The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. ― Isaac Asimov
These words by the famous science fiction writer Isaac Asimov are extremely relevant today, in light of the coronavirus situation across the world. In this video, Dr. Nicholas Christakis – a physician cum sociologist at Yale University in the US, clearly shows how epidemics can be identified and controlled very early on by using network analysis. This know-how has been around for a few years now, yet despite this, even developed countries like the US, Italy, UK, etc. are in such dire straits!!
Sometimes, I strongly feel that we need to have more scientists and mathematicians in politics and government – all around the world. They possess a much better ability to foresee problems, nip them in the bud, and also solve complex existing issues.
We Indians have a great scientific and mathematical tradition, though we might not be aware of it. Our ancestors were excellent at maths and science, and we need to revive those traditions, and believe in ourselves. But first, let’s hope that we can emerge from this crisis with minimum damage. 🙂