Not all discoveries have been readily accepted by the society and scientists in particular. Examples are aplenty. If Copernicus was punished, others like the Wright brothers were ridiculed.
Many wondered how a machine that is heavier than air could ever fly. The Scientific American magazine dubbed the Wright brothers as “The Lying brothers!”
Or take the case of Alexander Graham Bell. He was prosecuted for fraud when he was found raising money to manufacture telephone equipment. According to the prosecution, carrying voices over wire was impossible and no one would want it done that way! Smithson Tennant discovered that diamond was just another form of carbon in 1766. And scientists ridiculed him for they saw no reason why the hardest and softest material could both be made of carbon.
The courage of conviction is one of the most prized qualities that anyone interested in science should possess.
This becomes particularly important when the person dares to dream differently and challenges the accepted notion. The comments, at times even caustic, from persons of eminence can dissuade or put off people.
How wrong they were
Take for instance the comment by Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of all times, on the possibility of producing nuclear energy.
“There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will,” he said. How wrong he was. Thomas Edison is known more for his discoveries than for his absurd observation. He had come out saying in 1899 that “Fooling around with alternating current is just a waste of time. Nobody will ever use it, ever.” X-rays are a hoax noted Lord Kelvin.
“Science favours those moulded with tenacity to achieve, persistence to solve, courage to interpret and think differently, obsessed with scientific puzzles and who dare to dream,” Dr. Raj underlined.
Ridicule does not have to come at the end though. “But what separates the winner from the rest is conviction and confidence and not others’ approval,” Dr. Raj emphasised. “You can achieve anything if you have the conviction and confidence.”
Brushing away scepticism and ridicule can become a reality only when clarity of mind exists. “The work of Edison and C.V. Raman involved no big equipment,” he noted. “It was just clarity of mind.”
If clarity of mind is important, can intuition be far behind? “Intuition is just being bold. And unless one is confident in one’s intuition one can’t be successful,” he stressed.
If India is now being branded as a knowledge society, it is more an insult than a compliment. That is ignoring the big contributions of our people in the past. It may be recalled that Bhaskarachary had calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun long before others could. Same holds true with Aryabhatta who discovered `zero.’ “We have been world leaders in the past,” Dr. Raj stressed. “If someone tells India will again become one, believe him.”
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