RAB Source Entry #2 – Jerick Espinal

RQ: “What would happen if a person fell into a black hole?”

Part 1 – MLA Citation: Rovelli, Carlo. “The Secret to Unlocking One of the Universe’s Greatest Mysteries.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Oct. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/10/16/opinion/black-holes-science-imagination.html

Part 2 – Summary
In this piece “The Secret to Unlocking One of the Universe’s Greatest Mysteries,” Carlo Rovelli discusses with the reader about how we can learn about things we don’t know yet and using black holes as an example. Rovelli began the article with discussing about how humans usually learn the unknown through experience or things such as stories and tools, using Aristotle and Theophrastus off of history to show an example of learning from observation, and then using Galileo as an example of humans learning using instruments. Next, Rovelli than began to discuss about how imagination can also be used to learn things that we cannot see like the inside of a black hole, Rovelli uses more historical figures like Einstein, Kepler, Copernicus and Anaximander, as examples of humans who made significant discoveries and also learned significant things just from their own imagination like imagining seeing the Earth from space or riding a beam of light, letting these figures being able to conceptualize and imagine the world in new ways which then was passed down to us to reshape our understanding of reality. Rovelli would then begin to argue that there should be a nice balance between the knowledge that we already have and the openness of what we think we know if we want to explore the unknown, Rovelli explaining this balance being necessary to be able to move beyond our current understanding, Einstein being an example of someone who left familiar assumptions and knowledge to then develop new revolutionary ideas. Lastly, Rovelli would end is article by suggesting the process of studying science is just like art and how we need to reorganize our conceptual space to be able to find new meanings and relationships, with how art opens our eyes to new perspectives through drawings, science also requires that same kind of thinking to be able to unlock mysteries in our universe such as the nature of black holes which with known knowledge, is shown to challenge very big known topics like time, space and even reality itself with the pursuit to the learning of mysteries of space being both a creative and intellectual journey.

Part 3 – Rhetorical Analysis
Rovelli’s opinion piece is shown to mostly be towards an audience of curious people who are just like him and want to learn more about the unknown and mysteries of space. The purpose of this article is for Rovelli to share his opinion on how humans learn things and try to push the narrative that we should mix imagination and known knowledge to push onto new ideas that can help us solve the unknown by pushing these ideas. In this opinion piece, Rovelli does use Logos in the sense that he used facts on how certain historical figures went on with learning the unknown which helps him push his opinion across way better throughout his article. Carlo Rovelli can be credible due to being an Italian physicist and also being a well-received writer in the science community, even receiving a Lewis Thomas Prize in 2024. New York Times being a credible source as well, with 24% of Americans believing it to be a credible source from a survey back in 2022.

Part 4 – Notable Quotes
“a balance between how much of our previously accrued learning we take with us and how much we leave at home, freeing ourselves to reconsider what we think we know.” (Rovelli, Carlo)

“We see matter that spirals furiously, before plunging into them. What’s deep inside? What would we see if we entered a black hole and, resisting the crushing forces, fell all the way down?” (Rovelli, Carlo)

“But what about the things we can’t see at all? How do we learn about the parts of our universe that we cannot — even with the most powerful technology — observe?” (Rovelli, Carlo)

“This is what we do, the long study and the great love that is scientific inquiry. We combine and recombine in different ways what we know, looking for an arrangement that clarifies something.” (Rovelli, Carlo)