Fascinating science

The fear of science is almost irrational. When someone says science, the first thing that comes to one’s mind is high school science, be it balancing equations (chemistry), understanding voltage and resistance (phy­sics) or just memorising the nomenclature and properties of various types of cells (biology). However, science is not merely about such concepts. People confuse the mechanics of science with actual concepts. The mechanics, or the tools, of any discipline are tedious to learn. But once they are mastered, th­ese concepts open up the rest of the field, making the subject much more interesting and engaging. In India, there is a dearth of good science teachers who can engage students and make them want to know more. Apart from a small minority, most students react to science with revulsion because of the associated memory of mind-numbingly boring classes, heavy textbooks and rote learning. It is hard to get out of this stigma. But when one opens his mind, the world of science is fascinating. Take the example of physics. The cosmos is still largely an enigma. A better understanding of the cosmos can have practical applications on earth. Microwaves were not understood fully until their discovery in the universe outside of earth. Apart from that, just understanding what is going on should be a major motivation. Biology has entered an interesting phase of collaboration with physics and chemistry in the field of biomi­micry, where scientists are trying to engineer products that mimic useful natural behaviour. There are many fascinating aspects about science, and thanks to a profusion of good science writers in the recent pa­st, like Thomas Friedman, Brian Gr­eene and, of course, Stephen Hawking, it is not necessary to have an in-depth knowledge to at least understand complex phenomena. This definitely makes things easier. ‘Uncool’ until now, science has to win over students and become ‘cool’ again. This, however, is much easier said than done.