The history of science is often retrospectively presented as if it were a highly logical progression of individual highlights created by a few outstanding individuals. These individuals, in all their brilliance, are often depicted as having some sort of divine inspiration, illuminating the path in such a way that the entire course of world history is altered by their fundamental insights.

In films such as "A Beautiful Mind," "The Theory of Everything," "The Imitation Game," and as recently as last year with "Oppenheimer," geniuses are often portrayed as heroic idealists who, despite significant resistance from the world around them and from reactionary colleagues, and facing personal challenges, still succeed in achieving great scientific breakthroughs.

Of course, reality is significantly more nuanced; scientific progress often occurs gradually as a result of extensive collaboration among countless researchers, technologists, and others.

This theme will be addressed by Jeroen van Dongen and Nils-Erik Bomark at this year's Wonderful World, with the major scientific revolutions of the early 20th century as context: Quantum Mechanics and Relativity Theory.

Jeroen van Dongen, professor of the History of Science at the University of Amsterdam and Co-Director of the Vossius Center for History of Humanities and Sciences, will deliver a lecture. He is an expert on the history of General Relativity and the work of Albert Einstein.

The opponent will be Nils-Erik Bomark, Associate Professor in Physics at the University of Agder. He specializes in particle physics, the teaching of quantum mechanics, and the history of quantum mechanics.