Symphony of Science - the Quantum World!
Sharing with video for fun. Yes, science can be fun!
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Science Communication for Better India
India
is known for her resourcefulness of knowledge. The oldest books in the world
were written in India only. From the ancient times, India has been the
knowledge centre of the world. Treasures of ancient wisdom of mankind having
universal relevance and applications – the Vedas and the Upanishads – were
created in India.
India,
from the very beginning, has contributed a lot in the advancement of knowledge.
When Indian had been so ahead in the intellectual pursuits since the ancient
times, then why we are not so ahead today in the field of science and
technology creation? India is the home to lot many cultures, lot many
languages, lot many dance and art forms. Such resourcefulness cannot be
possible without exercising higher intellectual and scientific faculties of the
human mind. Without scientific inquiry, such advances and diversity in
cultures, languages, literature, dance, music, etc. could not have come to
being.
When
Indian scientists could give pi and zero to the world and explore the laws of
geometry and could measure the distances of planetary objects and could study
the subtle effects of celestial objects on human mind and health, then why,
today, we are not the number one producer of science and technology in the
world? Have we lost our glorious past? Can we now never regain the status of
knowledge centre of the world? These important questions are rattling in the
minds of every concerned Indian.
During
the period of invaders, be it Mugals or British, the very fabric of
intellectual pursuits in India was torn away. After that we have been
struggling hard for freedom from invaders, freedom from slavery, freedom from
ignorance, freedom from poverty, freedom from diseases, freedom of expression,
freedom of practicing one’s own religion, freedom to move anywhere in the
country, freedom to pursue/do one’s desired career/work, etc.
After
independence from the invader rulers, India’s much admired nature/tradition of
practicing assorted intellectual pursuits is gaining quantum again. India is
making leaping advances in literature, arts and sciences.
Today,
India has a well established network of science and technology (S&T) laboratories
and institutions. India has around 1000 different institutions under the
umbrella of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), more than 40
research and development laboratories in the different frontiers of S&T
under the aegis of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a
network of medical research institutions under Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR), IITs, NITs, IISERs, network of DRDO laboratories, network of
ISRO laboratories, a bunch of more than 500 state and central universities,
etc.
Indian
research is advancing in each and every frontier of S&T. Thousands of
scientists are working day and night in their respective areas of expertise to
lead India in regaining its forgotten status of the knowledge centre of the
world.
At
this juncture, when our scientists are exploring deeper and deeper truths of
nature through science and creating newer and novel innovations for making our
life easier, most of the society or the general public (who are the end-users
of S&T) are unaware of these leaping advances in S&T which are bringing
sea changes in our perspectives about the world. It sounds very ironical that, on
one hand, our scientists are exploring new horizons in the scientific knowledge,
on the other hand, our society living in the world of S&T is unaware of
most of such S&T advances. Now-a-days, when S&T is fast changing our
environments in which we live, we cannot afford to remain ignorant spectators.
We must become active participants of this change, otherwise, we will be left
far behind making ourselves vulnerable to becoming slaves of S&T and those
who have and know S&T.
Further,
to give appropriate direction to S&T, public has to play an active
participatory role in the decision-making process. For example, if the public
is scientifically not aware about the
recent advances and their social, ethical and economical implications, then any
profit-making organizations/people will create Bt Cotton, Bt Brinjal, etc. type
of things with terminator genes where farmers cannot produce their own seeds
but have to depend on them every year to get the seed. Such exploiting things
can be thwarted only when the public is scientifically aware and has its voice
heard in the decision-making and policy-making processes.
Scientific
questions affecting the wider public/society such as whether to go for nuclear
energy or solar and wind energy cannot be left to be decided by a handful of
scientists and politicians. Such
questions cannot be addressed properly without the active involvement of the
general public. But how the general public can get involved until and unless
they know what’s happening in the world of science and technology.
So
here comes the need for communicating science to the public. Communicating
science and the related issues to the public is the need of the hour so that
the public becomes aware of the S&T advances and their implications on
their daily life and the environment. Science communication can develop a
scientifically aware citizenry who can actively participate in the
decision-making and policy-making matters related to S&T. Science
communication is to take the scientific knowledge/information from scientists and
transfer it to the masses in a way that the masses can understand it.
Science
communication will bring in a paradigm shift from the scientifically ignorant
to the scientifically aware and participating society where the public is not a
sink for throwing in S&T things but a deciding factor for which S&T to
have and which not.
Science
communication will also democratize science and make Indian democracy a better
democracy. Science and technology is a serious business and can have serious
repercussions. We cannot leave it to the politicians only to decide S&T for
all of us. We have to have our say democratically on every important S&T
issue.
When
our scientists are exploring newer horizons of S&T, our public should be
made equally aware of such S&T advances to appreciate and criticize it
constructively. Communicating S&T to the masses will bring a massive change
in the mindset of the public from dogmatic to scientific. When the scientific
culture and scientific temper percolates down into the wider society through
science communication, then the Indian society will again become a hatchery of
new and divergent intellectual and scientific pursuits resulting in more
discoveries and inventions in the field of S&T.
A
society living with scientific culture and scientific temper, can explore beyond
the obvious through scientific inquiry. And that will make India a better India.
