Don’t just blindly believe the tales passed down the generations. Develop a spirit of questioning and try to get to the bottom of the facts using science as a tool. Anything that defies logic is not science, which is at the base of how things work in the world, A. Ramachandraiah, a spirited science campaigner from National Institute of Technology (NIT), Warangal, has said. He was addressing students drawn from different schools at ‘Meet the scientists’, a programme organised as a run-up to the Amaravati Balotsavam Science Fair 2019, in collaboration with Siddhartha Mahila Kalasala Science Association, on Saturday.
“Science unites people,” he said, adding that it can never pose danger. “But you must be wary of ‘dangerous application’ of science by some people for their ulterior motives,” he warned.
He said there was a need to promote scientific outlook in the younger generation. Citing the example of a Vice-Chancellor (he preferred not to name) who, on a platform like the National Science Congress, spoke about how Kauravas were born due to stem cell and test tube technologies and how India possessed knowledge about guided missiles thousands of years ago. “Such theories hinder growth of science,” he said and cautioned children against “walking into such traps”.
‘Dream big’
Vice-Chairman and CEO of the proposed Science City in Andhra Pradesh Appasani Krishna Rao urged students to dream big and work with determination and dedication to reach their destination.
Explaining about the salient features of the proposed Science City, he said the idea was to make the State a hub of science.
Tummala Srikumar, an ardent proponent of science and technology, said children should keep the spirit of curiosity alive in them. He said reason, rather than experience, should be the foundation of their knowledge and called for ‘Science yatras’ to promote it.
In an interactive session that followed, children asked a volley of questions on a range of subjects such as “what happens inside a black hole and why do black holes suck everything into them.”
They wanted to know that with technology developing at such rapid pace, why is it not possible to increase life expectancy in human beings, besides all about particle bomb, ozone layer and ‘that’ which is at the bottom of an ocean.
“Why can’t we harness energy from the lightning?, asked a girl prompting Mr. Srikumar to respond: “Research is on but as on today, we don’t have the mechanism to tap energy from lightning.”
There were also questions on the technology behind cloning, theory of human evolution and electromagnetic rays among others. To a question on what happens to the soul after death, Mr. Ramachandraiah said: “Our body works as long as all parts work well. There is nothing like soul. Whatever you want to do, do it now, here.”
