The Spirit of Research

Wouldn’t it be awesome if the technologies we see today in sci-fi movies become a reality in the near future? Wouldn’t it be great to Teleport to your friend’s place on the other side of the planet, go for a ride on his new FTL speed (Faster Than Light) enabled flying car, stop by at the ‘SpaceMall‘ in the stratosphere to tryout a new eye color at the ‘Genome Edit’ parlor and play out your favorite character ‘Jurassic Park 7: Space Rex’ in the 3D virtual reality dome?

Well, we can all agree that however exciting that may sound, the chances are pretty thin that we will be seeing them in the next couple of decades. But well, we sure can dream. Dreams and science fiction have been one of the major inspirations for scientists all over the world to invert futuristic stuff which were considered impossible earlier. Stories by writers like H.G. wells and Jules Verne have inspired the invention of Submarines, Space Travel, Military Tech. and dozens of other everyday gadgetry. The crux of the scientific community of the entire last century was that, some people dream and some people work to make those dreams a reality. Most inventors and great scientists from all over the world, taking inspiration from these dreams and stories, have worked passionately in the field they loved for the benefit of the world.

Unfortunately in India, unlike many of the Western countries, the spirit of research is gradually receding amid the young engineers. This can be partially blamed on the fact that our higher education system is more inclined towards Job Oriented Training rather than research centric learning. This is perplexing because the satisfaction of pursuing research and probing deeper into a field of study we love by far routs writing monotonous codes for a large IT firm. And of course more often than not a career of research is more fulfilling in terms of money, freedom and flexibility.  We sure do have reaped the benefits of the hard work of our earlier generation that makes our life easier, healthier and happier. Now the onus is on us to buckle up and jump into the exciting new world of Research. The opportunity stands right there in front of us; to do something significant, to do something that matters, and to be a part of history. What might be deemed impossible today, will find new grounds in the coming years. History has shown us that it is inevitable. Here are a few classic examples of some technologies, which were rubbished with skepticism not more than a few decades ago.

It’s in your hand to go for a Masters in Science, go for research in your favorite subjects and break new ground in many fields of research. And the best part is that, nowadays it is easier and less risky to follow niche career options that it was a decade ago. There are loads of exciting fields ranging from Astrophysics and Aeronautics to Biotech and Artificial Intelligence. Get GRE Study Guide, pick up whatever you want. Take the GRE. Get a good score. Join a top University. And get your hands dirty with some research work. Who knows! Twenty years from now, with your research on Gravitational Shielding, Infinite Data Processing, The Human Genome Reconfiguration, Cryogenics Hibernation, Perpetual Motion Machines or Precognition, you might be regarded as the next Albert Einstein! Go ahead. Follow your dreams. Do something for Science. Do something for your next generation. Make your country proud.

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