Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan bats for bridging gap between sciences, humanities to ‘create a broadly literate population’
Venki Ramakrishnan delivered the keynote address at the inaugural session of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) on Thursday.
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Keynote Address by Venki Ramakrishan at the Jaipur Literature Festival at Clarks Amer in Jaipur on Thursday. (Express Photo by Rohit Jain Paras)Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan on Thursday said that humanity’s future depends on its ability to bridge the divide between sciences and humanities, as it may help create a “broadly literate” population which is less susceptible to being manipulated by “demagogues and disinformation”.
Delivering the keynote address at the inaugural session of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) on ‘Bridging the Divide between the Arts and Sciences’, Ramakrishnan said, “The gap between the two cultures isn’t just academic. The mutual ignorance and suspicion are responsible for the rise of populist movements fuelled by the spread of misinformation and even disinformation, prejudice and conspiracy theories. Major issues confront us, such as the environment, food security, preparation for future pandemics, and increasingly sophisticated weaponry, all of which could have serious consequences for the world.”
“Technologies like AI and genetic engineering have tremendous promise, but also carry tremendous risks. All of these require more than just technical expertise. They demand empathy and understanding of human history, culture and values. Without that broader context, the solutions we propose risk being shallow, shortsighted or even harmful. Scientists alone cannot make decisions that affect us all. We cannot leave technocrats, in the words of one famous technocrat – to move fast and break things. Rather, we need the humanities, literature, philosophy and history to provide us with the framework to grapple with the moral, ethical and social implications of the scientific advances we are making. It is only together that we can decide on a way forward,” he said.
He cited C P Snow’s essay The Two Cultures (1959) and said that Snow’s advocacy of interdisciplinary education and dialogue is still relevant. “He advocated for a world where scientists were well versed in history and literature and the general public understood the basics of science. We believe that intellectuals who could bridge these two worlds, would be equipped to face the complexities of modern life,” the Nobel Laureate said.
“What can we do today? First, instead of making people specialise too early… often we ask people at the age of 16 to choose… we need to encourage a broad curriculum that includes both sciences and humanities to create a broadly literate population,” he said.
“We live in a world that often wants simple and quick solutions to complicated problems. The reality, however, is that most of the challenges we face today are highly complex with technical, social and political aspects. In an era where specialists are often the norm, we need to bring together people from diverse fields of knowledge who can understand each other and work together creatively to solve complex problems that take into account all of the various angles. Literature and other parts of humanity, like history, have a great part in helping to break down these barriers. Scientists and science writers on their part can help communicate complex ideas to the general public while also being sensitive to their social consequences. And perhaps those in the humanities can become more aware of how science works, of the uncertainties in science and what it is doing, and incorporate that into their stories and histories,” he said.
“The future depends on our ability to bridge these divides,” Ramakrishnan said, while claiming that the JLF is one such bridge.
The five-day event is set to feature over 600 luminaries, including Nobel laureates, Booker Prize, Pulitzer and Sahitya Akademi prize winners, policymakers, and acclaimed writers in multiple sessions, as per the organisers.
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