Meeting with Madhusudan Sir.

I had always planned to meet Madhusudan Sir at the Bangalore Planetarium. I wanted to see if I could fit in anywhere and what I could do. Achyuta took me there today. We discussed a lot about everything we liked and as usual I cribbed about everything I hated about how the world works. We discussed a lot of experiments that were fascinating.

Madhusudan sir told about the experiment where we measure the acceleration due to gravity... and how u can avoid measuring the radius of the bob if the the string is sufficiently long... and how silly it is to a screw guage to measure the bob. Actually it all started with me cribbing about my aversion towards too much focus about the last digit of accuracy. I did not intend to say that accuracy was uselss. But just wanted to say that each digit of accuracy must be added only when the previous is mastered. A kid should know how to perform an experiment with a scale before he does it with a vernier. He should be able to do it with a vernier before he tries to do it with some other precious apparatus. Maybe I miscommunicated. But the conversation turned interesting... never mind.

I am still figuring out if I can do something worthwhile here. The beauty of the planetarium is that it has already distilled the cream of the city and it has 3 programs for BSc students(REAP - Research Education Advancement Programme) and PU students and High school students(SOW - Sessions on Weekends). What I like about these programs is that very quickly, the kids unlearn the non sense that they have been force fed by the system. They quickly start thinking for themselves. I was exploring if I could informally get in touch with the kids and hang around. But I realized that I did not want to disrupt the schedule they have or interfere with their regular practices.

Madhusudan Sir also asked if I would like to introduce computing as a tool for the kids. It would definitely be helpful to get these kids to think like programmers. But the more they learn about programming, the sooner they will learn that it is a no brainer. The kids who fiddle with tensors and quantum entanglement will instantaneously figure how to become code jockeys. I strongly feel that their aptitude to think about anything in general would multiply when they are exposed to programming. And their ability to think openly will make them good programmers in no time.

But once they learn the tricks of the trade, they will need an infinite amount of self restraint to continue on the paths they have chosen. Peer pressure and parental pressure will shove them into the Black hole in no time. If I teach them for one week, I am sure I would have have spoilt them beyond repair!!! And Madhusudan Sir and Prof Lokanathan and the rest of the Jedi council will drive me out of the planetarium in no time.

Programming helps scientific work in a large number of ways. The other day, I saw Raghunath mechanically doing a lot of manual labor gathering star images and data from SDSS database. There were 3 options... Do manual Donkey labor... Use SQL on the SDSS database... Write some trivial code to automate the manual activity. I told him that I would help him write a program for that if he would do the coding. After some requirement gathering, some code was written and Raghu learnt the fundas of programming. I needed to catalyze certain parts as time was in short supply. Maybe it even took a bit longer than the manual process. But he learnt a lot. He told me that even now the kids at the planetarium are using that tool for annotating and managing SDSS data. He even kept me awake one night ;-).

My bro once wrote the code for tracking the transit of venus with a bit of assistance from me. Today he does tracking of walking drosophila from videos in some neuroscience experiments using python and he now usually refuses to take any assistance from me ;-) unless it is a really peculiar requirement. He now has an instinctive feel of deploying technology to his benefit. With a mild amount of assistance he was able to convert a VC++(a language he had not seen even once) Image capture to his needs... interfaced a stepper motor to a comp for some experiment and so on... Somewhat feel good about these things... I feel the other guys there must also learn such stuff.

I think I should also teach them to Google effectively and use Wikipedia well. It makes a difference. It might look silly. But it makes a difference. You can check the post about the role of the internet for more info.

Programming is a powerful tool for scientists in a million ways. Even a simple thing like a spreadsheet can be a serious tool. But every time they touch code, I fear they are being sucked by the huge Blackhole(the IT industry).

And by the way I secured access to the planetarium Library and Lab... All I need to do is declare that "I know Madusudan Sir"(the password) to whoever asks me ;-)... And u can tell u know Sudarshan ;-)... Of course, if you are not a freak, you will find nothing there worth taking ;-)... and if u are... u will find everything priceless but won't take it ;-)...

He asked me why I had never come to their exhibitions. I always had one or the lousy reasons... During the first 3 years i was working too much for my company ;-)... later Sudhir moved of REAP and a bazillion other reasons including laziness and poor memory ;-)... This year I will there during Jan.

Frankly speaking, there were no surprises... I already knew that the folks at the planetarium are very open minded. So I did not go there expecting a hostile reaction. I kept telling obvious things that I knew both of us knew... and vice versa. But I think it was nice for both of us to recollect things we like. And we were able to get a feel of the other persons thought process and expectations. I hope to go back there soon and get involved in something.