founded and is hosted in New York and Brisbane. The event is based on the idea of pushing science from the cultural outskirts into the mainstream. He said: “Science is the rational basis for truth. Governments need to celebrate this as public. It is our guide to the truth and the future. Governments need to ensure the general public shifts perception on what science is all about.

“Of course it is vital that government supports bug science, innovation and discovery. But perhaps the flip side is that collaboration, big international collaboration, can be a model and lead the way for global communication between governments.”

Professor Greene is world-renowned for his groundbreaking discoveries in the field of superstring theory, including the co-discovery of mirror symmetry and the discovery of spatial topology change. Globally renowned for his New York Times bestselling books, he has made several media appearances from the Late Show with Stephen Colbert to Charlie Rose. The Washington Post called him ‘the single best explainer of abstruse concepts in the world today’. Professor greene has hosted two NOVA mini-series based on his books, and received the George Foster Peabody award for ‘The Elegant Universe with Brian Greene’. He has played cameo roles in several Hollywood films. In 2008, he collaborated with producer Tracy Day to co-found the World Science Festival.

The World Government Summit (WGS) 2017 has drawn the participation of more than 4,000 personalities from 139 countries around the world, reflecting the leading stature of the summit on regional and international levels and the high interest from governments, global organizations, private and public sector entities, decision makers, entrepreneurs, academics and university students as well as scientists and innovators. WGS 2017 features 150 speakers across 114 sessions that highlight the world’s most pressing challenges and showcase best practices and cutting-edge solutions to deal with them.