Is science international?

Akila Weerasekera Minnesota, USA

Reading excerpts from his speech at the convocation of the University of Jayewardenepura, I think Professor Kirthi Tennakone seems to think so.

If science is truly international how come we have yet to generate a Nobel Prize (Not to say that it is important) winner in Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry or at least create a single theory which is accepted by the so-called scientific community? If it is truly international how come we have yet to create a knowledge-system like the west have established?

Professor Tennakone is amazed by the scientific theories which are responsible for the technological advances and says that we have failed to inculcate an indigenous research culture, nurture scientific creativity. According to him one of the reasons is that our reluctance to engage in more challenging endeavors. He also seems to think that adherence to myths and occult beliefs is a weakness in our society and it leads to damaging consequences. What he forgot to mention was that in the past these myth and occult believers created the most amazing irrigation systems, structural engineering systems, Medicine, Astronomy, our own music, dances etc. Mahawamsa (Which our so-called intellectuals ignore) vows for that.

Why is that we have failed to contribute anything to science? Professor Tennakone says that Martin Wickramasinghe's book on evolution is very high literary quality and it reflects his original thinking. No doubt Martin Wickramasighe was one of the greatest authors in Sri Lanka but anyone who read his books on evolution and anthropology would understand that it is nothing more than Darwinism. Martin Wickramasinghe was not a scientists but an author. (Also some people think that Arthur.C.Clark is a scientist, he is an author as well). Martin Wickramasinghe's books on evolution are mere translations of the western ideas and nothing more. If Martin Wickramasinghe came up with a theory using 'agganna sutta'(digha nikaya) it would have been original.

But repeating what the west already established is not going to help us in anyway. What we produce in our High schools and universities are not original thinkers but a bunch of imitators. After getting higher degrees from western countries make some of them more qualified imitators. Being more qualified imitators they tend to criticize their own culture, beliefs, values and people. We do not want more imitators in our country, we need more original thinkers. Making models to rebirth using quantum mechanics, explaining death as going through black holes, or making models to the mind using his or her theories do not qualify as original work. They might sound interesting to the lay people but worthless and devious. These are the misinformation which could lead to dangerous consequences not our ancestor's beliefs in mythology.

Professor Nalin De Silva, Sunil Santha and Gunadasa Amarasekera have repeatedly shown the immense need of a 'jathika chinthanya' in our society. Without it we could never contribute or come up with any sort of an original ideas or theories. So why is it that we have yet to establish a 'jathika chinthanaya'? It is our education. Our education does not help our country to succeed as a nation. It is only a way of creating slaves for the need of the western countries to spread their word and continue their work all around the world. Our lack of originality is due to our lack of 'jathika chinthanaya'.

While reading Professor Tennakone's speech given at the convocation of the University of Jayewardenepura, I was a little disappointed. His audience was not some egotistical burnt-out intellectuals or the so-called western scientific community it was the future pearls of Sri Lanka, the new graduates from University of Jayewardenepura. The message which should have been conveyed to the graduates was that not to be slaves of what they've been taught and in a time which the west is expecting a shift in their paradigm we should keep an open mind and create a new ideas which could benefit us and science using our history, religion, heritage and culture. That is the utmost respect we could give our great ancestors.