Science
communication can popularize the scientific culture, scientific temper and a
spirit of scientific inquiry among the masses which, in turn, will again take
the Indian minds to the higher planes of intellectual and scientific pursuits.
Therefore, science communication will make a better India.
© Abhay
S.D. Rajput, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013
Carbon
Carbon, what a wonder
element, it is!
Shining as diamond
and black as dark night.
The backbone of life
Eaten as food
but with emissions rising,
Is the cause of global fight.
element, it is!
Shining as diamond
and black as dark night.
The backbone of life
Eaten as food
but with emissions rising,
Is the cause of global fight.
© ABHAY S.D. RAJPUT, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
What is Science --- a poem
What is science?
I wonder to know ever.
Asking questions
And allowing quest to die never.
To know
the surroundings
Inquire,
find and discover.
Using
scientific method
And
tuning to the temper forever.
Induce and deduce
But not believing things as such.
Accept or reject
When have the proof very much.
Hypothesise
first
Then
devise a way to prove.
Do the
control as well
Then only
the theory need to move.
©
ABHAY S.D. RAJPUT, 2013
*******************************************
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Biggest Fraud in science communication publishing
Recently,
while searching some content on the net, I came to know about a book ‘Handbook of science communication’ written
by Mr. Vijay Kumar Singh and published by ADB Publishers. The author blurb on the book cover says that the author
has an M.A. in Journalism and an M.Sc. in Science Communication from the
Imperial College, London. I was intrigued by reading the blurb to buy a
personal copy. The book is available on many websites including amazon.com,
flipkart.com,
etc. I ordered a copy from flipkart.com for INR 1135. Two days back, I received
the copy. The book contains twelve chapters and comprises of 304 pages. After just
glancingly going through the pages, I smelled something fishy in it. The chapter
headings and the contents of some chapters were known to me previously.
Then,
I searched the “chapter headings in double quotes” one-by-one in google.com and
found that all the twelve chapters were taken (STOLEN) from other sources available
on the internet. The author gives no reference or credit to none of the
original authors/sources. All the 12 chapters have been lifted ‘ditto’ – a simple
case of copy-paste!
The
STOLEN texts included are from known names in science communication like David
Dickson (SciDev.net), Manoj Patairiya (NCSTC, India), Robert A. Logan (University
of Missouri) and Marzia Mazzonetto.
Straight
way, it is a severe case of copyright violation and plagiarism, where entire
chapters/papers have been lifted without any acknowledgement to the original
sources.
The
book contains a three-page bibliography, but interestingly, none of the
original texts lifted “ditto” is given there.
I myself
feel cheated to find the content of others (that I have already read) in this
book under the authorship of this fellow.
What
do you think about this fraud in science communication? Do communicate your
views.
About the book
Title: ‘Handbook of science communication’
Author:
Vijay
Kumar Singh
Edition:
2011
Publisher:
ADB Publishers,
Regd.
Office: Bony Residency, Gate No.2,
Opp.
Tilak Public School, Vishveshria Nagar,
Gopalpura
Road, Jaipur – 302018 (Rajasthan) India
Ph.
0141-2761280, Telefax: 0141-2761381
Email:
abdpublishersjpr@yahoo.in
ISBN-13: 9788183763493
ISBN-10: 8183763499
Language: English
Binding: Hardcover
About the Author (blurb on the cover says)
Vijay Kumar Singh did
M.A in Journalism and then did M.Sc in Science Communication from Imperial
College, London. He taught students of journalism and communication for nearly
ten years. However, during his tenure as Lecturer, he continued his field
activities in journalism. Presently, he is Editor at Prachya Prabha.
Under his able guidance many students made excellent contributions to journalism and brought many hidden news stories to the limelight. His contributions in the field of active journalism and mass communication were well received and awarded amply.
Under his able guidance many students made excellent contributions to journalism and brought many hidden news stories to the limelight. His contributions in the field of active journalism and mass communication were well received and awarded amply.
Contents
1.
Communication
as Integral Part of Technology
Original
text available at: http://www.archontology.org/alexandra/thesis/part03.01.php
2.
SCIENCE
COMMUNICATION : A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Original
text by DR. MANOJ PATAIRIYA available
at: http://www.learningace.com/doc/487940/ebfd57b01c74e55282be44a81a75e583/conceptual
3.
Science
communication in India: current situation, history and future developments
Original
text available at: http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/04/01/F040101/jcom0401(2005)F01.pdf
4.
Science
Mass Communication
Original text by
ROBERT A. LOGAN, University of Missouri–Columbia available at: http://sass.caltech.edu/events/Logan2001.pdf
5.
Metaphor
in Scientific Communication
Original text by
ROBERT ANUSKA ŠSTAMBUK
available at: http://www.erudit.org/revue/meta/1998/v43/n3/004292ar.pdf
6.
Civil
journalism & scientific citizenship
Original text by
Wolfgang C. Goede, Munich / Germany available at: http://www.pantaneto.co.uk/issue10/goede.htm
7.
The
case for a 'deficit model' of science communication
Book pages 155-160: Original text by
David Dickson available at:
8.
Instruments
and Potential of Effective Communication
9.
The Essence of Science Communication
10.
Science in Society: Re-evaluating the
Deficit Model of Public Attitudes
11.
How scientists view their public
communication
12.
Communicating through images
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