The term scientific temper was coined by the first prime minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in his book the discovery of India. In this, he suggested that scientific temper is the attitude to:-
(1) search for new bodies of knowledge,
(2)not to accept anything without a proof or a test,
(3) Have the ability to change one’s stand in light of new evidences and
(4) not to rely on pre -conceived notions in lieu of observational evidence.
He believed that such an attitude was not merely for the application of science but also for being able to make more rational and informed choices in life.
The idea of evolving India into a society where all citizens have a scientific temper and rational approach had been fundamental to the vision of independent India. The Article 51A of the Indian Constitution that lists the fundamental duties, clearly states that,
“it is the fundamental duty of every citizen of India to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.”
To make efforts to list out the challenges in developing scientific temper 70 years after the independence is the hallmark of the failure of the society to follow its fundamental duty. There are several factors responsible for the pity state of scientific temper and ever worsening scenario we face today. These can be broadly categorized as based on the social environment and those based on the educational exposure that a person has got in early life.
People are highly influenced by mythologies and fables foretold by the elderly of the family and passed from generations to generations through word of mouth, at an early age. This not only supplants fake ideas like the earth being balanced on the horns of bulls, Flat earth theory, at an early age but also nurtures such line of thinking. Such people grow up believing in presence of supernatural forces that govern the planet.
Many a time use of symbolism in religious texts or old sagas is taken up in a literal sense by the readers and preachers. Lord Ganesha and his elephant-like appearance is symbolism for calm demeanor and might. It is saddening that the fables around it are being misinterpreted by Prime Minister at public pulpits as the evidence of first ever plastic surgery. At times such old texts have outrageous implications that are not true as the ‘Pushpak Viman’ and existence of beasts like Rahu and Ketu that cause the eclipses.
The authoritative attitude of religious leaders and the population, towards these texts means that people are discouraged from having a healthy logical discussion about it at an early age. It is considered a moral crime to question what is being preached or written just because it has been written in a book. Scientific Temper itself is the tendency to not accept anything new until its proved or tested.
This phenomenon is true even in our regular classroom parlance; Students are expected to accept what is given in the textbooks and not question the basis or the implications it has. Even most science teachers decimate a student if he tries to doubt what’s given in book as untrue. “Do you know more than the book ?” is the usual jibe given by teachers. Overdependence on texts and its atonement as a supreme body of knowledge, which is unquestionable is the greatest threat to Scientific Temper.
The next major source that people rely on except the traditional texts is the television and the print media. Thought it is a hallmark of a good media agency to give good and unbiased information. But sensational and eye-catching content has become a clear choice for the crony capitalist that run them. News channels whom people rely on accurate information run astrology shows and conspiracy theories when the viewership is slack. It is sort of an endorsement that not all things need to have a scientific approach. Broadcasting astrology on the TV and print media keeps people from developing a scientific temper as it becomes ever difficult to shun unscientific problems as they have the backing of the key influencers in the nation.
The society too has viciously evolved from being impressionable from the world of glamour and paid endorsements. At times doing certain things that are rational and good approach make you look socially awkward and an outcast. You are certain to raise eyebrows if you buy chocolates from a store after reading the label and choosing the best value for money. You will surely be greeted with strange looks if you ask for the fuel man to check the density of the fuel before you purchase it from a petrol pump. The tendency of people to do things as a certain person does, make purchase decisions based on the social acceptance and the value of the brand and who endorses it rather than the quality of product are the daily examples of impedances created by the society in developing a scientific temper.
Few psychological traits like Obsessive Compulsion Disorder prevent people from having a scientific temper in life. The traits like having the fans to rotate only at a given speed, Volume levels in television to only be adjusted to even numbers, Not driving your vehicles at a certain speed or in a certain manner out of Obsession without any solid logic behind kills the scientific temper in people. At times it forces them to take a decision which they know are against their own best interest. Giving in to such urges once, makes sure you give in to the next such urge till the situation aggravates beyond control. Soon people start giving up on relying on their rational selves for decision making.
