basic vs applied science
few days back, the union minister for science and technology,Mr.Kapil Sibal, had come to the place where i am doing phd to inaugarate a new facility "the nano laboratory". what struck me the most during his speech and Prof.C.N.R.Rao's (SAC-scientific Advisry Council Head and our chairman) speech was the fact that basic sciences,in it's purest sense, is boring and out of fashion. what these people called basic science-the semi-conductor revolution and the recent nano-revolution, even though, outgrowths of the basic sciences, but somehow, they don't fit my bill of what basic sciences is.
ofcourse,as i am into basic sciences..my point of view might seem biased towards it. i am an eternal romantic at heart,still believeing in the Archimedian Eureka!! but, let me argue with the points on both sides. chances are applied science will score more. still, if my points on basic sciences are sound enough, then my purpose of writing this post will be fulfilled .
basic science
1.satisfies the curious human. why, what,when,HOW??-these questions are what always excites human minds. and basic sciences feeds answers to these questions.
2. what is applied without the basic???where and what to we apply???we need to get all the basic mechanisms and functions right.
3.for me, it's like solving nature's puzzle.each question answered here, makes me wonder at the power of nature.
applied science
1. serves the great human, ofcourse.i mean,it is of the human, by the human and for the human.
2.the world wouldn't have been where it is today in terms of technology but, for those entrprising individuals who took it upon them to apply science.
3.i wouldn't have been writing this blog and u wouldn't have been able to read it!
i want to go a bit deeper into this topic.but, this is enough for 1 post.will get back with the finer points......the economy of science,ethics,etc.
4 comments:
Brilliant!!! simply too good. at the end u left me saying... yeh dil maange more. hope u keep to your promise of going deeper into the topic.
my take...I feel the problem is due to a disconnect between the basic and applied.. not just in science.. but in eco, management practically everything.
without going into whats superior or which came first (basic or applied), feel we need to integrate the two. Action (applied) should lead to knowledge(basic)and knowledge to better action. I see a major disconnect between basic & applied atleast in management in India.. few profs have any clue as to whats happening in corp world and few practicing managers care to add to the body of knowledge of management.
Though i wanted to reserve my comments till ur next post on the same topic.. just cudnt resist it.
to add to what i wrote earlier.In fact, i was planning to write on karma vs jnana yoga.....am not a man of science (not a man of philosophy too, for that matter) but i feel ur topic deals with a similar dilemma though on a totally different plane... that of science. correct me if i am wrong. looking fwd to ur response as well as the next detailed blog!!
I must say vastly improved writing style. Yet keep telling yourself "there are miles to go before I sleep". I do that everyday. It just helps you to get better. I am not qualified to comment on the content as I feel it is not domain. I agree to what RJ says "applied science without the knowledge of a basic science is a body without a soul" very apt.
And Karthik when you say "major disconnect between basic & applied at least in management...." you are absolutley on the money. Never been to a B-school myself, but there are extraordinary number of books out there who really connect with the present day management in the corporate world. We do not need 'talking heads' in our educational years only to discover the real corporate world in our working years. Right?
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