The Hindu Editorial : Science Should Have The Last Word

Title: Science should have the last word

(As India continues to be hidebound with tradition and rituals, the need for ‘scientific temper’ is essential as never before)

What is scientific temper?

• A quote from Jawaharlal Nehru’s book, The Discovery of India: “The impact of science and the modern world have brought a greater appreciation of facts, a more critical faculty, a weighing of evidence, a refusal to accept tradition just because it is tradition…”

“But even today, it is strange, how we suddenly become overwhelmed by tradition, and the critical faculties of even intelligent men cease to function…”, “Only when we are politically and economically free, will the mind function normally and critically.”

• Puerto Rico forms one of the vertices of a rather notorious triangle whose other vertices are at Bermuda and Florida. Known as the Bermuda Triangle, it has generated considerable excitement because of a claim that it formed a region within which mysterious (and possibly malicious) forces were present.

• Harmful rays believed to be prevalent during a total solar eclipse keep many of our citizens behind closed doors.

• An executive of a firm had to catch a flight on a certain day but found out later that travelling on that particular day was inauspicious. He was told that the day prior to this was a “good” day. But he had other engagements that day. So what did he do? He stored his bag in his neighbour’s house on the earlier day and picked it up while on his way to the airport the following day.

From mythology

• Did our Vedic forefathers possess a knowledge of science that was well beyond the level attained by modern science?

• Pushpak Viman, Vishwamitra’s counter heaven in mid air, and weapons such as the Brahmastra.

• If such claims are to have standing, their supporters have to give us their technical details.

• For example, what was the basic mathematical principle that explains how a craft such as the Pushpak is lifted and which propelled it through air? And, if the Brahmastra was a nuclear device, which would indicate a knowledge of nuclear physics, why are there no references to the forces of electricity and magnetism, knowledge of which would be necessary to understanding nuclear physics?

Bihar

• Rivers = Bagmati River, Mahananda River, Budhi Gandak River, Ganga River, Ghaghara River, Koshi River

• State bird = Sparrow

• State flower = Marigold

• State tree = Peepal

• Bordered states = Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Jharkhand. Nepal is situated on the north of Bihar.

Historical Importance of Bihar

• World famous universities such as Nalanda and Vikramshila were established in Ancient Bihar.

• Bihar is the birth place of Buddhism.

• Bihar is the origin place of the many of the great dynasties and ancient empires such as the Haryanka dynasty, the Mauryan and the Gupta Empire, etc.

State of the day : Andhra Pradesh

Write all the important facts about Andhra Pradesh.

• Rivers

• National Parks

• Border states

• State symbols

• Dams

Title : Water equity

Vocabulary words:

Equity (noun) = The quality of being fairness (न्यायनीति)

Finality (noun) = Completeness, final decision that is irreversible (अन्तिम स्थिति)

Riparian (adj) = Situated on the bank of the river (नदी तट)

Tribunal (noun) = A court of justice (अधिकरण)

Detract (verb) = Diminish the worth or value (बेक़दर करना)

Sluice (noun) = A devise for controlling the flow of water (जलमार्ग)

Reservoir (noun) = A natural or artificial lake used as a source of water supply (जलाशय)

Vocabulary words:

Adhere (verb) = To follow (पालन करना)

Redress (noun) = Remedy or compensation for a wrong grievance (निवारण)

Agrarian (adj) = Relating to cultivated land (कृषि संबंधी)

Aggrieved (adj) = Angry, distressed (पीड़ित)

Stipulation (noun) = Condition, prerequisite (शर्त)

Culmination (noun) = The climactic point of something (पराकाष्ठा)

Impediment (noun) = Hindrance, obstruction (बाधा)

Dither (verb) = Be indecisive (कटौती)

Emotive (adj) = Controversial, emotional (भावपूर्ण)

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