Teaching of Science and Technology to the students of History or History to the students of science and technology?
Utility of the subjects and their immediate usage to humanity: Just like tourism, tourism management etc., “History of science and technology” has been discovered, created and covered under the syllabus and offered as an “elective” subject to the postgraduate students of various disciplines. “History syllabus” has also been formulated to be taught to the students of professional courses like science and technologies, medicine, commerce, management etc., thus, much hype is created with the syllabus to reach and teach history to others.
- No teacher of those subjects proposed such a scheme that they would go and teach “science and technology” to them.
- So why such exigency arises and for what purpose etc., have also to be analyzed.
- By going through the syllabus, it is clear that the students of professional courses do not gain much by reading such subjects.
- In every subject, mathematics, physics, chemistry, economics, commerce, accounting etc., the origin, progress and development and also the present and future status and scope of them have already been included in the syllabus and taught.
- If fact, their subjects have been and are updated and therefore, such subjects lead to innovative inventions that are immediately converted into parts, accessories, spares, gadgets, appliances, tools and so on useful to humanity.
History of Science and Technology: To write, read, teach and learn “History of Science and Technology”, one need not learn the core subject history, but, the history students cannot understand the “History of Science and Technology,” unless, they are taught from the fundamentals.
- Definitely, all non-history subjects are taught with its origin, which is nothing but history of that subject or perhaps more than that.
- That is how mathematics, physics, chemistry, botany, zoology at one side, and commerce, accounts, management, factory physics, industrial chemistry, bionics, mnemonics[1] etc., on the other side are taught in the schools and universities.
- Though more and more science and technological subjects increase, there is demand for admission.
- However, recently, the subject “History of Science and Technology” is included for the students of history, archaeology, anthropology, numismatics and related subjects with their own formulated syllabus.
- But, they are taught only as history and not as the “History of Science and Technology.”
BCE 5,4,3,2,1,0,1,2,3,4,5 CE or BCE 5,4,3,2,1,1,2,3,4,5 CE which is correct?: The scientific study of the origin of the subject “History of Science and Technology”, has been different from the simple subject of “History of Science and Technology, for science students. In fact, under such expected conditions, the history teachers cannot teach the “History of Science and Technology”, to them.
- The concept of “zero” and infinity, decimal number system, calendar, planetary system, etc., have been perplexing even for science students, and therefore, how the history students read and understand them, is not known.
- In fact, for chronology, studying eras, dating and other exercises, history teachers have to understand these concepts.
- Yet, no history expert is worried about “0” year in between BCE 5,4,3,2,1,1,2,3,4,5 CE years, while computing.
- Why the Roman numerals – I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X did not have “0” is also not known to them!
- Why the Fibonacci series does not start with “0,” (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc.,) they cannot explain.
These are given only for illustrative purposes and are not exhaustive. Therefore, without knowing “o,” how history teachers would teach about, chronology and related historical developments.
Historical time is linear or cyclic, if “history repeats”!: In science and technology, anything linear or cyclic is understood easily and applied practically, but, in history, nowadays, some historians claim that history is linear and not cyclic. However, having claimed, they have not been able to define exactly how the history has been linear, when “history repeats itself”[2]. Just because, historian has decided take the expression “linear,” he cannot make history “linear.”[3] Again such expertise and elite historians do not bother about the axes and the origin, the zero point. Not only X and Y axes, even Z axis has the other side also. How then, historians visualize the –ve axes and interpret historical events. Of course, they are totally not bothered as to whether it is 2D or 3D, yet, they prefer to use such terminology in history and historiography.
Using scientific terminology is different from actually working scientifically: Just by using certain terms and expressions, scientific, scientific temper, linear, dynamic, static, etc., at one side and heuristic[4], holistic, euphemistic, epistemological, on the other side, history cannot become scientific or technological, as none of the historical hypotheses, theories and concepts can be tested in the laboratory.
- Earlier, historians used to claim with pride that they should have object in mind, objective mentality and objectivity in dealing with historical facts.
- Now, they assert that they need not have such standards (objectivity).
- Ten historians can write history about the same “object,” and all the ten histories become histories of the object!
- But, science says one is one only; 1+1=2 only, all have accepted universally for thousands of years and it continues.
- Historians and history teachers cannot say in history about anything within a year, 10 years, 100 years… in the same way again and again.
