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Constitution of Kenya Review Commission |
By Prof. J. O. Malo, Physics Department, University Of Nairobi
01-01-2002
I. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
I.I Development of Science
The question of the True nature of the concept of objectivity and Reality plays the same fundamental role in modern Science today as it did in the Ancient Greek Philosophy. In the interplay between Science and Philosophy, there have always been enormous difficulties in understanding each other depending on the use of words, definitions, concepts and general terminology. Thus much as we are fully aware of these difficulties, regrettably as scientists we usually fall back on our strongest tool - Mathematics, since we otherwise fear that we cannot be understood. In these lecture we will make a few introductory remarks about historical developments of the Natural sciences and their neighboring fields of Mathematics, Geometry, Logic and indeed human thinking in general. Outstanding contributions in these areas were made by the old Greeks from 600BC to about AD200 and the development is briefly characterized by such names as Thales, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle. Euclid, Archimedes, Ptolemy and many others.
1.2. Greek Philosophers
Now in their study of objectivity, the Greek philosophers were fond of The idea of Deductive thinking. And the Art of strict reasoning was systematized into logic by Aristotle. An outstanding example of deductive theory is the Geometry gathered and developed by Euclid in his book Elementa in which all theorems are derived from some basic definition, postulates and Axioms by logical reasoning.
Aristotle's logic and Euclid's geometry became fundamental for these fields for more than 20UO years. Similarly, Aristotle's book about Science and the Ptolemaic Astronomy, also dominated these areas for a long time.
In their studies of reality many of the Greek philosophers put the human being in The center of everything, such that the outside world was in this picture essentially experienced is a projection of the human mind through his senses. Thus the difficulties in finding the properties of The outside universe from this projection is clearly illustrated in Plato's study of the Observers in The cave in one of his famous dialogue.
The dominance of the Greek philosophy in Astronomy and Science was finally challenged by some Scientists in Western Europe at the beginning of the Sixteenth Century almost simultaneously with the climax of renaissance of the antique ideals in Art and Architecture.
Thus a new Epoch in Astronomy was started by Copenicus, Tycho, Brahe, Kepler, and Gaiileo; who all emphasized the fundamental importance of Observations in describing the properties of the solar system. In Science the authority of Aristotle was finally challenged by Gaiileo who claimed that only theories in agreement with the best possible observation were worth considering and the philosophy for this new approach was developed by Sir Francis Bacon.
1.3 Modern Science
The next step in development of modern science and Astronomy was taken by Newton in his book Principa. For this purpose, he had to create a new Mathematical Tool in the form of differential calculus to formulate and solve The basic problem in the theory of motion of various bodies. Newton's new dynamics was a purely deductive theory in which the motion of Ordinary and Celestial bodies was derived from a few fundamental laws including the law of gravitation in such a way that the result could be compared with Experimental Observations. This so called Classical Mechanics gave a new picture of the outside world. That is, the universe consists of a system of particles moving in well-defined orbits such that if one knows the position and momenta of all these particles at a given time, one can predict everything in the future as well as history of the past. Thus in this mechanistic view of the Universe, The Human being would no longer play any fundamental role. And in such a strictly deterministic scheme, there would be little space for any human free-will. This Mechanical Model of the Universe dominated science until the end of the nineteenth century.
Einstein's Theory of special relativity (1905) with the law E = MC2 or his general theory of relativity (1913) did not change this picture but introduced new coupling between space and time and described gravitation as a curvature of the space itself. However, it was still a completely deterministic Scheme.
The first sign of change from classical to quantum theory came through when Planck in I900 introduced his Quantum postulate basically to unify the results for the infrared and ultraviolet parts of the so called Black-body Radiation. Planck assumed that the energy of the Harmonic Oscillators emitting the radiation must be in the form of integer multiplies. In 1905 Einstein successfully explained the Photoelectric effect by assuming that the Electromagnetic Radiation itself is quantized and consists of wave-
packets later to be called photons.
After the development of Rutherford's Atomic Model in 1911 in which each atom is a .solar system consisting of negative particles (Electrons) moving around a positively charged nucleus that carries more than 99.9% of the atomic mass, Niels Bohr in 1913 constructed the first model of the Hydrogen Atom.
II. SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND MODERN TECHNOLOGY
It is no secret today that the application of the various results of research in an attempt to answer some fundamental questions in science has led to the present state of technology in the industrialized world and will inevitably lead to High-tech of the future for example high temperature superconductors leading to Supercomputers and Supercolliders. Africa should not be left behind in this race.
Through some historic as well as recent examples, we shall now illustrate how scientific research impinges on modern technology. Electricity and Magnetism: Faradays unified electricity and magnetism two centuries ago. Before him electric and magnetic forces were thought of as two distinct forces with no interrelation between them. Electricity was typified by phenomena of thunderstorm and magnets were bar-magnets deflected by earth's magnetism. Faraday experimenting in his basic science laboratory discovered an amazing interrelation between the two disparate forces. Move on an electrically charged object in the vicinity of a magnet, and the magnet will suffer deflection. The conclusion of this and similar experiments was inescapable and indeed sensational. The magnetic force is not an independent force, electrically charged objects produce electric forces when they are stationary BUT give rise to magnetic forces when moved. Electricity and magnetism had been united and indeed unified. This was one of the greatest discoveries in Physics of all times. And when Faraday did his experiments, no one could have imagined that this simple physics discovery in a Laboratory would lead to the entire corpus of electrical power generation (Dynamo Theory).
The story of unification of electricity and magnetism continued with Maxwell who asked what would happen if electric charges were accelerated rather than moved with uniform velocity? Maxwell then pondered theoretically on this question and found that Faraday's equations were inconsistent such that they had to be modified if electric charges were accelerated. Thus by one of the greatest acts of intuition in intellectual history, he supplied the correct modification and discovered, to his amazement, that an accelerated electrically charged object must emit electromagnetic radiation. Maxwell could then compute velocity of radiation which to his surprise turned out to be identical to the velocity of light that was then known with fail-precision from experiments. The questions are:
1. Could light be electromagnetic radiation produced hv accelerating electrical charges embedded inside incandescent matter?
2. Could we accelerate electrically charged particles in the laboratory and produce light
Hertz carried out experiments and confirmed Maxwell's predictions. The spectrum of Maxwell predicted radiation consisting of not only light waves but also waves of longer wave length, radio wave, as well as waves of shorter wavelength - x-rays. Thus from a single theoretical calculation flowed the marvels of radio, television and the modern communication systems on the one hand as well as the medical facility to see through a human body with X-rays and Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) for industry. These discoveries we in the African continent employ in our service along with the rest of mankind and hardly acknowledging the debt humanity owes to that modest physicist and his solitary calculation.
Fission; The breaking apart of a heavy overweight nucleus like Uranium into two pails or more fragments when impacted upon by a slow-moving projectile like a thermal neutron. This was achieved by an Italian physicist Enrico Fermi working in a dingy laboratory of the University of Rome. He was not looking for it even suspecting it. But he could have found the fragments in the debris deposited in his test tube if he had looked for them. However lie was not looking for such fragments and missed them.
The phenomenon was rediscovered in Germany at the Kaiser Wilheim Institute for Basic Sciences in I 938 not by physicists but by Chemist HANS and STRASSMAN. They remarked "As nuclear chemists who are close to physicists, we are reluctant to take this step that contradicts all previous experiences of nuclear physics". The fact of the matter is that the equipment used was so simple that even a humble laboratory in a poor developing country could have afforded it. Now with this humble Announcement began the age of nuclear energy for Peace and for War.
Biotechnology: The modern advances in genetics started with the unraveling of the genetic code by Watson and Crick. In the synthesis, it has provided the basis for all known life and has indeed been one of the most synthesizing discoveries of the 20"'century and possibly of all times. The great discover was made by two scientists, one American (Watson) and the other British (Crick) working at the Cavendish Laboratory for Basic Physics.
