Science and Us

Just try to ask people around you to name five living scientists? Alive, not merely names like Einstein and Newton. Now ask them to name five living Indian scientists? Again, living persons saying Jagdish Chandra Bose won't do. If they can answer, then ask them what are the main field of studies these scientists are pursuing. No details required, even superficial descriptions will do.

Now ask them the names of the five Bollywood actors and actresses. Name of five cricketers. You will find that people will tell you not just the names, but their skills even who they are dating, everything in detail.

So you see, Science for us is stuck somewhere in the exam grades, getting into the science stream in high schools, joint entrance, good grades, campus interview, pay package, and IT industry. There is no science beyond that. Yes, dear Sirs and Madams, that's the reality. Even the students of science do not know the basic philosophy of science, do not read the history of science, do not know what passes off as falsification, or what is meant by hypothesis.

Therefore, there is no need to cry over the proliferation of so many unscientific thoughts all around. A scientific temper comes from practice and perseverance, which means actually hard work. Like the six-pack abs muscle. Regardless of achieving it, one needs to regularly practice to maintain it. The unscientific thought process is an emotional bye-product, which grows by default like the potbelly. So following it is also easy and comforts the mind.

We do not have the inclination to leave our comfortable soft tummy and strive for the sixpack abs. But people can't really be faulted for this because there is no such effort or infrastructure in the schools or colleges or in the society to develop a scientific temper.

As long as science is not integrated with our lives, this tradition is set to continue.

(Translated from a Facebook post by Prof Abhijit Majumder in the Bengali language.)

P.S.  I think it's high time to think about "Engineering" as a stream of education in India. My personal view is that other than the top 50 institutes, the rest should be banned and churning of engineering graduates should be regulated by the next five years. Let the students presently studying in those colleges finish their course. Frankly, do you really feel that we need so many engineers? Most of those who pass out from these colleges will not be able to fix up even a bicycle.

Instead, Bio-technology, robotics, microbiology, law, medicine should be the streams that need to be nurtured along with liberal arts and basic science. The obsession with producing engineers has now reached a stage of self-defeating phenomenon. We need quality engineers and more research-oriented scientists.  (This is my Facebook post dated 04.12.2019)