- In India itself,
- grandfather / grandmother read one history,
- father / mother read another history,
- son / daughter read yet another history and
- now grandson / granddaughter reads still-yet another history!
- This type of history is found in the case of the –
- Grandfather – Chandragupta Maurya c.324/31 – 297 BCE
- Father – Bindusara – c.297-273 BCE
- Grandson – Asoka – c.268-232 BCE
Thus, within three generations, grandfather and father were prehistoric, illiterate and unhistorical also, wheras, the grandson was historic and literate! Again, the grandfather was a Jain, the father Hindu and the grandson a Buddhist! A perfect secular model family!
- In India, there had / have been millions of practices, procedures, and standards followed in day to day life for more than 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000 YBP and more. They had / have and are historical only, unlike their “histories” produced or manufactured by the European Company writers and the 1947-Indian history writers.
- Once a history writer becomes ideological, then, no two historians accept and history in India, it always becomes some sort of TV-debate where four persons come and talk about the same subject in four different ways! They come together only to differ from each other and not to come to any conclusion.
Blind Men and an Elephant: The history writers of the European Companies always mention this “cock and bull story”[5] to denigrate Indians for their acumen[6]. Not only non-Indians have read the sources properly, understood the concept and interpret such stories, but also the listeners, readers and others to verify the authenticity of the stories floated about themselves. The irony has been, this “cock and bull ……….story” has been and is still included in the syllabus and the naïve and gullible teachers go on teach and our students read and appreciate the “idiocy” – stupidity, absurdity and silliness of Indians, and believe that they (the Europeans) only taught Indians how to count, learn and dress properly. More and more “Mayos”[7] have been created to spread such “maya,” and when they would be liberated and brought to light from such darkness[8] is not known.
Any subject is offered as an elective, choice or forced: Again teaching history to other disciplines commerce, economics, management, medicine etc., is different from the teaching of “History of Science and Technology” to history students themselves. Just because, history subject is losing its scope in the academics, the history teachers cannot introduce some syllabus and try to impose the same old stuff on the non-history students.
- The utility, benefit and value of the subject also come into play, when any student selects any subject voluntarily, as an elective or for some other reason.
- The students of the “History of Science and Technology” are interested in progress, development and growth in their studies, research and further pursuits.
- Therefore, they may not be interested in what the dynasties fought with each other, rulers invaded other territories or autocrats made the people suffer.
- Even the social, communal, religious, societal, and other aspects and related issues are also irrelevant to them, as long as they divide people based on any factor.
The utility value of the subject: Ultimately, when job, assignment and employment are decided on the certificates and diplomas received, yet, the application of the learned subject in the field decides the fate of the employee, worker or staff.
- A fitter, electrician, plumber and any other technician after getting certificates, has been ready to work in the field, as he has to carry out his job, as otherwise, he will be sent out immediately on the first day, when he is found that he is not able tp work in his field, in spite of having diploma / certificates in his trade or many certificates including other disciplines. “A jack of all trades but master of none”.
- So also a professionally qualified engineer or doctor or any other expert.
- “If you know the job, come and join immediately,” that type of policy is followed today, walk-in interview, selection and appointment order.
- All the certificates and diplomas come thereafter, just for verification.
- If you have 10 certificates, diplomas and degrees in one discipline or 10 different disciplines, but, you cannot work properly, you will be fired, because, the employers want the work to go on.
© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao
12-08-2023
[1] Mnemonics is the study and development of systems for improving and assisting the memory, A mnemonic device (or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding.
[2] Historic recurrence is the repetition of similar events in history. The concept of historic recurrence has variously been applied to overall human history (e.g., to the rises and falls of empires), to repetitive patterns in the history of a given polity, and to any two specific events which bear a striking similarity. Hypothetically, in the extreme, the concept of historic recurrence assumes the form of the Doctrine of Eternal Recurrence, which has been written about in various forms since antiquity and was described in the 19th century by Heinrich Heine and Friedrich Nietzsche. While it is often remarked that “history repeats itself”, in cycles of less than cosmological duration this cannot be strictly true. In this interpretation of recurrence, as opposed perhaps to the Nietzschean interpretation, there is no metaphysics. Recurrences take place due to ascertainable circumstances and chains of causality.
[3] In the case of electricity, electronics, computers, digital technology etc., the electric pulse is sinusoidal, digitized to square-shaped pulses and so on. All such processes cannot be brought under any “linear” explanation or interpretation of history.