It is of interest to note that one of the American Ph.D student in Theoretical Physics on Dispersion Phenomenon. Walter Gilbert was heavily influenced by the above discovery and perhaps seduced by genetics. Why because he soon discovered an elegant technique for Deciphering the Genetic Code and received the Nobel Price in Chemistry in 1980. He soon left his Chair at Harvard and found a company called BIOGEN which he registered in Switzerland. The Company exploits, among others, techniques of genetic manipulation to manufacture human insulin.
The above examples clearly illustrate the Mutuality of Science and Technology. We note that the greatest discovery in Molecular Biology is made in a laboratory for Physics by people trained in the use of x-ray with fairly modest equipment. We further see Gilbert's transition from research in Theoretical Physics to Fundamental Genetics and then to Practical Genetic Engineering.
From time immemorial we know that scientists when studying highly disparate phenomenon, have endeavored to Find some simple fundamental principle to explain The variety from a basic unity. The Chemist discovered that matter consists of molecules which in turn are built from atoms. Today we know of millions of different types of molecules while the number of atoms seems to be limited to about one hundred. In Rutherford's model, The atom consists of a very small atomic nucleus that is positively charged and contains almost all the mass of the atom where Z is called the atomic number. It was later discovered that the atomic nucleus consists of positively charged particles called proton and a number of neutral particles called neutrons. Though the rough internal structure of the atom was being unraveled in the planetary model, the nature and origin of the atomic spectra remained a great mystery.
We know that the description of the electric and magnetic phenomena had been unified through the works of Faraday, Maxwell, Hertz and others. And it had become clear that light consists of electromagnetic waves. Planck in his study of black body radiation, introduced the quantum postulate with energy of a harmonic oscillator emitting the radiation to occur only in integer multiple of E= h. Hydrogen being the lightest of all the elements, has atomic number Z = 1 and consists of a proton and an electron that moves around proton in a circle of specific radius in this simple model.
Bohr in his study of this system extended all quantum hypothesis to the interior of the atom by assuming that the angular momentum of the electron had to be an integer multiple of the Planck's constant. Thus assuming further that each circle represented stationary states, Bohr could finally explain the atomic spectra characteristic of Hydrogen atom and Hydrogen like ions, Bohr model therefore started the development of atomic physics which culminated in the formulation of modern quantum theory around 1926 by Schroedinger, Heisenberg and Dirac.
Chemists have always been interested in the physicists description of the interior of the atoms which are the basic building blocks of chemical elements. Now starting from the atomic number of the rare gases, Lewis was able to divide the electronic cloud over an atom into two parts. That is, a rather inert "rare gas shell" and chemically active "valence electron" outside the shell. He could then show that all The oxidation-reduction reactions in chemistry could simply be described as an electron transfer process. In his study of ammonia, he learned that the nitrogen atom contains an electron lone pair which tries to get hold of hydrogen proton. Thus by studying such processes, Lewis got an idea that the electron lone pair corresponds to the site of chemical base and that one has a general reaction which underlies the Lewis base-acid concept. It then became quite clear that the base acid reactions in chemistry could simply be described as a proton transfer process.
III. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
The key problem Africa is facing today is under-development that manifests itself in terms of poverty, diseases, ignorance and many other forms. It is regrettable to recognize and note that due to the severe but an apparent lack of funds and other resources, many African countries have remained impoverished over the years. The weak fiscal status and the dim prospects for drastic economic improvement coupled with mismanagement, corrupt and despotic regimes in the continent also militate against any significant local support to alleviate the problems of under-development in the near future. From the experience of the industrialized countries, it has become abundantly clear that for Africa to develop and survive this century, science and technology must take root in the continent to serve the people and improve their standards of living by increasing productivity.
It is also well understood and recognized that for science and technology to benefit the continent, human resources development i.e. capacity building in general is paramount and basic. There are a number of prerequisites for capacity building and this involve issues and questions which must be addressed and put in place.
Such prerequisites include inter alia (a) schools, colleges, universities, polytechnics, research centres and institutes for both biological and physical sciences for teaching, training and to address specific and interdisciplinary mission oriented development problems (b) Forums such as societies, associations and academies to provide opportunities for exchange, debate, imparting knowledge in terms of seminars, training workshops, scientific conferences and also to promote utilization and popularization of science and technology by organisation of science fares and congresses (c) Physical facilities and equipment (d) highly trained technicians including repair and maintenance (e) an enabling environment.
