“Science can be fun.” This phrase appeared on the cover of so many of my science textbooks when I was in primary school. But sadly, I really did not understand what it meant because science classes were far from being fun back then.
For me it was largely because my teachers, perhaps due to their own limited exposure to the subject, did not enthusiastically help my class comprehend the impact science has on our everyday lives. Show us how much fun it really can be!
TV channel BBC Knowledge recently aired a programme on DStv on some of the early pioneers in science. The programme looked at how oxygen, which was then called “good air”, was discovered; and how Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle was so fascinating it intrigued even Albert Einstein – who, in response, famously said, “God does not play dice,” because he refused to accept the uncertainly principle’s implications.
This reminded me of a simple fact that I think people would do well to remember: science really is for everyone!
Richard Feynman, Princeton graduate and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, once said that scientists are to blame for the fact that while science is pervasive in the impact it has on our everyday lives, it is not a hot topic at weekend get-togethers or around dinner tables.
So it was really refreshing when, this past weekend, the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement held a gala dinner to recognise top young scientific minds in the country through a debating competition. The prize went to Hudson Park High School from the Eastern Cape.
What was really fascinating was how engrossed these youngsters were in the various subjects they were debating, and how much fun they seemed to have during the entire process – it not only made science look attractive, but presented it as a topic for everyone. The debates touched on a number of themes, including nanotechnology, which is the science of changing substances by manipulating their make-up at the atomic and molecular level.
These kids were talking about changing the world – and it seemed possible, simply by doing things smartly.
Energy efficiency and medical technology were some of the areas the learners believed nanotechnology would be able to help improve.
And guess what? These students were not ignorant of the world we live in; they were aware of the fact that money makes the world go round. So they also touched on the major economic benefits that would result from smart adoption of certain technologies.
These are not future scientists pursuing science purely for knowledge’s sake – they are doing so to help solve the everyday problems we encounter.
A high five to all the finalists; as the MC said, they are all winners!