MARGAO
Legendary Nobel Laureates Richard J Roberts and Tomas Lindahl, both from UK, on Saturday said India should invest in education, science and research to produce many more Nobel Laureates, even as they gave their piece of advise to the students to go beyond books and teachers and continue doing things without getting discouraged.
The duo also batted for universal education across societies to help find hidden talent which may help in making new discoveries.
Richard J Robers, Nobel winner for physiology/medicine 1993 and Tomas Lindahl, Nobel winner for Chemistry 2015 had a lively dialogue with secondary and higher secondary school students drawn from various schools across the state at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao on Saturday morning.
The Nobel Laureates faced a volley of questions from the students, ranging from why India could produce only two Nobel winners, how they got inspired in life, whether scientists can stop the misuse of their discovery et al.
The duo were impressed over the question posed by the school students, including a query made by a student of Carmel Higher Secondary school when she asked whether underground sea bacteria can be experimented to cure tumours in humans.
To a query by a student, why India could produce only two Nobel Laureates over the years, Tomas advised that the government should allocate more money for education and research, while colleague Roberts reminded that it’s important for students to take risks in life. “Never worry about failures. When you fail in an experiment, chances are that you may end up in a big discovery. Just love doing an experiment and a big discovery may be on your way”, Richards said.
To another question posed by Riva Fernandes, about their backgrounds and how they achieved success, Richard said “my family supported me immensely. But, luck also played an enormous part in my life. I had a number of lucky breaks. When luck comes, take advantage of it”. Tomas continued: “A prepared mind and luck are very essential for success. Pursue if you find something interesting and passionate”.
When a student sought to know whether scientists can exercise any control on the use of the discovery for wrong and destructive purposes, they conceded that scientists have no control over the discovery when it is in public domain.
Richard also stressed on the need for good communication skills, saying that communication has become so important that it ought to be taught in schools as it come in handy for students appearing for interviews.
To a query, Tomas said that India has a
super talent in science, but there’s
scope for improvement, even as Richard called for universal education across societies.
“You don’t know from where talents will come. By giving education to everyone, you may find talent hidden somewhere”, Tomas said.
He added: “When one finds difficulties along the way, one should trust one’s own intuition and what is right and wrong”.
