GeoTalk, Book presentation: Our Concept of the Earth

Library of Department of Geosciences | Friday, May, 23 - 2025 - 2,30 pm

23.05.2025

How do we truly know our planet? What tools, insights, mistakes and hypotheses have shaped the scientific image of the Earth we rely on today? These questions will be at the heart of the GeoTalk event on Thursday, May 23, at the Geoscience Library of the University of Padua, where geophysicist and professor Lapo Boschi will present his book Our Concept of the Earth. The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Elisa Speronello.

Published by Springer, the book takes readers on a journey through the history of geophysics and scientific thought, exploring seismic waves, mantle convection models, gravity field measurements, and the dynamics of Earth’s core. It is a rigorous yet accessible account that weaves together experiments, theoretical models, and still-unanswered questions.

The focus is not only on what we know about the Earth today, but how we came to know it—through a process shaped by doubt, interdisciplinary exchange, and trial and error. In the final chapter, Boschi reflects on how little our image of the planet has changed in recent decades—and wonders whether this is because we’ve understood everything we can, or simply because a crucial piece is still missing.

When: Friday, May 23, 2025 – 2:30 PM
Where: Geoscience Library, University of Padua
The event is open to everyone, not just students. Participation is free, but seats are limited and reservation is required.

Read more about Prof. Boschi's text: ‘Our Concept of the Earth’ - the Earth, chapter by chapter