It is today generally accepted that technology is "the engine of economic growth" and technological innovation is indeed the principal currency of international competition. Thus technology play a key role in attaining major goals in invigorating a countries competitiveness in the global market place. For example the secondary applications of aerospace technology - spin-offs - span so broad a range of public needs and conveniences that it is almost impossible to find an area of everyday life they have not improved and thus collectively represent a substantial dividend on the national investment in technology research.
A science and technology policy should therefore aim at improving the effectiveness of a national system of innovation, supporting public research and education, and sustaining the competitiveness of the business sector. So a major policy area should therefore focus on the promotion of innovation and investment, the diffusion of advanced technologies and creation of new firms.
Thus a mechanism must be put in place for funding technological innovation by providing grants, low-interest loans and risk capital for supporting individuals and cooperative research projects including downstream innovation projects in sectors such as electronics and material science leading to specific technologies such as Pharmaceutical, textile, Cardiology, micro-electronics, biotechnology, Chemical, Food and Agriculture.
African decision makers have failed to link Science and Technology with development objective such as enhancing quality of life of citizens. Thus lack of nations' commitment to systematically translate such policy into operational program that will certainly transform the society, is most unfortunate. In general, there is an absence of realistic or implementable Science and Technology policy that can be used as an instrument to effect Social changes, and no government commitment to inculcate Science and Technology culture in the youth and populace beyond what is available in the formal setting of classroom, and research laboratories. It is therefore not surprising that sub-saharan Africa has a new name (Baptized) - Technological Desert in today's space age where Information and Digital Technology have reduced the world into a Global Village. Thus policy statement of any kind is therefore an articulation of the desired Goal on that specific issue including delineation of means or strategies for achieving such a goal.
In many African countries, there is a crisis in Science Education leave alone Research. Motivation to study Science at school is often very low especially among girls. Thus there is a need to predispose very young children especially girls to Science through the provision of practical experiences that involves the use of appropriate toys and games. It is vital to note here that the trend towards the economic "globalization" carries the technological innovation to directions which are not always compatible with Culture, Social behavior and Environmental conditions of different countries. For example, the European model differs from the American one since different attention is paid to problems of the environmental values, preservation and to the compatibility of the "NEW" with cultural and social history of each country.
These data have percussions most of all on the methods and forms of the technological innovation , and not many researchers give them appropriate evaluation and so can only be interpreted implicitly. Further the lack of industrial base to absorb science graduates i.e. job opportunity, apart from being a school teacher, has a negative contribution in the career decision making process right back at school level.
I do therefore, believe that our current level of development already warrants the appointment of Parliamentary Science Fellows to provide public service by making individuals with scientific knowledge and skills availability to members of Parliament few of whom have technical background. This is important because public policy is increasingly being determined by economical consideration and science, in this millennium, is a major component of many issues which Parliament must grapple with such as energy policy, defense, security, global warming etc. Such a programme in turn will enable scientists to broaden their experience through direct involvement with legislative and political process, which ideally will enhance not only their own careers but also the Science community's ability to communicate more effectively with its representative in Parliament.
It is also very important for the public and the legislators to understand the significance and indeed excitement of the scientific discoveries they fund and to feel a part of the team. Further, scientists need to understand and articulate their role as being of public service, whether through practical solution of problems such as new drugs, or simply enlightening people about The wonders of the universe. There is no doubt that a better communication in both direction including open dialogue that heeds public concerns of how and why scientific research is done can bridge The gap in perceptions mat sometimes exists between scientists and the general public. We are indeed interested in many different kinds of broader issues of particular public concern such as science education, alleviating poverty, adequate funding for responsible science, injustice, disease, security and indeed governance in general and environmental protection.
Africa and its people must accept the fact that Science and Technology drives the economic world-order and thus all visions of development emanate from the promotion of Technology. Thus recognition of the power of Science and Technology as the economic engine of a nation has persuaded countries in Latin America and Asia including industrialized countries to give priority to the establishment of infrastructures such as planetarium, science museums and parks or mechanisms for nurturing of a science culture particularly among the youth and for educating the public in general and even declare YEAR of Science and Technology. These structures would act as business incubators and local centres for spreading the use and acquisition of technology.
