Is there an Indian Brain?
March 19th 2007 08:49
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HEALTH / SCIENCE
THE TIMES OF INDIA|POWERED BY INDIATIMES
19 Mar, 2007|
This is their article, reproduced here.
Seen in the right way, modern India is among the world's more scientific countries. This statement seems hard to defend when you consider how much superstition surrounds us.
But ours is an extremely practical culture, where people in difficult situations improvise within the limits of their resources. And improvisation is at the heart of science. It comes from the urge to obtain a result here and now, not waiting until optimal facilities become available.
In the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin famously understood that lightning was a form of electricity by flying a kite in a storm and attaching his keys to the string. When lightning struck the kite, sparks flew from the keys to his finger (he was lucky not to get killed—a fate that befell several people who subsequently repeated his experiment).
The kind of improvisation we see in Indian society is more down to earth—less about discovering new science and more about inventing technologies for survival. Like the data storage and recovery of the famous "dabbawalas" of Mumbai.
(I realise this may not exactly support my argument, but can't help recounting what a Bengali friend once saw in Kolkata when helmets were made mandatory—a woman riding pillion on a scooter was clasping an inverted copper kadhai to her head.) But I hope you get my point.
Questioning, adaptation and improvisation are the hallmarks of an Indian, and this means that in our own small way we are all scientists. At least partly we owe this to the influence on our subconscious from the brilliant scientists in our history—from Brahmagupta and Bhaskaracharya to Bhabha and Raman. Their existence proves that a scientific tradition has always been alive in our culture.
Unfortunately, we do not appreciate our own abilities. We are still mired in astrology and superstition, not fully realising that modern science and technology have more definite, quantifiable consequences for us. Which is more effective towards our safety—asking an astrologer for an appropriate time to travel, or wearing seat belts when driving a car?
Despite a practical awareness of these issues, we are begrudging our acceptance of their roots in science. Indeed, we remain a long way from the "enlightenment" that brought about an intellectual and social revolution in Europe and culminated in the economic prosperity we see there today.
I do hope you found the above article interesting. It is certainly exciting!
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Comment by Ash
Flashes of memories
I like it! Just call me Hiawatha!
Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
MS Paint Art
katyzzz......are you Indian? oh, that sort of Indian, I'm afraid I'm a little slow, must keep that brain exercising.
Comment by Ash
Flashes of memories
brain gym is very important isn`t it?? I sometimes feel like I am running marathons on a daily basis.....
Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
MS Paint Art
katyzzz
Comment by Ash
Flashes of memories