A rich and surprising investigation of a topic that is as complex as it is universal in our lives.
I magine having to explain what physical pain is to a person who has never experienced it in his or her life. What would you say? This is the first of many questions that guide science journalist Roberta Fulci in her investigation into the nature of pain. Can pain be measured? Can it be considered meaning? Was it experienced differently in the past? What evolutionary significance does it have? Does our idea of pain change with experience, environment, language, culture? Each answer opens new perspectives and new questions that always revolve around the central question: what do we call pain? Roberta Fulci spoke with key players in pain research, approaching the topic with panache and engaging writing that sets aside the academic approach to weave together the most diverse stories: from the researcher who collects deadly insect bites to the octopus who chooses sides, to the neuroscientist who laughingly shows off her “torture room.”

English sample available

Roberta Fulci is a science journalist, editor and host of Radio3 Scienza. She holds a degree in Mathematics from La Sapienza University in Rome, a PhD in Algebra and a master’s degree in Science Communication from SISSA (Trieste). She writes for “Il Tascabile,” has collaborated with Zanichelli and “Le Scienze,” and published the book Ragazze con i numeri (Editoriale Scienza, 2018; with Vichi De Marchi).