A new alarming trend is evolving in our country where people who claim to be godmen or mystics, manipulate people to not have a scientific temper and believe whatever they say to be true by quoting discoveries in science and misrepresenting them as per their own personal propaganda. They take advantage of the tendency to not question bodies of knowledge claimed to be true by someone and even misguide people further. Such mystics have an objective to develop an unscientific approach in minds of people to increase their own influence. Sadly, many of them have found an audience in premier institutes of our country like the IIT’s and IIM’s.
The other major challenge of developing scientific temper comes from the sphere of traditional education and the systems employed to test and fish out the best among all. Many times these systems are themselves designed in a very rigid way that makes no room for correction in light of the newer and better evidence or does not allow for a contradictory view to exist. Many times the objective of the process is to teach science by enforcement and not by a method in lines with what a person with a scientific temper would have followed.
Here too the basic problem is over reliance on standard texts as the supreme body of knowledge. Any deviation from it is right away dismissed as false by the teachers in many cases by exercising the authority. The systems rely on delivering a fixed body of knowledge to the students who are bound to accept it if they want to succeed and progress in the system. The students are graded for their compliance with the system and not their development in taking a scientific approach.
Most professors and teachers have forgotten that their job is not to enforce the given subject on its pupil in return for lollypops called marks but to convince the pupil that the given things are true. Many times pupils are unconvinced of the veracity of the facts presented before them and yet they are forced to endorse them in their examinations as it is the sole means to pass. This forces a pupil to discard a scientific approach and oblige to accept whatever presented to them is true as their future is being held as ransom.
The examination pattern and evaluation also makes it impossible for most times for a pupil to follow a scientific approach in answering. It has become a norm in India that answers are adjudged by drawing comparisons between what is given in teaching material and what is answered by the examinee. This takes away the freedom of innovation or to expose oneself to more than one perspective. As a reflection of scientific approaches and attitudes are severely punished in examinations and grades deducted as the examiner was expecting a fixed body of text. The fact that most educators often use this line ‘ This is too little for the marks’ and ‘if I am to give this many marks I certainly want this derivation to be included even if it is not explicitly stated’. Such an attitude is largely seen in people who buy Parle-G biscuits as they expect 150 gm quantity for rs 5 and certainly is not desirable nor acceptable in educators.
A scientific temper means to only accept the facts after based on a self-test or through investigation. Such a temper can only be developed if a hands-on approach is used to educate students about the key concepts. It is also important that practical and laboratory sessions are given greater importance over theory sessions.
The ground zero level situation is totally different. Students are not exposed to any practical or hands-on approach to learning till they reach the university. Mostly such approaches are condemned as being too much time and resource intensive and also leading only to the expected results that were evident based on theory. Here the main objective is to inculcate the habit of following a scientific approach in the children at a young age. When they are advised against this they lose their scientific temper.
The entire process from teaching to examination has not embraced scientific temper and yet the same process in entrusted the job of developing scientific temper in the country. A major challenge is to align the functioning and the objectives of the education system in the country. The system needs to be revamped so that it does not come into cross-hairs with scientific temperamental tendencies of the pupils. Also, such systems should never choose an easy cost-effective approach over a scientific one, Else they educate students to believe that a scientific approach is not always the best one.
Curiosity is the prime reason that science has made such rapid advancements. People are born curious. but their tendency to remain curious has been reduced or suppressed by the education system when it is seldom proclaimed that the knowledge you are seeking is far beyond your mental faculties or abilities to understand at the moment. Rather an attitude to suggest small steps in the right direction no matter how insignificant they seem must be inculcated. If professors keep on saying that General Relativity is so difficult that it requires Tensor Algebra, Which in turn is so difficult that it is not even part of your M.Sc syllabus, The country loses a great future relativist who might have unified gravity with other forces. Such statements do certainly kill scientific temper among undergraduates.
The onus lies on the people in science to not only make decisions based on a rational and scientific approach in their professional life but also in their daily and public life. One must stand for what is right and not fear from becoming socially awkward. Also one must constantly try to convince their peers how making rational decisions in day to day activities is the right thing to do.
People who understand science must develop themselves as the role models general society looks forward to.
This article is
adapted from an essay I submitted for the Minaxi- Lalit Essay competition 2018.
Comments
Post a Comment