Morality,education,challenges....

Here we are talking about education and morality and exploring their inter-dependence or relationship between two. A common and accepted refrain is that education is epicenter of everything one does in life and is absolutely correct. What we get in educational institutions although classified as education is predominantly making us literate in simplistic terms makes us able to read,write and attain certain skills so that we are able to make a living. That is the primary reason we are sent to educational institutions but is not the only reason. We learn many other things in school which is beyond text-books and laboratories and like in schools we learn that in our homes, from our friends and peers, from community and may be every possible social interaction. But why are our expectations extensively inclined towards our educational institutions and not to that extent to other social institutions? These expectations I think serve as a reminder that why are these institutions necessary and why is process of imparting education or making people literate important. So a primary purpose or step of this literation or education process is to develop abilities so that one is able to stand alone, think, develop analytic skills and so on so forth. As long as someone remains deprived of these basic requirements it is difficult to see her/him developing and understand other complexities or complex phenomenon.

 An engineer or a doctor or a lawyer or any other professional even if he contributes back zero to society other than his professional obligations is in my opinion still a success. In fact success on two levels one an individual has been saved from getting wasted second a useful resource for society has been developed. This I know is a mean way of thinking but a certain level of dissection is important while evaluating benefits. And applying similar concept to present day Kashmir I think this concept becomes all the more important. Although I don't have exact numbers about orphans or students who are need in of help but coupling it to the ever increasing costs of everything the number should not be less than a lac or so. So a preliminary and simplistic solution is to make all out efforts to not put them into further peril. But I want to emphasize and reiterate that involved in these attempts shouldn't do it making moral compromises. Expectation of a mean result shouldn't necessarily mean employing meaner methods.

 Morality and ethics! A very important question is to what extent can morals and ethics be taught and to what extent moral evolution is a sum total of processes of how we understand different situations, how we evaluate and analyze them, how deeply we try to make efforts for understanding a situation and how we respond to them and consequently this makes it an ever evolving process. If I put it this way or may be try to simplify it is how we respond to different challenges at personal, social or communal level? I think education as a whole and not just its technical aspect of it gets into act here. How we have been educated, what challenges have we been thrown to get on the path of getting educated and what challenges have been thrown at us while getting educated, not to forget even getting good grades and working for it even itself is a challenging task. So to say all these things have to go synchronously; education, challenges, responses, guidance on how to respond, monitoring, evaluation and if need arises correction or mentoring and they usually happen and by the time we are unleashed on this world or society in a meaningful, purposeful or even predatory manner a certain level of morality has already crystallized or has started taking shape. Again depending on how much grind one has been through.

 In not responding to a critical human crisis is the lack of morality responsible or is it presence of a deviant form that one tends to be non-responsive or response is not at level at one expects them to be?

Scientific research: Rigors, pitfalls, benchmarks…

That a significant proportion of highly qualified professionals or those who belong to more advanced and applied fields face multitude of complicated problems or mostly encounter dead ends in Kashmir is a known fact. While there can be no disagreement on responsibility of concerned nationals to talk about them and seek potential solutions, it becomes imperative to have these conversations in right perspective. A recent write up (A Trali @ Harvard) in this newspaper tried to highlight predicaments people involved in advanced scientific research face while trying to get a professional foothold in Kashmir. As a student of science I found it necessary to talk about a topic or two that have been used to bolster weight of the highlighted problem. This seemed unavoidable for reason that a misunderstanding or incorrect interpretation might prove discouraging to people passionate about science especially those planning to pursue science as a career.

