Tuesday, 25 February 2014

Why science?

"Science is a way of thinking; more than it is, a body of knowledge." -Carl Sagan

Ever since we're born, we have the inquisitive nature to question everything we see, everything we hear, everything we taste, everything we feel. Everything we observe seems like a question.

Somewhere along the way, growing up, we lose the ability to question what we observe around us.

Whether or not we're interested in science, we're intrigued by the great minds science has given us.

These great minds, are now lost in the pages of history.

Carl Sagan says: 
"We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows about science and technology"
"Why?" I wonder.

And people often ask me "Why science?" Because I love science. Simple as that.

My journey with science began when I was six. My father bought me a set of four books from a series of books titled "I wonder why?" These books are amazing for kids, and I personally recommend them for kids, age 4+.

These books are still out there, if you want to gift your kid something interesting,.

These books answered some basic questions like "I wonder why I sleep?" to "I wonder why penguins can't fly?" and "I wonder why stars twinkle?".  Other topics included planets, the human body, black holes, animals and dinosaurs.

The next few years, I kept asking for more and more, and my parents kept buying me books on science. By the time I was 11, I had a book shelf full of books on science, encyclopedias, fact books, atlases, books on wildlife, and many more.

Then came along science's worst enemy; high school and junior college.

If you're from India, you must be familiar with the cut-throat competitive exams, and pressure to succeed. It crushes the life out of you. During this brief academic nightmare, I hated science.

Then, I took a year's break, and I re-discovered the joys of science. My nemesis in junior college, physics, was now my best friend. And mathematics became a dear friend, albeit an annoying one.

I then, joined MGM Institute Of Biosciences & Technology, to pursue a degree in biotechnology.
And I fell in love, all over again.

I began to read, and read, and read. Gather as much as I could, for as long as I could.
In my free time, I read physics, and tried to teach myself advanced calculus (I failed).

Physics was a joyride, though. The simplest of observations, understood through mind-bending equations.

Even an inch-long equation such as E=mc^2 can have profound implications, and amazing applications. If that doesn't excite you, I don't know what will.

To think, is human. To wonder, is science.

For science lovers, I'll suggest a few links where you'll find the most amazing science-y stuff

On facebook, there are plenty of amazing pages on science, some of them are:
The Scientist
Wired Science
From Quarks to Quasars
ScienceDump
Physics Today
I F**king Love Science

There are some amazing youtube channels, as well. Some of them are:
minutephysics
Vsauce
SmarterEveryDay
Veritasium
AsapSCIENCE
Sixty Symbols
Nottingham Science
Periodic Videos
Numberphile

And there's my favourite science blog: It's Okay To Be Smart

Enjoy, fellow nerds! *fist bump*

And I hope that one day, people will say "Yeah, SCIENCE!" instead of "Why science?".
(Jesse Pinkman reference, LIKE A BOSS!)




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