In the essay 'Scientific Research is a Token of Humankind’s Survival', Keilis-Borok says about his profession as a scientist, and views that science is the humankinds’ indispensable guardian and caretaker.
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About the writer and the text
Vladimir Keilis-Borok
(1921-2013) was a Russian mathematical, geophysicist and seismologist. He
taught at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was the research group
leader of the International Institute for Earthquake Prediction Theory and
Mathematical Geophysics, Russian Academy of Science.
He was also Co-director (and Founder) of the Research Programme on non-linear dynamics and earthquake prediction of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste.
Key Points to Remember about the essay
Cold war: As World War II was ending, the Cold
War began. This was to be a long-lasting and continuing battle between the Soviet Union and the United States, lasting from 1945 to 1989. It was
called the Cold War because neither
the Soviet Union nor the United States officially declared war
on each other.
Seismic wave: an
elastic wave in the earth produced by an earthquake or other means.
Nuclear weapon: a bomb or missile that uses nuclear (atom) energy to cause an explosion.
Summary of the text
In the essay
‘Scientific Research is a Token of Humankind’s Survival’, the writer, being a
scientist, views science as an indispensable
(अत्यावश्यक) guardian (संरक्षक) and
caretaker.
The writer
says that some people choose to be scientists although it pays off little as
compared to the profession of businessmen, lawyers, and doctors etc. So, what inspires (प्रेरणा दिनु) people to become a scientist is
their passion (उत्साह) to discover (खोजी) new things. Moreover, scientist gets
freedom, camaraderie (साथीभाव) and independence (स्वतन्त्रता) instead of big money.
The writer
is of the opinion that scientists, science and scientific discoveries are the
greatest gift to humanity (मानवता).
A
scientist always works for the betterment of human being. He cites his
own example of how scientists are for humankinds’ betterment. It was 1960, the height of the cold war. He was in Moscow
doing research on the theory of seismic waves—tremors (कम्पन) in the earth generated by an
earthquake. He, being the expert (विज्ञ) of tremors in the earth, was invited
to Geneva, Switzerland. In Geneva
the experts of Soviet Union, United States and United Kingdom- the three
power house of nuclear weapon- were having meeting to put a ban on the nuclear weapon test.
It was during the cold war and every man,
woman and child on the earth was living under the threat of annihilation (विनाश) by nuclear weapon. Every three nations (Soviet Union, the United
States and the United Kingdom)
had more than enough nuclear bombs to destroy the others in the first strike.
The three
nuclear powers were willing (इच्छुक) to come to an agreement, putting a
ban on the nuclear weapon test. But there were some problems in regards to the agreement (सम्झौता). The problems were: (i) the nuclear powers had signed the agreement
to stop the test of the new nuclear weapons, and (ii) one of the
participants had violated (उल्लंघन गर्नु) this agreement and secretly made an
underground nuclear explosion. The problem is: how
can the other powers detect (पत्ता लगाउनु) the violation? To solve the very problem, the
technical experts were summoned (बोलाउनु) that arose.
The writer
says this problem had a direct connection with the theory of seismic waves. Underground nuclear
explosions produced earth tremors very similar to those generated by
earthquake. How could one distinguish the natural tremors from the ones
produced by the explosion? Suddenly, his theoretical knowledge had a direct application (प्रयोग) in the areas of survival of the humankind (मानवजाति) and he helped to solve the problem.
The writer says
that during cold war, when the political leaders are divided in the name of
political ideology (विचारधारा), race (जाति), origin (उत्पत्ति) and nationality but the scientists all over the world leaving behind
their all differences worked together and reached one of the most important decisions
of their time-nuclear test ban.
He says that
other people think that science does not go with practical sense but the writer
says that it is not true. All new technologies, all new brands of industry from
defense to entertainment are the result of scientist and their hard work. In
the past too, the scientists have developed antibiotics, electronics,
biotechnology,
synthetics
fibers, the green revolution, genetic forensic diagnosis, etc. which are
the result of scientific research.
The writer
further says that every survival of our civilization is threatened (डराउनु) by natural and man-made disasters. Among
them are earthquakes, self-inflicted destruction of megacities, environmental
catastrophes, economic and social crises etc. These catastrophes can cause up to
a million casualties, trigger global economic depression, and such dangers keep
growing. The writer believes that the
hope and responsibilities for breaking the stalemate
(गतिरोध) reskkt on the money but on
intellectual resources i.e. scientific research and invention though money is
more popular.
Finally, the
writer says that scientific research is an exciting venture (उद्यम) for humankinds’ survival. It is the
scientist with their tools that are up to the challenge and can ensure that we
all safely move with time. If humanly used, science is human beings’
indispensable guardian and caretaker. The writer says while there is science,
there is the hope of survival and well beings for all of us.