Pervez Hoodbhoy October 31, 1999

Tags: science-education

A letter to the Chowk community outlining an ambitious initiative for science education and awareness in Pakistan

href="/tag/science">science series to be aired by Pakistan Television, then read on.
The Science Education Group (SEG) is a non-profit organization of volunteers that believes knowledge, and scientific knowledge in particular, is the key to empowering the people of Pakistan. The more successfully science and rational thinking can be taken to the masses, the more optimistic our country can be of its future. Governments and coups have come and gone -- and many are yet to come -- but it is the computing power of our collective brain that shall determine how things are to be in the future.
In 1994, SEG had produced Bazm-e-Kainat, a television series that was remarkably successful in stimulating public interest in science. PTV has repeatedly rebroadcast these programs. The issues covered ranged from the Big Bang origin of the universe to exploding stars, origin of the earth, a tour inside the atom, evolution of the species, and an expose of astrology. Hundreds of appreciative letters, some from remote villages in Sind and NWFP, were received. Several delegations of students called at Quaid-e-Azam University to discuss matters arising from the programs with the anchor person being myself, a physicist who teaches at that university.
SEG is again developing a series of 13 science-related programs to be aired free of cost by PTV. This time the goal is to do a better, less amateurish, job.
The programs shall present exciting new scientific developments in Urdu at a level that can be understood by the 14+ age group. Topics will range from space travel and artificial intelligence to genetics and environmental catastrophes. Anything that is interesting and doable can be considered. A tentative list of topics is listed at the bottom of this message but if you have a really good idea, please let us know.
Each program will be of 25 minutes duration, broadcast at the rate of one per week. The language and terms shall be simple enough to be understood by Matric level students. The programs will be made visually attractive and entertaining by extensive use of insertions, computer graphics and animations, and appearances of field experts.
What sort of help do we need from you?

If you are an expert in any one of the program areas, let us know if you are willing to comment on the scripts that are being prepared. Or help us devise a script in your area of expertise.
We shall appreciate your suggestions for well-established, relevant experts, who may be invited to make brief comments on camera in Urdu. They may either be resident in any city in Pakistan or plan to visit Pakistan during the next several months.
We need one (paid) person who has experience in creating computer animations, is sharp, and preferably resident in Islamabad. Lahore and Karachi are also possibilities.
We need people with experience in film-making or video production who can act as advisers.
Most importantly -- can you guide us to free or cheap broadcast quality visual materials? Advice on the royalty issue? Each 25 minute program will need approximately 10 minutes of such materials. Surfing the internet and looking under "stock footage", it seems that you can find almost anything under the sun -- whether it’s a lion about to spring, a neuron firing, or the Andromeda galaxy. The problem is that the discounted cost is a ridiculous $20 per second if purchased from stock footage companies!
We do not seek financial contributions. However, to fulfil our need for stock footage, we would like to have on reserve wealthy individuals who could directly pay the stock footage companies (BBC, WGBH, etc) for a portion of the footage that we may simply have to purchase if all else fails.


We hope to hear from you and have the benefit of your help.
Sincerely,

Pervez Hoodbhoy
TENTATIVE TITLES

1. NEW PLANETS? There is exciting new evidence of planets that lie far outside the solar system. How were these discovered and what is the possibility of life in other parts of the universe?
2. CRIME IN THE GENES. Genetic evidence now points to individuals inheriting tendencies towards violent and anti-social behaviour. But which influences our behaviour more - nature or nurture?
3. MAKING ANTIMATTER. The prediction that anti-matter exists is now confirmed. But why is there so little of anti-matter in the universe? Recently anti-hydrogen has also been produced. How, and why could this be revolutionary?
4. GLOBAL WARMING. Scientists are now sure that the earth is warming up due to excessive burning of fossil fuels. The implications of this for Pakistan will be presented.
5. THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING. The quest for the ultimate structure of matter may be nearing an end with recent advances in this area. We are now being forced to admit that our world may not be simply 4-dimensional but 10-dimensional. The main ideas and still open questions will be presented.
6. CAN COMPUTERS THINK? Artificial intelligence programs running on computers come close to simulating human beings. How and in what sense? Does this mean that humans are replaceable?
7. SMART DRUGS, SMARTER BACTERIA. Antibiotics, often excessively used in Pakistan, are designed by clever scientists. The problem is that the bacteria they were designed to kill have proved to be even cleverer and we may be heading towards a disaster as the number and kinds of antibiotic resistant bacteria multiply.
8. MENTAL ILLNESS. Exorcism and torture are widely used even today in Pakistan to attack diseases of the mind. But mental illness may actually be no different from ailments of the body, and modern science has discovered certain cures via therapy and special drugs.
9. THE ARROW OF TIME. Humans perceive time as an eternally forward flowing river. But the laws of physics are equally true for the forward and backward flow of time. So what lies behind our perception? Is travel into the past possible?
10. CLONING AND SEX CHOICES. An introduction to genes and the possibilities of manipulating them, followed by an open discussion of the ethical and philosophical implications.
11. THE MYSTERY OF LIGHT. All life depends upon light. But what is its true nature? Why can it travel through nothingness? How different would the world appear to us if we could also see ultra-violet and x-rays with our eyes?
12. CHEMISTRY OF THE SENSES. Touch, sight, smell, and hearing are entirely the consequence of complex chemical reactions. So are certain emotions. Is the human body a chemical machine?
13. AGING. All living beings grow old and die. But what controls the rate of aging, a factor that is obviously different in different species? Has genetic research uncovered the "aging gene"? What would a world look like where even 100-year old men and women are considered youthful?
Contact Info:
SCIENCE EDUCATION GROUP

PHYSICS DEPARTMENT

QUAID-E-AZAM UNIVERSITY

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN
Email: hoodbhoy@isb.pol.com.pk

website: http://chowk.com/people/seg




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