Table Of ContentA. R. Prasanna
How to Learn
and Practice
Science
How to Learn and Practice Science
A. R. Prasanna
How to Learn and Practice
Science
A.R.Prasanna
Ahmedabad,Gujarat,India
ISBN978-3-031-14513-1 ISBN978-3-031-14514-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14514-8
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Dedication
Entaro Mahanubhavulu, Andariiku
Vandanamu
(Saint Thyagaraja)
(Salutations to all the Great Souls, Learned
and Wise)
Preface and Acknowledgments
My interest in science, which started in Class 8, got boosted when I had my first
occasiontomeetwithProfessorSirC.V.Raman,athisinstituteinBangalorein1957
when I was in Class 11 (Matriculation). To my fortune, I had a couple of more
meetingswithhimasIhadregisteredtoattendhisannuallecturesonGandhiJayanti
onOctober2everyyear.Oneofthose(in1961)wasthemostsignificantforme,as
arriving early at his institute, I had the rare privilege of walking along with the
Professorinhislovelyrosegardenlisteningtohimaboutscienceandhowitshould
bepracticed.Oh,whatagreatpersonhewas!Oneofhislectureson“Light,Colour
andVision”isstillfreshinmymemory.
As I chose to specialize in a different area of theoretical physics and left
Bangalore after graduation, I had no further occasion to meet him again, but the
earlymemoriesareeverlasting.ThoughIhavebeenapracticingstudentofscience
all my life, I had learned how important it is to popularize science and scientific
temperthroughinteractionswithstudentsandsocietyingeneral.Myownveryfirst
popular lecture was delivered in the then British Council Library in Madras (now
Chennai) in 1965, while I was a research student at the Institute of Mathematical
Sciences,popularlyknownasMatscience.Idoenjoygivingpopulartalksmostlyon
thetopicof“ouruniverse,”asalsothemethodsoflearninganddoingscience.Ido
believethatscienceistobelearnedandnottaught.
With this philosophy, I have engaged school teachers on different occasions
urging them to inculcate in their students the spirit of learning science. During the
last three years, staying home (due to lockdowns and pandemics) I started putting
togethersomeofthematerialIhadusedforsuchworkshopsandlecturesintheform
ofessays,andthislittlebookisaresultofthatventure.
Theplanofthebookisgearedtowardbothstudentsandteacherswiththeearlier
chapters concentrating more on students and later ones initiating the process for
teachers (communicators). Apart from these two groups, the book may also be of
interesttoanyoneinterestedinscienceandlikestodevelopscientificunderstanding
andscientifictemper.
Isincerelybelievethatchildrenarebybirthcuriousabouteverythingthattheysee
andexperience.Asadults,weneedtochannelizethemtothink,ponder,andarriveat
vii
viii PrefaceandAcknowledgments
understandable conclusions which they can appreciate and communicate to others
wheneverrequiredorquestioned.
The bookstarts withthe topic“what isscience?”The basic aimofscienceisto
understandthevarioushappeningsaroundusandhowourancientgenerationstried
tointerpretattributingreasonsandcausestoeffectsobservedratherthanattributing
tothesupernatural.Thoughinitially,theattemptsweretomakelifeeasierwithsome
innovative gadgets, the more inquisitive among them turned their attention to
understanding the cosmic order. Though not exactly, about six to seven thousand
years ago the humans in different parts of the world must have started wondering
aboutquestionslikewhere,when,andhowdidtheworldcomeabout.
Isscienceonlyesotericorcanoneseeitoperatingindailylife?Itissomethingwe
allseeandexperienceinday-to-dayroutinesifonlywestopandquestionafterthe
actionastowhydidIdoit?Onceobservedandanalyzedthelearnedconceptscan
lead to events beyond and help in trying to follow the cosmic order. While we are
veryadeptatusingthetechnologicaloutcomesofscience,oneneedstothinkofthe
hidden science behind the technological innovations. One should indeed feel obli-
gatedtothosepioneerswhospenttheirfacilitiesandtimetolookforapplicationsof
scientificknowledgeandimprovisegadgetsthatweuseindailylife.
Isthereamethodologyforlearninganddoingscience?ImmanuelKant’sexpla-
nation of the philosophy of getting new knowledge both through reasoning and
through new observations underlined an established and well-practiced methodol-
ogyintheworldofscience.Discussingtheresultsobtainedwithothersandverifying
them thoroughly are very important features of scientific methodology. Human
knowledge initiates the thinking process. The reason for the methods of science
beingdifficultisbecauseanyresultobtainedeitherbyexperimentorbyobservation
hastoberepeatable.WhereasPlato’sschoolinGreeceinitiatedtheprocessoftrying
to explain the celestial motion of stars and planets, their approach of a geocentric
systemwasreplacedwiththehelio-centricsystemdevelopedbyCopernicus.Thea
priori(apriori)(pre-knowledge)andtheaposteriori(aposteriori)(outerknowledge)
concepts as put forward by Kant allowed equal emphasis on both the relationship
point of viewand theempirical point ofview. Thoughthe methodologycannotbe
compartmentalized,thetheoreticalandtheexperimentalviewpointsareveryimpor-
tantbothinestablishingearlierlearnedknowledgeandinconfirmingitsextension.
