My Science School

            Today, the world has shrunk to become a small village, thanks to the communication boom. Your friend in a faraway land seems as close as someone sitting in the adjacent room.

            Mobiles phones and the Internet have revolutionized our life so much that time and distance, once thought to be Mans untameable rivals, can be easily controlled. May 17 is observed as the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day to acknowledge the great change the world has undergone because of the developments in communication. The day is observed in order to help raise awareness regarding the possibilities about the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies provide. They have immense prospects as Information and Communications Technology can bridge the digital divide. Artificial Intelligence is one area where man is making steady progress today. It can help develop proactive tools and applications for improving healthcare, education, transportation, and a wide range of other services. May 17, in fact, marks the anniversary of the formation of the International Telecommunication Union.

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            A child learns to be an adult in a family. A family is the first school where children learn love, kindness, respect and humanity. A sound upbringing with proper interventions by parents will undoubtedly result in the character formation of an individual. Although the definition of family may have changed over the years, this miniature community remains the foundation stone of most societies. Acknowledging the importance of family, the United Nations has assigned May 15 as the International Day of Families.

            Across the world, the structure and constitution of the family has undergone changes. Large and joint families have now given way to nuclear families consisting of the parents and a child. While modernity and novel philosophies have made inroads into the popular conception of family, the UN still recognizes it as the basic unit of society.

            The day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families. The UN has planned various awareness-raising events such as workshops and conferences, radio and television programmes, newspaper articles and cultural programmes highlighting relevant themes.

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               The Earth is not a space exclusively for humans. There are many other beautiful living and non-living phenomena in the world.

               We should acknowledge and respect other life forms as cohabitants of this magnificent planet. Birds, especially migratory birds, have suffered greatly at the hands of human beings in many ways. Hence, the World Migratory Bird Day is an important occasion to think about how humans should create a conducive atmosphere for other life forms.

               The World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated on the second Saturday of May. It is a UN sponsored global awareness-raising and environmental education campaign focused on migratory birds and the need for international cooperation to conserve them.

               Scientists have estimated that one in five of the entire 11,000 bird species is a migratory bird. About 40 per cent of them are said to be in decline; One in eight is threatened with global extinction! The major threats to migratory birds are habitat loss and degradation. Migratory birds are also heavily affected by poisoning.

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               Reading newspapers or watching the news on television, has become part of our daily life. We assume that whatever we read, watch or understand through the media is true. Have you ever thought about a situation where newspapers and news channels do not exist at all?

               The press is one of the most celebrated pillars of democracy. A nation where the press does not enjoy freedom cannot be regarded as truly free. Therefore, the World Press Freedom Day is an important occasion to ponder over the right to freedom of expression and creativity. The world celebrates such a day on May 3.

               This observance is an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, assess the state of press freedom throughout the world, defend the media from attacks on their independence and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty. It also holds the press responsible as a watchdog, fostering transparency, accountability and the rule of law.

               The World Press Freedom Day is celebrated on the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, a UNESCO seminar held in Windhoek, Namibia, upholding press freedom principles by African newspaper journalists.

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               The English language has assumed so much relevance and significance nowadays. English is considered the language of the learned and is the most essential requisite for higher education and employment. English, the native tongue of the British, spread to the rest of the world due to colonialism and imperialism. The English Language Day falls on April 23, the date on which Shakespeare, the English poet and playwright, is believed to have been born and died.

               William Shakespeare is not merely the poet of a particular nation anymore. The consummate dramatist and his world-renowned poems and plays have assumed such universal appeal and value. His writings have been translated and adapted to most languages in the world. His contribution to the English language in terms of vocabulary and phraseology is immeasurable. The English language has become richer because of Shakespeare.

               The UN has established language days for each of the organization’s six official languages. The official languages are Arabic, Chinese, French, English, Russian and Spanish.

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Castle sledges were common in the Middle Ages. Any English lord who built a castle without the king’s permission risked having it taken away or destroyed. And an ambitious lord couldn’t conquer new territory unless he took control of each castle along the way. Otherwise, his army faced constant harassment from soldiers stationed in each of the enemy’s castles. And many castles were worth the risk an expense of a siege because they sat in strategic locations – alongside vital river routes or near important cities. Dover Castle, overlooking the English Channel, was considered the key to England’s defense. If it fell, the rest of England would be easy pickings.

 

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Stone keeps, moats, and castle walls were construction projects, involving thousands of workers and taking years – even decades – to complete. Workers quarried stone and hauled it to the building site in boats or horse-drawn wagons. Freemasons shaped the stones into square blocks that roughmasons laid to build the walls. Blacksmiths fixed the tools. Carpenters created scaffolding. Diggers dug the moat and well. Lime-burners created the mortar that held the stone together. A medieval castle-building site looked like a modern construction zone. Workers wielded familiar tools: hammers, chisels, mortar trowels, and saws. They used winches and hoists to lift heavy loads. The difference, of course, is that all these tools and lifting machines were people-powered. All of these workers had to be paid, making castle building an expensive business. Thousands of local peasants, meanwhile, might be forced to handle heavy labor for no pay. It’s no surprise that many peasants hated castles.

