A Nobelist Ponders Change In The Role Of Physics

IDEALS AND REALITIES: Selected Essays of Abdus Salam Abdus Salam; C.H. Lai, editor World Scientific, Singapore; 379 pages; $44 (hardback), $28 (paperback) In this wide-ranging and delightful collection of essays, Nobel laureate Abdus Salam reflects on three of his major preoccupations: the Third World, Islam, and physics. Salam draws on his own experiences to present the plight of scientists in developing countries “When I returned to Pakistan in 1951 after working at Cambridge. and Princeton in particle physics, I could, in a country of 90 million, call on just one physicist who had ever worked with Dirac’s equations. The most recent issues of the Physical Review available were dated just before the Second World War of 1939. There were no grants whatsoever for attending symposia or conferences; the only time I did attend a conference in the United Kingdom I paid a year’s savings.” Since then, Salam has endeavored to do whatever possible to promote science in Third World countries—the Institute of Physics at Trieste and the Third World Academy of Sciences are two results. He shows the same concern for the lack of science in Islamic countries, and his essays on the topic offer interesting, perceptive interpretations. Salam evokes the glory days of 11th century Islamic science; Indeed, he calls Ibn-al Haitham (965-1039) “one of the greatest physicists of all time.” In Salam’s view, the 11th and early 12th century decline came about because “the temper of the age had turned away from creative science, either to Sufism with its otherworldliness or to a rigid orthodoxy with a lack of tolerance (taqLid) for innovation (ijtihad), in all fields of learning—including the sciences.” Salam does not mince words in his assessment of today’s situation in the Islamic world. To make his point, he draws a clear distinction between the hard tools of technology and the abstract concepts of science. “Among the major civilizations on this planet, science is the weakest in the Islamic Commonwealth,” he writes. Some Muslims, he points out, “believe that while technology is basically neutral, and that its excesses can be tempered through an adherence to the moral precepts of Islam, science—on the contrary—is valueloaded [and] must lead to ‘rationalism’ and apostasy... However, is this attitude sensible today, he asks. “Leaving aside the fact that high technology cannot flourish without high science and also leaving aside the insult of the ‘presuppositions of our culture’ for implied fragility, I believe that such an attitude towards science is a legacy of the battles of yesterday when the so-called ‘rational philosophers,’ with their irrational and dogmatic belief in the cosmological doctrines they had inherited from Aristotle, found difficulties reconciling these with their faith.” Regardless of the cause, Salam makes a strong plea for Islamic countries to turn back the pages of history and lead in the sciences. “We must, however, remember that there are no shortcuts to this Renaissance,” he writes. A nation must make a “passionate commitment” to fostering science as well as a policy commitment: “It must impart hard scientific training to more than half of its manpower, [an Islamic nation] must pursue basic and applied sciences with 1% to 2% of its GNP spent on research and development.” All the essays involve Salam’s third passion, physics. His vignettes capture the personalities of many great figures of the century. For example, Salam was sitting behind P.A.M. Dirac at the 1961 Solvay Conference when Richard Feynman walked over. Salam writes, “Feynman extended his handtowardsDirac and said: 'I am Feynman.' It was clear from his tone that it was the first time they were meeting. Dirac extended his hand and said: ‘I am Dirac.’ There was silence, which from Feynman was rather remarkable. Then Feynman, like a schoolboy in the presence of a Master, said to Dirac: ‘It must have felt good to have invented that equation.’ And Dirac said: ‘But that was a long time ago.”’ The essays also treat the distressing side of physics, the increasing use of science and technology for purposes of war. Current indications are that science is an elite activity of a small section of society. Those who understand the significance of scientific developments and are capable of using them have become increasingly isolated from the majority of citizens and their concerns. Salam does not offer a solution. He does believe, however, that the combination of religious faith and scientific discipline that guide him would serve others and give science a better direction. A. Rahman is project director for the Indian National Science Academy Project in New Delhi.

A Nobelist Ponders Change In The Role Of Physics

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