Howshouldonecommunicatescience?Apartfromaudioandvideomodeswhich
are normal, a more important aspect of conveying the concepts and experiences
needstobeputinaformthatiseasilyunderstoodbythereceiver.Oneshouldbearin
mind the fact that just giving a whole lot of information does not convey science.
Successful communication is that which brings in the joy of understanding to the
receiver. As science deals with the knowledge of nature, its communication could
andshouldbeinandwithallpossibleformsofperceptions.Onceaphenomenonis
describedoralawstated, itshouldproduce thesameeffect orgivethesameresult
irrespective of when or where the experiment is conducted or observation is made
and who does it. This would indeed initiate the question: does thinking need a
language? Further one should demarcate the differences between information and
knowledge.
PrefaceandAcknowledgments ix
Mathematicsasacommonbaseforsciencehasandisplayingafundamentalrole
inquantifyingtheideasexpressedaswellasinexpressinglogicallythecause–effect
relations in theories and models. Puzzles and riddles often pose a thinking mental
pastime and sharpen the mind through a quest for solutions. Through the usage of
coordinate systems, mathematics provides an apparatus - the language of numbers
which between different observers are linked by finite and reciprocal transforma-
tions. There have been concrete examples where discoveries and theories are
developed by adopting new mathematics to advance old theories. One ought to
rememberthatthoughallmathematicaldevelopmentshavetheirpsychologicalroots
in practical requirements, it invariably gains momentum in themselves and tran-
scends the confines of immediate utility as expressed by distinguished mathemati-
cians. Mathematics plays important role in establishing working relations between
different disciplines as may be seen in the development of subjects like biomathe-
matics,computersimulations,andinformationtechnology.Withallitsseriousness,
mathematics can be fun too and improves the skill of any individual who spends
time,solvingpuzzlesasapastime.
Scienceisanintegratedadventureasdemonstratedbypractitionersofearliereras.
Unfortunately, the new advances have rendered it to severe specializations which
often may make a practitioner lose track of the associated concepts. This must be
looked into, and particularly at the elementary level, one should communicate
science in an integrated way showing the young minds the applicability of one
disciplineintheotherassociateddisciplines.Thisrequiresathematicdevelopment
ofteachingaidsandmodels.Topicslikemotion,work,forceandenergy,structure,
andstatesofmatterareallexamplesofscientificconceptswhichcanbecommuni-
cated in an interdependent and integrated manner. While super specializations
cannot be avoided, they have their role only at the research level and not for
communicating(aidingtolearn)attheelementarylevel.
Experienceandexperimentationarehallmarksoflearningandpracticingscience.
Man’searlyexperiencesfromchildhoodareindeedthebasisforaninquiringmind
which grows into the stage of experimenting to know more about things around
us. While trying out simple experiments during adolescence may be considered
adventurous, pursuing that approach to learn more as one grows into adulthood
shows clearly a scientific bent of mind. As one learns more and advances into
research level and keeps the habit of questioning, trying to figure out and finally
gettoworkinalaboratoryisnotjustfeedingthecuriositybutsettinguponeselffora
scientificendeavor.WhenGalileokeptonrollingballsdownaninclinedplanewith
varyinginclinations,hewasseriouslytryingtofindoutthepathwhichtooktheleast
timetorolldown.Imaginethesurprisehehadwhenherealizedthatthepathwasnot
a straight line but along a curve (the Brachistochrone), and this truth established a
wholenewwayofthinking.Mostofourday-to-dayexperiencesiftheyoccurtime
andagainresultintherealizationofsomeuniversaltruthandarealscientificmind
willthenworkontheverificationofsuchfactsbyexperimentorobservation.Several
times it could be an accidental discovery but still needs verification through con-
trolledexperiments.
x PrefaceandAcknowledgments
Doingaccurateobservationsofeventsisasimportantasdoinglaboratoryexper-
iments,andthisisparticularlyimportantwhenstudyingthecosmosandthemotion
of cosmic bodies. The accurate observations of Tycho Brahe and his collection of
datahelpedKeplerworkouttheorbitsofplanetsandthelawsthatgovernthem.The
success of the Newtonian theory of gravity is mainly because using Newtonian
mechanicsonecouldverifyKepler’sempiricallaws.Sometimesobservationscould
comeaccidentally,whichisreferredtoas“serendipity.”Theearliestperhapswasthe
discoveryoffirebothasafacilityandanarmoragainstwildanimals.Inlifesciences,
thediscoveryofpenicillinwasonesuch,whereasinastronomythediscoveryofthe
radio universe, which though accidental, required very keen observations for con-
firmation.Thebooktriestoillustrateseveralsuchfindings.
