Okay , Its been an year and no blog entries ! :P Just way too lazy to type what I had in my mind .. New year , new resolve to blog more regularly ! Lets see ;)
Now I do have a topic worthy enough of a debate.I had recently been to Indian Science Congress, the highlight of this mega event was the lectures by Nobel Laureates. It was very nice listening to Ada Yonath , Martin Chalfie , Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas Steitz.They shared their enthusiasm that they have towards their work and explanation of their research so that even a layman can understand something about it ! I liked Dr.Martins lecture most personally. Overall I liked the way it was organized except for fact that the whole of Chennai was full of banners- politicians who were attending with their flashy smiles everywhere.Somehow it irritates me too much when I think about how much money that's wasted on these and how it could be utilized in better way!
Okay, so much for introduction. The main spotlight was on "OUR OWN" Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan.I totally agree with him about how science is an international effort and nationality need not be associated with it ( Well, his comments about this is causing quite a stir.I dont find it reasonable to shout out that he was born here in Tamilnadu.. etc.. etc.. everytime when person doesnt like or enjoy being celebrated as a national pride or something)
Another issues was his stands on need for idols in science.To quote him , "Science needs ideas not idols".I partly agree and partly disagree (The ambivalent me :P ) While there is no need for idols in comparison to film star or sports personal , I guess it definitely helps to know what inspired them and how they were successful in doing good science ; what kind of questions they ask ; their thought process and way they approach a problem .
I had the opportunity to listen to Thomas Steitz and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan twice -once in ISC, once in IIT .I had no clue about it happening in IIT and it was much more fun !!
The difference's which made it more enjoyable-
1. The Talk itself - While ISC was like much more general one ,the lecture in IIT was much more technical yet simple enough to understand.Infact the whole PPT was different.There was more videos. One in Venki sirs lecture stole the show away ! The whole translation process and its molecular mechanisms with song clips finishing it with the song" We are the champions"..LOL crazy graduate student !! :) There was short clip in Thomas Steitz's lecure too for which he danced :D
2.The Organizers- There was almost 45 mins used up before the speakers got to speak in ISC.In contrast it was just 5 mins general intro, 2 mins about each speaker and then they spoke ! No restless audience shifting seats this way .. And even vote of thanks was short , the focus was only on the lecture not anything else.Another thing I noticed was that there was just one video camera for recording the lecture and one photographer clicking photos ( that too not when the speakers were speaking)
3.The Crowd- The crowd was much much better .Organizers instructed only once not to ask for autographs or photographs and the crowed obeyed . No ringing mobile phone , no loud chatting , no photograph sessions. There was even a question answer session at the end ! In contrast in ISC , people were more intent upon taking pictures with the laureates , getting the autographs without even listening to them ..With children its understandable but parents and elders pestering for autographs and messages to point of annoying the speakers is sad sight to see.
To discuss cool science , we need equally cool audience who are intent on content rather than just coming to lecture hall for " I met the laureate and got his/her autograph" attitude alone for show-off..!
