Former President and eminent scientist Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam truly believed in the power of children to transform India. He told them to dream, as dreams are what will goad them towards realising their goals. He wanted children to develop a scientific temper for pursuing knowledge. Scientific temper is a way of understanding our world which involves logical questioning, observing and experimenting before accepting the facts. Addressing a young audience at the National children’s Science Congress at Banares Hindu University, he said this “scientific temper” was easy to develop and went on to give an example. Map how electricity is used in your home and then conserve energy by switching off lights, fans, laptops and other electrical appliances when not in use. With this, you’ll save 10% of energy which is always in short supply. That’s one way. What else can you do to develop a scientific temperament?
1. Be curious
Kalam always asked students to be inquisitive. Why? Because curiosity would never allow you to rest and lead you to great paths. So, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, remain curious. As you walk, check out the bugs on the road, the birds on the trees, and the odd-shaped stone. While inside a building, see how it is built and ventilated, observe the artefacts and paintings on the walls. If you are on the beach at twilight, watch the sunset and wonder why the sky changes colour and the sun turns orange. Take pictures and do your research for answers. You’ll never get bored as the world around is full of fascinating things.
2. Ask questions
During interactions, Kalam always encouraged students to ask him questions and answered them patiently. Teachers and elders will be glad to clear your doubts on scientific happenings and phenomena. Ask: Why can’t we fly like birds? Why do I breathe out smoke when it’s cold? Will robots replace the human workforce in the future? The greatest inventions were the results of questions asked. George Stevenson asked himself: “What makes the kettle lid jump when the water boils?” And the steam engine was born. If you can’t find anyone to answer your questions, turn to the Internet, which has an overload of information.
3. Read, read, read
Set aside time to read books on inventions, discoveries and life stories of great scientists. In ancient India, Sushruta could do 300 surgical procedures – now you know why he was regarded as “The Father of Surgery”. He wrote one of the world’s earliest works on medicine and surgery. In 1633, the Roman Catholic Church forced Galileo to stand trial for saying the Earth moves around the Sun. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. Thomas Alva Edison’s lab, a barn, burned down, but that didn’t stop him from patenting over 1000 inventions, including motion picture, electric bulb and sound recording. Explore fascinating facts about inventions.
4. Try to solve problems
Start with the problems you face every day. How do you ensure that your clothes for school are ready in the morning? How do you keep the mobile/iPad charged? What do you do if your room is swarming with ants? What can be done about the leaky bathroom tap? How can you stop your door from making a squeaking sound? Is your mother complaining about the clogged kitchen sink? Fixing these efficiently is a pointer to your scientific thinking. In the sports field, don’t you calculate the pressure you exert to kick the ball into the goalpost or to hit a sixer in cricket?
5. Avoid sloppiness
Scientists are never sloppy in their work. Whether it is homework, lab work, project or following your exercise regimen, maintain neat records. Short handwritten observations of great scientists have helped those who followed them in the work. Quickly make a note of what you have done, what you need to do, what is left to be done on a pad or a computer file. Neatly-recorded info comes in handy while re-checking facts or writing reports. You can compare prices over a period of time or measure your success in sports and decide your future course of action.
6. Experiment
Different problems have different solutions. Do not jump to conclusions. Learn to look at a problem from all possible angles. If your bicycle isn’t running smoothly, is it the old tyre? Lack of grease? Mismatched handle-bars? Think of different possibilities. Try out ideas for new results. If you sing, try different notes, different pitches and modulate your voice. You may come up with something new. Experiment with different programmes on the computer. Be hands-on. It is possible the answers are different when you change an experiment, so you may have to redo it to compare the answers.
7. Steps and processes
First, ask a question to identify a problem. What type of food do dogs like the best? Then try to learn everything about the question – collecting data is an essential part of the scientific method. Research, find out from those who have a pet dog, speak to a vet, check out information online. What have other scientists done about it? Based on the research, make a prediction. Which food will your dog like? Now move to the experiment stage. You can create an experiment in a lab or by going outside and measuring something as proof. In the case of the dog, give it the foods you have researched on. Write down what you found. Finally, share your inferences. What do others think? This is called peer review.
8. Provide evidence
A scientific mind asks for evidence and will not settle without it. See that your answers are backed by proof. In fact, this applies to everything you do. When you write an essay, make sure your ideas/arguments are supported by facts, statistics, and studies. When the MET office says we had 45% rains, how do they arrive at it? What is the basis for such conclusions? If you say your neighbourhood is filled with garbage, can you prove it? Do you have photographs? Have you seen people throwing garbage in street corners? Make statements/complaints based on provable data.
9. Stay calm
Keep emotions like anger and frustration out. Thinking calmly is what the scientific temper is all about. It helps to avoid emotional responses. Instead of getting upset about some school rules, why don’t you find out why they M have been put in place? That important experiment in the chemistry lab isn’t producing results? Close your eyes for a few seconds and breathe deeply. Then go through the steps again. Did you follow them meticulously? Detectives are able to solve crimes because they stay cool, sift evidence and look for anything that doesn’t fit.
10. Believe & never give up
Have faith that your sharp powers of observation and deduction will help you solve problems. Experiments sometimes fail. There may be setbacks. In our quest for space, we lost many rockets and many lives. That should not make us lose heart and abandon the project. We improved the steps we followed. Read up and research more, consult others – but never give up. Do you know how much work went into discovering the X-Ray that could take pictures of our body? Read about German scientist Wilhelm Röntgen. Today we can’t think of medical treatment without some form of X-Rays. Faith leads to persistence, and with that comes success.
Picture Credit : Google