Tilltheadventofthetwentiethcentury,scientistsworkingonresearchproblems
didsopurelyfortheiracademicsatisfactionandenjoymentwithoutworryingabout
returns. Post-industrialrevolution,doing researchturnedinto aprofession,initially
todevelop“warfare”butlatertolookforaidstobenefitthesocietythroughindustrial
applications of science-based technology. Post-1960s people slowly realized that
apartfromaspiringfordegreesinengineeringandmedicinewhichwereconsidered
lucrative professions, studying pure science and going for research in its pure and
applied aspects could also be considered as a profession. Have we understood
scientific research as a full-time profession like any other though maybe less
rewarding? Unfortunately, a very small percentage of society realizes this. The
most important aspect to be appreciated is the fact that scientific research is not a
9to5job!Itistheonlyprofessionwhereonegetspaidfordoingwhatheorsheloves
todoandmovesastepaheadinunderstandingnature.Onemustsaythatoverthelast
twodecades,thefinancialremunerationforscienceprofessionalshasbeenfarbetter
than what it used to be and chances of getting a good position depend entirely on
one’smeritanddedicationtowork.
Finally,alltheactivitiesofhumanbeingsarelinkedtothesocietytheylivein.As
such it is necessary to look at the way society is interacting with those practicing
sciencebothasanintellectualadventureandasaprofession.Aglanceatthehistory
of science reveals that knowledge advancement and understanding nature in its
various forms have only been possible due to the untiring and dedicated efforts of
men and women analyzing what they observed and what they experienced. Early
Greeks like Plato and Aristotle looked for patterns in the behavior of things both
livingandnon-living.Itwasconveyedthatnothingshouldbetakenforgrantedand
whateverknowledgeonehadfromtheearliergenerationsshouldonlyactasstepping
stones for a new adventure. Scientific research is thus a continuous process with a
firm beginning but never-ending. Unfortunately, the society which includes scien-
tists themselves does not seem to have a real understanding of what scientific
research is and the number of efforts that practitioners of science put in toward
understanding how nature works or why is it unique. Of course, the valid reason
couldbethefactthatveryfewscientiststaketimeoff,ifatall,tocommunicatetothe
generalpublicaboutscience,itsvalues,anditscontributionstothegrowthofhuman
society. In essence, this requires developing a scientific temper for which both the
practitioners and their communities should work synergistically so that the entire
PrefaceandAcknowledgments xi
human society can overcome the ignorance of superstitions and learn to look for
proofsandlogicalreasonsforallthecauseandeffectrelationships.
Inmylifeofscienceoverthelastsixtyyears,IhavetakeneveryopportunityIgot
to interact with people of different expertise and experience (teachers, scientists,
colleagues, and students) and learned whatever I could, which in turn could have
influencedmyviewswhilewritingthisbook.Iamverygratefultoallofthem.More
directly,thereviewersofthedraftsofthemanuscriptatdifferentstagesgavesome
goodandhelpfulsuggestionswhichIhavetriedandincorporatedtowhateverextent
possible,andIamverythankfultothem.IamthankfultoProf.A.K.Singhviforhis
reading of an earlier draft manuscript and for making a few helpful comments. I
would like to express my appreciation to my two young friends Mr. Sonam Bhatt
andMs.KavyaShah,whoreadthroughsomeofthechaptersintheearlierversion
and indicated a few difficult terminologies from a student’s point of view, which I
havetriedtoclarify.Imustsaythatthefinalversioninyourhandistheresultofvery
useful suggestions and comments by Dr. Ramon Khanna, the editor, and his
colleaguesatSpringerpublications.Iamverythankfultothem.AfterIhadfinished
my first draft, my attention was drawn by Dr. Khanna to the books The Rise of
SciencebyShaver(2018)andTechnologyandtheGrowthofCivilisation,byGenta
andRiberi(2019).Forthoseparticularlyinterestedinfindingoutmoreexampleson
aspects of mathematics as a basis of science, and the interdependence of different
disciplinesofscienceandtechnologyforsuccessfulresearch,Iconsiderthesebooks
veryuseful.
I would like to express my love and appreciation for the continued support and
understanding received from my family, wife Shanti, children Kartik and Tanusri
and their spouses Bidisha and Fahim, and my lovely grandchildren Ananya,
Anoushka, Sofia, and Rehan, during consolidating this work (in the difficult times
of the pandemic). I would like to thank the concerned authorities in the Physical
ResearchLaboratoryforthelibraryandcomputerfacilitiesprovided.Despiteallmy
efforts,therecouldstillbescopeforimprovementandIwillbehappytohearfrom
the readers, their views, critiques, and suggestions. I may be always contacted
[email protected]
Ahmedabad,India A.R.Prasanna
