Lately, Pakistan seems to have started taking baby steps towards shining on the scientific horizon. We have a Nobel Prize in Physics to our credit, 5-year-olds with IT certifications, and an ever-increasing number of doctorates being produced.
On the other hand, the majority of our children remain deprived of even primary education and a blessing called the Internet, (or even electricity). We have been seeing records and amazing things happening in Pakistan’s educational arena: most as, youngest-to-achieve-this, youngest-with-this-certificate, talks, seminars, conferences, electric rickshaws, and electricity generating systems being built in universities, and so on.
Technologies, especially indigenous, student-made technologies are the backbone of any country’s economical, technical, and educational advancements. However, being sharp in building electronic circuits, and developing technologies and software is just one small part of being a 'scientist'.
The more important part is to be a scientist at heart andmind, and that is the area where we, as a society, lag.
Of course there are exceptions, but they are very few.
Read on: No science culture
Although Pakistan is producing far more PhDs than ever before, the number of students (especially women) being enrolled in universities and other institutes of education is climbing up every year, it remains evident that our society still collectively lacks the ability and courage to think critically, even though our students very well remember the definition of scientific method.
Why do we keep seeing highly educated people, software developers, entrepreneurs, and students who can build advanced technical projects but still believe that man never landed on the moon?
Why do these highly educated people who are able to counter their teachers and counterparts with a barrage of critical questions during classrooms and technical seminars, easily buy into any propaganda spewed in the name of nationalism, patriotism, favourite political party, etc.?
To me, the answer lies in the way we teach science to our children.
Our schools, colleges, and universities focus the least on developing scientific attitudes, instead emphasising command over the technicalities of science – being adept at knowing how machines and equations work; how things are rather than why things are the way they are and why they cannot be another way.
Thus, 'knowledge' is taught and spread around without a deeper understanding of its logical underpinnings.
