omb3dyw

The Only Way To Ensure That We Do Not Run into DisastersCharles Sanders Pierce, the distinguished Mathematician- Logician hasformulated, what he terms as the “First Rule of Logic”: Upon this first, and in onesense this sole, rule of reason, that in order to learn you must desire to learn, andin so desiring not be satisfied with what you already incline to think, there followsone corollary which itself deserves to be inscribed upon every wall of the city ofphilosophy: Do not block the way of inquiry.Not blocking the way of inquiry is clearly the most important precondition forprogress of science and of science-based technologies. Yet many political andcommercial interests have a strong tendency to do just this; to suppress free flowof scientific information and pursuit of scientific inquiry, without fear and favour byall citizens, regardless of their educational, social, economic background. A wellknowncase of disasters that can follow such suppression is that of Stalin’s attemptsto bring vast tracts of cold, dry steppes under cultivation. His favouritepseudoscientist, Lysenko, had assured Stalin that his technique of cold treatmentof wheat seeds will be the key to this endeavour. Vavilov, a major figure of 20 thcentury Genetics pointed out that Lysenko’s dubious claims were based onexperiments that could not be replicated. As revenge, Lysenko accused Vavilov ofbetraying Marxism; Vavilov died tragically in Stalin’s prisons. Of course, Vavilovwas right and Stalin’s agricultural campaign was an economic and a human disasterfor Soviet Russia. There have been similar experiences under democracy andcapitalism also, as witness attempts to suppress Clair Cameron Patterson’s workon lead pollution by the oil and automobile lobbies in the United Sates.The lessons are clear, to quote another distinguished Mathematician-Logician, Alfred North Whitehead: “Science must firmly anchor itself on the solidbedrock of facts, however unpalatable these may be.”The on-going attempt at transparently bringing out all relevant facts relatingto Genetically Modified Crops, however unpalatable these may be to some parties,is therefore most welcome. It is the only way to ensure that we do not run intodisasters like Stalin’s ill-fated agricultural campaigns.- Prof. Madhav GadgilEcology & Environment(iv)