Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
International Year of Astronomy (Editorial)
"Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature." - Tom Robbins
The International Year of Astronomy is here and is now about to go as well. It celebrates the 400th anniversary of the first recorded astronomical observations from a telescope by Galileo and the publication of Johannes Kepler's Astronomia Nova. To the layman, it may seem that this is all well and good but what impact does it have in his life? Why not have the International Year of Pencils, to celebrate the first time a pencil lead broke, and the need to create a sharpener was observed. After all, a pencil is more widely used than a telescope.
A telescope was what gave Galileo the power to observe the night sky in greater detail. Humanity, for ages, has been fascinated by the stars that speckle the glorious dark velvet black sky. Ancient civilizations made meticulous observations, recorded them, saw patterns and made calenders. What Galileo did with his telescope was much more than that. He supported Copernicus' Heliocentric theory (the sun is the center of the solar system) with his data and challenged the Roman Catholic Church. He was opposed, brought to trial and denounced. He argued and proved, but was put to house arrest where he ultimately died. What is very important is that he fought for what he believed was true, and his adhesion to his belief was strong. He went against the Church although he was himself a pious Roman Catholic. Stephen Hawking says, "Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science."
If you thought your Advanced Engineering Mathematics textbook was dry, don't attempt to read Astronomia Nova. This work made Kepler the first astronomer to prove the heliocentric theory with rigorous scientific arguments. Kepler made sure that he was correct and clear (maybe even dull) in each one his sentences that led the reader from Tycho Brahe's astronomical observations to his own famous Laws. Yet his patience is unmatched, systematically analysing orbital motion data and generating physical laws is not a mean feat. His second law, that areas swept by a planet are proportional to the time taken, gave birth to Kepler's Paradox which prompted the discovery of Calculus.
Their discoveries are important, but more important is the fact that they were able to break the bonds of conventional scientific wisdom. The earth is the center of the universe, a circular orbit is the only stable orbit. We might laugh at these today, but it also represents the fact that we may feel we are at the pinnacle of science and technology, yet there is a lot more to know. And who knows, maybe what we do know could still be completely and utterly wrong. And that is the principle driving science. As Michael Crichton once said,"Science is nothing more than a method of inquiry. The method says an assertion is valid-and merits universal acceptance-only if it can be independently verified. The impersonal rigour of the method means it is utterly apolitical."
Which brings us to the indisputable fact that our brains are capable of unravelling the mysteries of the universe, provided we exercise them to the limit. Think outside the box. Play around with ideas. Question everything and anything. As said in the opening, be playful, rebellious and immature. Maybe not when your mom's around, but you do get the message, don't you? Astronomy played that part for science, and opened up the scientific renaissance. We at NERD aim to cultivate the same scientific spirit and inspire,motivate,nurture a similar revolution in our Academic Institutions. You have our second issue of this year in your hands, you have the choice to go beyond just reading it. Become the next big thing in Science. Do the impossible.
Written for the editorial of NERD Volume 2 Number 2 in August 2009. Was never published. Issue finally came out 4 months later.
The International Year of Astronomy is here and is now about to go as well. It celebrates the 400th anniversary of the first recorded astronomical observations from a telescope by Galileo and the publication of Johannes Kepler's Astronomia Nova. To the layman, it may seem that this is all well and good but what impact does it have in his life? Why not have the International Year of Pencils, to celebrate the first time a pencil lead broke, and the need to create a sharpener was observed. After all, a pencil is more widely used than a telescope.
A telescope was what gave Galileo the power to observe the night sky in greater detail. Humanity, for ages, has been fascinated by the stars that speckle the glorious dark velvet black sky. Ancient civilizations made meticulous observations, recorded them, saw patterns and made calenders. What Galileo did with his telescope was much more than that. He supported Copernicus' Heliocentric theory (the sun is the center of the solar system) with his data and challenged the Roman Catholic Church. He was opposed, brought to trial and denounced. He argued and proved, but was put to house arrest where he ultimately died. What is very important is that he fought for what he believed was true, and his adhesion to his belief was strong. He went against the Church although he was himself a pious Roman Catholic. Stephen Hawking says, "Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science."
