Of interest to the general reader, the importance of this book lies in the fact that it traces the growth in human knowledge
down the ages. If human progress is to be judged in terms of the advancement in human knowledge, then science and
scientists have a significant contribution to make.
In common with the ancient Vedic philosophy, the
scientific method is based on a spirit of inquiry, the use of logic and the establishment of verifiable facts through experimentation and observation. The scientific method is at the core of science and distinguishes it from other belief systems which may be based on intuition or appeal to a higher authority. The scientist does not claim infallibility in his approach – he corrects his theories in conformity with new facts. The scientific method is broken up into the following steps: observation, classification, analysis, inference and hypothesis.
No study of the History of Science would be complete without acknowledging the ground-breaking efforts of its pioneers such as Democritus (the atomic view of matter),
Pythagoras (abstract numbers), Aristotle (the classification of animals), Euclid (geometry), Ptolemy (the motion of planets), Archimedes (the displacement of water) and Hippocrates (medicine).
That the progress of science was interrupted was due to the prevailing belief that learning should be for the sake of learning – the lack of practical applications meant that people saw no material benefits thereof.
The Renaissance Period witnessed the re-birth of science and learning along with other aspects of human culture and civilization. Libraries and Universities were established. Prevailing beliefs were questioned, established notions were re-examined in the light of current knowledge. Experimental science came into being and the Renaissance Period witnessed the birth of a “scientific” outlook among the people.
In recent years the contributions of Indian scientists to the cause of science has been no less significant. Ramanujan (mathematics), CV Raman (Raman Effect), Bhabha (Atomic energy) and Khorana (D.N.A.) are important role-models in the making of modern India and their names are on the lips of schoolchildren in all parts of the country. By their example, they have helped to build a more rational outlook in our people and have worked for the betterment of society.
I have long felt that it would be more honest and beneficial to all concerned if the History of Science (the march of science through the ages) were taught as a separate subject in our schools. To enable us to differentiate between the study of history and that of science. Because what often passes for science in our school curricula is in reality an embellished version of the History of Science! With the unfortunate result that what our school system produces are not budding scientists but historians in the making.