They say - great men do not rest on past laurels. Or something to that effect. But I'm not great. And I'm lazy. So here's an article I wrote way back in 2nd year of graduation at Venky, DU. I believe it's one of the best things that ever came out of my pen. So here it is!!!
First of all, for the uninitiated ‘Sciencies’ is a term often used to refer to science students – that unfortunate breed of human beings generally looked upon by others with pity, wonder and in some cases relief (as in, thank God I am not one of them!). Students, or for that matter, people generally associated with science are thought of as boring creatures continuously buried in books or lost in thoughts and their idea of fun is to win a quiz, ace a test or watch Discovery channel on TV. This is probably why science students (the serious ones, that is) have acquired the iconic status of a GEEK; well oiled hair, big spectacles, braces and the likes. The English language has recently incorporated a new word for them – NERD. Unfortunately, some of the afore mentioned allegations cannot be denied. Being a member of this breed (however, not sharing the afore mentioned anatomical features) and after having analyzed the social behaviour, conversations and general lifestyle of my fellow ‘Sciencies’, I have discovered (at the risk of generalizing) that this widely respected (and ridiculed) community, does deserve many of the stereotypes associated with it.
For starters, the incorporation of scientific terms, laws and principles in routine conversations (unrelated to science) and then very artfully diverting these conversations to science is a disease which inflicts a majority of this population. For instance, just the other day a casual remark on the size of the apple being eaten by a friend sparked a lively (and informative) discussion on global warming, climate change, its impact on the Indian subcontinent (and apple cultivation) and so on! You never know when and how a casual discussion on pets can turn into a vociferous debate on animal behaviour, brain and neuronal activity etc.
Another common accusation against us is the constant analyzing (some might say over analyzing), debating and arguing over each and every trivial matter and always trying to go to the bottom of the issue, one question followed by a series of others (usually without any fruitful answers) with no end in sight. Seriously if you come across a group in the canteen making a racket which will put a bunch of howling dogs to shame, be sure it’s a group of science students (don’t raise your eyebrows, yes we do pay that occasional visit to the canteen!). Everyone keeps on talking at the same time without really hearing what anybody else is saying.
The next allegation against us is that we constantly live within this impermeable scientific bubble which clouds our thinking so much so that it becomes too factual and objective and leads to a scientific perception of everything. This is probably what leads to constant diversions of conversations to science. this might not be so much of a trouble to us but for our unfortunate non-science brethren it often proves to be a pain in the neck as this one unfortunate lady discovered the other day at the hands of a couple of my friends while traveling in a DTC bus. After completing a strenuous three hour session of rat dissection, apparently these two were not satisfied and started discussing the day’s exploits right there. As these two went on nonchalantly with their exchange of views and successes and failures in their endeavors of tearing through the rat’s anatomy and meandering amongst its fascinating arterial system, this woman sitting next to them bore the torture in silence. But as the details got more and more graphic (and bloody) she got so disgusted that she had to cover her snout…, oh sorry! her nasal area with her dupatta. And here’s where the elusive fun side of the sciences kicks in; seeing this woman’s misery just spurred my friends on to give an even more enthralling and descriptive account of their foraging through the rat’s internal organs! I surely do sympathize with that woman who became the victim of my friends’ dark sense of humour. And unfortunately, this constant preoccupation with science (one’s subject of study), is no guarantee for success in examinations! In fact, most of us are inflicted with all these afflictions without any pleasure in them. They are like that abominable scar or mark on your face that will always be there. You just have to live with them.
Some people say that science students have very little knowledge about fields or subjects outside their domain or to rephrase, have very poor general knowledge. This allegation I am not very sure about, because it’s highly generalized. Anyways, we all are aware of the level of general knowledge in the student community as a whole!
The bottom line is, gone are the days when being a science student was an instant claim to respect and awe from peers and elders alike. Now it’s more of a cause for pity and ridicule. This much maligned community, though still a long way from extinction, is losing its shimmer and the alpha – community status. So hats off to the brave souls who still dare to plunge into this deep abyss and to those unfortunate ones for whom it’s a “pit or the well” or ‘where if not here’ kind of situation. But still, in our own little queer ways, we learn to snatch those hard to come by light moments from life or better still, learn to extract fun from work itself, and that is what is claimed to be the aim of all education nowadays. In fact, our teachers also try their best to bring in an element of fun in the classroom, and occasionally they succeed too! As for the conventional kind of fun like bunking classes to watch movies, or laze around in the canteen, go for frequent outings and so on, yes we do that too, though I think not at the frequency that might be expected from a regular college student. Knowledge of science provides another kind of high too and that is the knowledge of science itself. Some of us take pleasure in the ignorance of the ‘layman’ (the use of this term, for people not well versed with scientific principles, itself provides a great sense of superiority, though one might be failing their own exams) and then laughing at them. Some of us like to show off our knowledge to the ‘layman’, however inaccurate, wrong or inappropriate it might be with respect to the situation at hand. Though it might sound a little conceited and shallow, but can you blame us when we are always urged not to think like a ‘layman’ or are asked questions like “how would you explain XYZ to a ‘layman’?” by our teachers?
So saving this endangered species might require a humungous effort, even bigger than ‘project tiger’; with the popularity of professional courses increasing by the day. But to those brave-heart specimens found in the science block (not the ones found bottled in the laboratories) roaming in the corridors, or more appropriately, sitting in the classrooms, all I can say is - Hang in there!
That was really dark.. but true! We science students don't have a life, simply put.
ReplyDeleteAnd it is very well written. :)
thanks ........ :) with quite a bit of exaggeration i admit, but still....mostly inspired 4m my observation of vanky ke science block students......
ReplyDelete