[4] A heuristic is a mental shortcut commonly used to simplify problems and avoid cognitive overload. Heuristics are part of how the human brain evolved and is wired, allowing individuals to quickly reach reasonable conclusions or solutions to complex problems.
[5] Cock and bull story, far-fetched and fanciful story or tale of highly dubious validity produced by the British county hoteliers / inns to attract their customers.
[6] The Buddhist text Tittha Sutta, Udāna 6.4, Khuddaka Nikaya, contains one of the earliest versions of the story. The Tittha Sutta is dated to around c. 500 BCE, during the lifetime of the Buddha. An alternative version of the parable describes sighted men, experiencing a large statue on a dark night, or feeling a large object while being blindfolded. They then describe what it is they have experienced. In its various versions, it is a parable that has crossed between many religious traditions and is part of Jain, Hindu and Buddhist texts of 1st millennium CE or before. The story also appears in 2nd millennium Sufi and Baháʼí Faith lore. The tale later became well known in Europe, with 19th century American poet John Godfrey Saxe creating his own version as a poem, with a final verse that explains that the elephant is a metaphor for God, and the various blind men represent religions that disagree on something no one has fully experienced. The story has been published in many books for adults and children, and interpreted in a variety of ways.
[7] Katherine Mayo, an American lady and also reportedly a historian wrote a book Mother India (1927) became a polemical book as it contained many narratives of grudge, hate and vengeance against Indian – society, religion and culture. Indians do not know any such book has been written about American or European society, religion and culture.
[8] Mohammedan or Mughal court historians always dub that the kafirs (non-believers, non-Mohammedans) of Hindustan were in the jahallia (in the darkness) and they were trying to show nur (light) through jihad (holy war) with their revealed book (al-kitabiya), as the kafirs do not are any revealed scriptures / book..
Filed under: caste, Cataloguing, category, centre, certificate, chalcolithic, chemical, choice, chronology, civilization, colony, commerce, common era, Communist Historian, conduct, conference, conservation, coromandel, correcting, cosmogony, cosmology, date, dating, decimal, decimal number, deciphering, degree, demonstration, demythologization, digital, digital number, digitization, diploma, Dravidian, economics, economy, elective, ethnicity, ethnology, evidence, fossil, gender, gene, genetics, genography, geometry, God, greater india, Harappa, heritage, historian, historian politician, historical politician, historicity, historiography, historiosophy, history, history usage, history useful, history useless, iconoclasm, iconogenesis, ideological, ideology, immigration, inculturation, india, indian ocean, indus script, indus valley, infinity, innovation, inquisition, inscription, internship, invaded, invasion, invention, job, job market, job-market, job-oriented, Kali, left, linguistics, Mahabharat, Mahabharata, management, manuscript, marine archaeology, marxism, Marxist historian, Marxist-Leninist, material evidence, Mathematical system, Mathematics, megalith, mesolithic, methodology, migration, miscegenation, missing monuments, mohammedan, mohammedan invasion, monument, moral values, morality, myth, myth promoted, mythologization, mythology, nation building, nation-building, nation-state, nationalism, nationality, neolithic, New Chronology, objectivity, oceanography, Oesteology, ontology, option, organic, paleolithic, pallava, palm leaf manuscript, paper manuscript, people with history, people without history, phylogeny, pictogram, pilgrim, political correctness’, political historian, political science, politics, prakrit, prehistoric sites, psychology, publishing, race, racialism, racism, reality, rebuttal, reform, refutation, regionalism, relic, renovation, repair, research, researcher, resource, revising, rewriting, right, rotation, Sanskrit, sanskrit, scholar, science, sloganeering, social reform, social reformation, Social science, sociology, story, students, subject, survey, syllabi, system, technology, temple, terracotta figurine, theistic, theorem, tool, tourism, trade, tradition, training, uncivilized, UNESCO, update, updating, varsity, Veda, Vedic, violence, waste, wheel, woman, women, worker, young, youth, zero | Tagged: apprentice, apprenticeship, Buddhist, certificate, choice, degree, diploma, discipline, elective, electrician, fitter, historian, historical, historical politician, historicity, historiography, history, history job, history politician, history subject, infinity, Information Communication Technology tools, internship, multidisciplinary, multidiscipline, number, number series, number system, numbers, option, other discipline, plumber, syllabi, syllabus, teach, teacher, teaching to other, technology, trade, training, zero | Leave a comment »
Kvramakrishnarao's Blog 