From time immemorial, (Aristotle) the relationship between Science and Technology has been that Science probes knowledge to enable us appreciate and understand why and how our environment works the way it does, while Technology helps us to manipulate nature for our existence. Because of this, Technology tends to be location specific and can therefore be termed appropriate or relevant depending on the demands, intended application and indeed expected results including impact on society it is to serve. My understanding of Economics is to bring in not only human element but also some measure of order in an otherwise totally disordered and chaotic system in terms of priority, development, application, focus, priority and utilization of Science and Technology in socio-economic development.
The link between Scientific Research, Technical Development and Production has been firmly established and stressed and no doubt greatly exaggerated. The link docs exist and it is important and true in certain areas. However, generally Technology and Science are a part of two separate worlds, i.e. one of Production and the second one of Knowledge. Scientific Research is developed by probing Knowledge to create new Science whereas Technology is the result of needs of Production to generate improved Production Capacity. We can thus generally say that the two worlds are populated by two types of people trained and educated in two traditions, the scientific and technical traditions. One can therefore, depict this in schematic form as two separate loops with a weak coupling between them, as in fig. 1 below.
The loop clearly indicates the relationship between Science, Technology and the place of Economics, whereby Technology is the driving force of Economics to increase Production capacity that leads to development of a nation. We therefore must recognize and stress the role of Science and Technology as the engine of economic growth. The inescapable conclusion from above is that all modern Monetary Theories including Economic Planning will be rendered untenable without heavy infusion of Science and Technology. Otherwise our declared Poverty Eradication Campaign will be still born leave alone industrialization by The year 2020.
III. INVESTMENT AND INDUSTRIALIZATION
Before foreigners can be drawn to invest. Governments must make in vestments in basic infrastructure such as roads, electricity, communication and in people through health and education. We know today that governments in developing countries are faced with intractable socio-economic problems and thus tends to put their money on turnkey projects in engineering and technology and neglect basic science especially Physics. Such projects by their very nature do not provide any intellectual stimulation and in most cases inappropriate to solve the problem at hand. Yes applied science are important but there must be science to apply. I do strongly feel that high-
tech promotion should be of particular interest for Kenya. I believe so because research in these areas has the general advantage that leads and require technological advancement in frontier fields that will produce important spin-offs on the development of a country in which it is performed. We have failed to alter our preoccupation with only WHAT a given technology can do for economic up-liftment of our country and pay little or no attention to gaining necessary knowledge, understanding and appreciation of WHY and HOW a given technology works the way it does. To the extent that most technology transfer to the continent have not worked or have done so only marginally. Thus only a knowledge, based on local environment, can resolve the appropriateness of an imported technology to the community, be it demand and user driven, irrespective of whether conventional or high-
tech class, easily maintainable and affordable by the community in order to bring further development.
Our economy must be vibrant and export oriented and Jua Kali in the current form has no place in this crusade. We must move from muscle power producing low class technology to high tech based on brain power. Much as we shall still have small industry employing less Than 10 people but producing specific and specialized components for various equipment and utilities like radio, fridges, car, computer, microwave, etc. for a larger Industry for Assembly. This is what NIC did. With the rapid development in material science, very soon there will be no drums to make jikos, carriers etc. at the various Jua Kali shades. PVC and the plastic materials even new materials will be used. The question is how about if the supplier invents reusable containers like gas. That will be the death nail to contemporary Jua Kali.
We also need to recognize that a lot of new technologies and industrial development emanate from the physical sciences in terms of instrumentation, equipment, machines etc. In the African region, there exist a number of countries including Kenya that have established advanced Biosciences Research Institutes in the fields of agriculture and medicine. However, most physical sciences research at present is carried out exclusively at mostly ill-equipped university laboratories since there are no fully equipped and funded Physical Science Research Institutions in the region for high level research in the various fields. It can therefore be argued that the day we shall start establishing and funding research institutions in the physical sciences will be a turning point in the management of our modem economy. We will then firmly be on the road to translating scientific knowledge into applied research for prototype development for industrial production. Thus we are currently building the gap between knowledge and science both basic and applied but not much of prototype development leave alone industrial since tills inevitably involve huge financial capital outlay. Figure 2. below.
