"Along with my parents insistence, soon internalized, that I do very well in school, went my love of reading and my love of mechanics. I read everything: fiction, history, science, mathematics, biography, travel. There were two free public libraries within walking distance of my home; I remember taking six books home from every visit, the limit set by the library. This reading had only partial approval from my parents.
They wanted me to play more sports because they were acutely sensitive to their children being one hundred percent American, and they believed that all Americans played sports and loved sports. They felt that too much reading interfered with my going outside to play sport. I loved rainy days when I did not have to go outside, and to the present I still feel very content on a rainy day."
These are the anecdotal evidences of 1995 Physics Nobel winner Martin Pearl who was speaking at Science Concalve at IIIT Allahabad todday. Advocating for simple models to understand difficult and complex concepts of quantum mechanics he wondered innocently that who knows these decades old laws may prove false one day.
Reacting to the question about the outcomes of the LHC experinement in progress at CERN, he exclaimed "Nobody knows what will come out of it."
Earlier in morning I happened to be in Anandbhavan the historic home to Indian National Congress proceedings and Nehru Gandhi family...The one of the insulated library of Pandit Nehru there was hiding one book named "Britain without capitalism." Later in the day, Prof. Pearl opined that more and more the research funding for particle physics and accelerators is going down and people are finding it less interesting than before to work upon particle physics. The 1990 Nobel winner Friedman also had expressed same views a day before it.
Nehru in his will said that my ashes be submitted to Ganga-Yamuna sangam. He asserted that he is not viewing sangam from religious point of view but from a approach of vast life. As someone has said "Knowledge grows when it flows!!" This was perfect note for the science conclave I am attending. Eventhough very less world renowned scietists are here looking at the excitement on young students face, it makes you convince about the need of more and more such programes throughout the country.
