Are we living in a golden age? It is now more than half a century that Einstein and Heisenberg have given us the theories of relativity and of quantum mechanics, but the great challenge of 20th century science remains unre solved: to assemble these building blocks into a fundamental theory of matter. And yet, for anyone watching the interplay of mathematics and theoretical physics to-day, developing symbiotically through the stimulus of a lively, even essential interdisciplinary dia logue, this is a time of fascination and great satisfaction. It is also a time of gratitude to those who had the courage to in sist that "a rudimentary knowledge of the Latin and Greek alpha bets" was not enough, and tore down the barriers between the disciplines. On the basis of this groundwork there is now so much progress, and, notably, such strengthening of the dia].ogue with phenomenology that - reaching out for The Great Break through - this may indeed turn out to be the golden age.