 

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They built them for a lot of reasons. Warlords in ninth-century France constructed the first castles – little more than wooden forts surrounding their homes – to protect their families and the local farmers from pillaging Vikings. From the 11th through the 14th centuries (part of a period known as the Middle Ages, or the medieval era), kings built castles to show off their power and wealth. It was a time when land was more precious than gold, and kings rewarded their most loyal supporters by granting them pieces of the realm and noble titles. These “lords” and “ladies” then built castles and hired their own supporters, such as knights for defense and peasants to farm the lands outside the castle (a system of government known as feudalism). No matter who you were in this feudal society, the castle loomed large in your life. Castles weren’t cheap! The massive castle Caernarfon in Wales cost an estimated $50 million in today’s dollars to construct.

 

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Nothing – or at least nothing we can reach out and touch. Today’s currency is worth something only because we believe it’s worth something. Its value is influenced by a number of factors, such as the cost of borrowing money and the rise or fall of the stock market. As a result, your cash might be worth a little more or less tomorrow. It wasn’t always this way. The currency of some countries in Europe and the United States was once based on the value of gold. But this “gold standard” was abandoned nearly 90 years ago.

 

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            The progress of human civilization depends on Man’s ability to create and innovate. Man lives not just by bread alone; if not for his imagination and creativity, he would have been merely another animal. On April 21, the world celebrates Man’s ability to be creative, as the World Creativity and Innovation Day.

            Ancient Man scribbled and doodled images of animals and the other men around him, on the walls of his cave. Some of these men were good at representing the world around. Culture and civilization began with man the artist. In the 21st century, creativity and innovation at both the individual and group levels have been recognized as the true wealth of nations. Now we realize that creativity is not confined to artistic expressions alone.

            The first World Creativity and Innovation Day was celebrated in 2018. The day has another speciality: it is observed six days after Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday and one day before International Mother Earth Day!

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               The Earth we inhabit is not merely a home to us; it is our mother. Our existence depends on the earth. The importance of the earth lies in the fact that we are yet to find another planet that is even remotely comparable to her. There is only one Earth, no other like her; and therefore, appropriately, we have the international Mother Earth Day celebrated on April 22.

               We had once believed that Man was the crown of creation and therefore the lord and master of nature. However, today, we know that Man is but a spoke in the wheel of nature. Harmony with nature and the earth is necessary to achieve proper balance among the economic, social and environmental factors in society. If Man does not acknowledge the symbiotic co-existence among organisms and curb his urge to exploit nature of its resources, he will gradually drag himself to his own grave. Therefore, the International Mother Earth Day sets us a warning in the direction of establishing a sustainable, Earth-friendly, and other oriented development.

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            The sky, the sun, the moon and the stars have fascinated Man for thousands of years. Ancient man probably hoped, in the depth of his heart that he would someday go up in space to the moon or the stars.

            Today, Man has exceeded his own expectations and knows the secrets of space and galaxies outside our planet. The International Day of Human Space Flight, celebrated on April 12, is meant to acknowledge the important contribution of space science and technology and to maintain outer space for peaceful purposes.

            The first man to have reached space was Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet citizen; and 12 April 1961 was the date of the first human space flight. Hence, it is apt to celebrate the day on April 12. This historic day inaugurated Man’s quest to explore space for the benefit of humanity.

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            Health is the greatest wealth man can possess, people say. To keep body and mind free of ailments is not only a good practice, but also an individual’s responsibility towards oneself and society. Realizing the importance of being healthy, we celebrate April 7 as World Health Day.

            The World Health Organization started the observation of World Health Day from 1950. It was held to mark the beginning of the WHO. For the organization, the observation was an opportunity to draw each year worldwide attention to the subject of personal and global health.

            There is considerable interest among nations across the globe in acknowledging and celebrating World Health Day. Various governments and non-governmental organizations organize awareness related activities and highlight their support to healthy living in media reports.

            Health does not merely mean being physically fit and devoid of any illnesses. It means the overall well-being of a person. World Health Day intends to spread this message to people across the world.

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            Some thinkers like William James have suggested that wars, undoubtedly destructive affairs, should be replaced by a moral equivalent such as sports and games!

            Can you imagine two disputing nations settling scores in a football match? By celebrating April 6 as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, the UN suggests that sports should be promoted as a fundamental right of individuals and it should be encouraged among the youth as an effective choice for physical and psychological health.

            Sport is a powerful tool to attract, mobilize and inspire people. It plays an important role as a promoter of social integration and economic development. More than any other activity, playing a game together will strengthen social ties.

            Sport is usually considered a universal language. One of the chief qualities of sport is its insistence on teamwork, fairness, discipline, respect for the opponent and adherence to rules. While it may not stop or solve a bitter conflict, it can be reliably considered as a flexible and cost-effective medium for peace building and conflict prevention.

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            Autism is a serious developmental disorder that impairs the ability of an individual for communication and social interaction. April 2 is observed as the World Autism Awareness Day.

            Such a dedicated day for autism can raise awareness about people with autism. The day was designed to focus on the importance of empowering men and women affected by autism and involving them and their representative organizations in policy and decision making to address their challenges.

            As is generally observed, girls with disabilities are less likely to complete primary school and most of them drop out of educational institutions. There is less likelihood of any institution providing them employment as well.

            World Autism Day also prepares a platform for discussions about fully exercising rights in matters relating to marriage, family and parenthood on an equal basis with others without the disability.

            Psychiatrists say that autism should not be seen as a disability, disease, disorder or impairment. It is just that some people are different from the rest. Therefore, autism calls for awareness among those unaffected by it rather than those who have it.

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