Research publications that have a real impact in terms of discoveries or inventions or an advancement to what is already known aren’t something that come in huge numbers and frequently, especially when a researcher is still taking baby steps. There are rare exceptions, but is not a norm. Norm is infinitesimally small success at cost of substantial human contribution. It is a completely disproportionate relationship. Publications are one’s contribution to present and future and be they a critical advancement, a pioneering discovery, a technological innovation, a seminal contribution or even a Pico scale level contribution, all need a great human effort and most of the times personal sacrifices. These publications mostly come after continuously working of one’s butt, during course of which literally and figuratively one breaks her/is back, is in perpetual mode of head scratching with no guarantee of success. At an early scientific career stage it is improbable to think of publications in ‘dozens’ and even if they are and are path breaking in their effect, a trivial and superficial reference gives an appearance of them being an off shoot of a scientific career. A sense of smooth and hassle-free attainability is generated. This downside prospect of easy attainability, combined with dejection of not being able to pursue a career where one would want to or is compelled to can be a serious dampener for a science career enthusiast. It needs a balancing act between highlighting a flawed system and detrimental costs of increased stakes, especially in educationally developing places.

Awards and recognitions follow greatness and is not vice versa; greats pursuing awards or wanting to be judged by ability to be an awardee. Creating a piece of art appeals an artist, a musical note a musician, a couplet a poet and so on and so forth. It is restlessness and inner urge of self-satiation that drives them. A scientist like-wise is passionate and hard-wired about understanding, finding out, betterment and advancement. Paths chosen, hardships endured, ability to persist and be resilient are traits that define and make or mar an individual and this applies to everyone, in all aspects of life. Apply them to a scientific career and they become determining features of one’s existence and survival.  

In modern times of cutting edge research  and cut throat competition, a scientist’s ability to pursue ideas at a place of choice with some visible outcomes and garner a sustainable research grant is in itself an achievement. Numbers have a great value in day to day life and in scientific research and in its evaluation they become all the more important. Scientific successes usually occur in small fractional increments and ability to succeed has not necessarily be measured by ability to be a Nobel laureate. Nobel Prize or no Nobel Prize, contributions always matter and are always counted. Barbara McClintock, the 1983 Nobel laureate in medicine received Nobel more than three decades after her contribution to the field.  It would be a huge surprise even if a budding geneticist or even a high school student of science won’t be familiar with her name but perhaps all won’t be knowing about her award. Rosalind Franklin is every time talked in the same breath as the famous DNA double helix duo of Watson and Crick in spite of her unlike the other two not having received Nobel. This is not to diminish the value of Nobel Prize because that is a pinnacle, a zenith and making that a benchmark might turn away even the toughest of hard cores.

A flip side that scientists working primarily for recognition or seeking to be judged by their capacity to get recognized can create unhealthy trends. In last few years and one very recently controversies around stem cell research have come to fore and easily a reason of fast recognition can be assigned.  Alan Guth a Professor of Physics at MIT and one of the first proponents of ‘inflationary universe theory’ in a recent interview in New York Times said that he didn’t expected confirmation of his ideas in his life time. His generated idea of cosmic inflation in 1979 had first confirmable proofs observed very recently only few months back by astronomers from Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. This is an example of a scientific contribution that was driven from analysis and correct interpretation and waiting for a proof. Such high points are akin to embodiment of one’s own thought, one’s ability to create or one’s ability to rationalize. Like a good musical note or an artistic masterpiece nothing can be more self-satisfying and gratifying than seeing them ‘in flesh’. Awards in such circumstances might only serve as icing on cake.

Mr.Trali apparently has all ingredients of passion, hard work and resilience that have helped him learn, train and work at few of the best places in world and these are testament of his ability. Even if at this stage he had only ‘half to one dozen’ and not ‘dozens’ of research articles and not any Potential Nobel Laureate billing from his peers he is good enough to be a role model.  Hope the travesty of his fate is reversed soon and he gets to do what he has been good at. Sadly, opportunities which some time back used to be differentiated by being in west or east are now being determined by being part of a developed or a developing country. And on these indices Kashmir falls at lowest scales. India, under whose administrative control Kashmir is so far doesn’t have a university to show among top 100 of the world so how much advancement trickles in to Kashmir can be anybody’s guess. As long as there aren’t any drastic changes in understanding and priorities, Mr. Trali and many like him who want to return will continue to suffer.

http://kashmirreader.com/harvard-and-kashmir-10187