THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The role of science communication is going past the complicated language of science, commented Suresh Das, Executive Vice-President, KSCSTE. He was inaugurating a workshop on Science Journalism held for students of science and mass communication as well as young media professionals at Sasthrabhavan, Pattom.
He said that while science is a wonderful subject, often the fascination that a scientist feels is not conveyed to the people. Their work fails to cut across masses, because its language is inaccessible to the people, he said.
Quoting Albert Einstein who said that everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler, Suresh Das shared an example from his field, photochemistry. He said that there are numerous examples of the photochemical process. For example, the eye, can be likened to a camera and the retina to a photofilm, he said. There is a fascinating landscape in science, which can be taken to the public through effective science comminucation, he said.
Former STEC Chairman C G Ramachandran Nair who presided over the function opined that it was important to start reading science before writing it. He said that unlike a poet, who writes based on life experiences he or she undergoes, a science writer has to understand what kind of literature exists in science.
The keynote address by KSCSTE President George Varghese was on science communication in Malayalam.
He said that there would be a time when Kerala will contribute immensely to science literature. He said that Aryabhatiyam rose to popularity because of the translations and analysis of scholars in Kerala.
There has been many scholarly scientific texts from Kerala soil, written in Sanskrit, Manipravalam and Malayalam, he said. He said that if ‘Yuktibhasha’ was written by Jyeshtadevan in the 16th century, it should still be possible to write scientific texts in Malayalam.