If you thought your Advanced Engineering Mathematics textbook was dry, don't attempt to read Astronomia Nova. This work made Kepler the first astronomer to prove the heliocentric theory with rigorous scientific arguments. Kepler made sure that he was correct and clear (maybe even dull) in each one his sentences that led the reader from Tycho Brahe's astronomical observations to his own famous Laws. Yet his patience is unmatched, systematically analysing orbital motion data and generating physical laws is not a mean feat. His second law, that areas swept by a planet are proportional to the time taken, gave birth to Kepler's Paradox which prompted the discovery of Calculus.
Their discoveries are important, but more important is the fact that they were able to break the bonds of conventional scientific wisdom. The earth is the center of the universe, a circular orbit is the only stable orbit. We might laugh at these today, but it also represents the fact that we may feel we are at the pinnacle of science and technology, yet there is a lot more to know. And who knows, maybe what we do know could still be completely and utterly wrong. And that is the principle driving science. As Michael Crichton once said,"Science is nothing more than a method of inquiry. The method says an assertion is valid-and merits universal acceptance-only if it can be independently verified. The impersonal rigour of the method means it is utterly apolitical."
Which brings us to the indisputable fact that our brains are capable of unravelling the mysteries of the universe, provided we exercise them to the limit. Think outside the box. Play around with ideas. Question everything and anything. As said in the opening, be playful, rebellious and immature. Maybe not when your mom's around, but you do get the message, don't you? Astronomy played that part for science, and opened up the scientific renaissance. We at NERD aim to cultivate the same scientific spirit and inspire,motivate,nurture a similar revolution in our Academic Institutions. You have our second issue of this year in your hands, you have the choice to go beyond just reading it. Become the next big thing in Science. Do the impossible.
Written for the editorial of NERD Volume 2 Number 2 in August 2009. Was never published. Issue finally came out 4 months later.
My Scientoons
Thanks to Dr. Pradeep Srivastava for the inspiration and help.
Scientist E-II
Medicinal & Process Chemistry Division
Central Drug Research Institute
(Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi)
Lucknow-226001, India
Winner of "THE OUTSTANDING YOUNG PERSON OF THE WORLD" award given by JUNIOR CHAMBER INTERNATIONAL (USA) to 10 selected persons of the world, annually.
Tel: (O) +91-522-2612411-8 Ext. 4321 Fax: +91-522-2623405/2623938 Tel: (H) +91-522-2746188 Mobile: +91-9415117548,
E-mail: pkscdri@gmail.com, pkscdri@rediffmail.com, pk_srivastava@cdri.res.in
Website: www.scientoon.com
Scientoon
Published on Backcover of NERD Volume 2 Number 1. Orginally made for Scientoon Competition in Takneek 2009
Scientoon
Got the idea from Jay Leno. Published on Page 17, NERD Volume 2 Number 2
Scientoon
Published on Page 5, NERD Volume 2 Number 2
Scientoon
Published on Backcover of NERD Volume 2 Number 2
Scientoon
Published on Backcover of NERD Volume 2 Number 3
Published on Backcover of NERD Volume 3 Number 1
Scientist E-II
Medicinal & Process Chemistry Division
Central Drug Research Institute
(Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi)
Lucknow-226001, India
Winner of "THE OUTSTANDING YOUNG PERSON OF THE WORLD" award given by JUNIOR CHAMBER INTERNATIONAL (USA) to 10 selected persons of the world, annually.
Tel: (O) +91-522-2612411-8 Ext. 4321 Fax: +91-522-2623405/2623938 Tel: (H) +91-522-2746188 Mobile: +91-9415117548,
E-mail: pkscdri@gmail.com, pkscdri@rediffmail.com, pk_srivastava@cdri.res.in
Website: www.scientoon.com
Scientoon
Published on Backcover of NERD Volume 2 Number 1. Orginally made for Scientoon Competition in Takneek 2009
Scientoon
Got the idea from Jay Leno. Published on Page 17, NERD Volume 2 Number 2
Scientoon
Published on Page 5, NERD Volume 2 Number 2
Scientoon
Published on Backcover of NERD Volume 2 Number 2
Scientoon
Published on Backcover of NERD Volume 2 Number 3
Published on Backcover of NERD Volume 3 Number 1
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