We are indeed living in a period of reflection upon dramatic development or Science itself and interaction with politics and human activities in the new millennium. In developing countries like Kenya, there is a need to focus on areas that are not only growing at rapid rates hut also influencing our lifestyles at a faster rate. Such subjects are of particular interest to developing nations if the technology is relatively simple and easy to adopt. In other words, it needs comparatively little investment and capable of delivering quick results.
Many wrong Science and Technology investments have drained most national coffers. Thus if current trend of neglect to and lack of investment towards R & D in Science and Technology persists, most African countries will not he part of the Global economy that will he based on industrialization in the next 20-30 years.
For now, failure of Government to fulfill the monetary obligation to Science and Technology establishment leads to funding crisis resulting in daunting level of usual array of infrastructure failure, compounded by our ethic "Do Not Repair Until Broken" as opposed to "Preventative Maintenance". Consequently the institution and society at large are beset by dry water pipes, uncollected garbage, broken vehicles, highly unreliable communication system, fluctuating and devastating power supply with its attendant damages to research and other equipment, not to mention associated greater and incalculable social and economic dislocation, wastage and destruction.
The question is, how can we justify allocation of less than 0.1% of GDP to R & D in Science and Technology as a manifestation of our sincere and committed investment in the future of a nation? One thing is clear, is that leadership of Science and Technology institutions, should not be politicized and be based only on academic merit and ability and not influence. To the extent that African Science and Technology personnel have come to the conclusion that their talent remain unrecognized therefore unutilized, unchallenged, underutilized or misdirected and therefore misapplied.
Since colonial era till today, Africa continues to be denied the opportunity through a collusion of internal and external forces to make headway with Science and Technology in its development approach. The question is, why have African countries invested in education of those that have subsequently developed inquiring and innovating minds if the countries concerned are not going to engage them in productive activities resulting into brain drain?
Need for an enabling environment. How does one judge the Science and Technology appreciation of a Budget Officer that cannot understand the role of biotechnology research in crop production as an insurance for Food Security, Space Science research for communication, environmental and resource management, and weather forecasting. This is so because the process of decision making calls for the understanding of the linkages between Science and Technology and development. It is needless to point out that a nation that aspires to be the master of its own destiny must place a premium on talents, abilities and creative capabilities of its own citizens to the extent that talents must be rewarded by opportunities.
We need to evaluate the available options and assess capabilities and then decide in which field we want to make a mark and resolutely commit ourselves to its attainment as other people have done. Our countries could learn a lot from Japan, that a dedicated nation, with a strong work ethic, can gain power and status in the world without following the military route.
At The end of the last century, when the Meiji constitution was promulgated in Japan, one of their five oaths was on Science, that is
"Knowledge will be sought and acquired from any source with all means at our disposal for the greatness and security of Japan".
The motivating factor here is the establishment of Presidential Science and Technology Commission that will provide enabling environment by creation of Task Forces in key areas of national intent.
It is a well documented fact today that the industrialized countries together with NIC made The availability of energy beyond the demand their top priority. In other word, Economically the availability of Energy is the key to Industrialization. Thus energy production, management and distribution plus a range of other areas associated with this crucial field of scientific and technical endeavor, must be fully recognized and supported. Needless to point out here that from The time of the first steam engine the fortunes of humanity have been very closely linked to advances in energy technology. Thus wealth creation, which has a direct impact on Poverty Eradication and Employment, is directly proportionate to Energy availability. It is therefore incumbent on the Government of the day through the Power Generating and Supply Companies to position themselves to meet the demands The technologically advanced industries will require. This supply must also be cheap, efficient and reliable.
Currently Kenya does not appear on the map of international investors. We therefore must endeavor to get Kenya there by developing growth opportunities and the omens is on the Government and the Power companies to provide The energy for that growth. It is also generally believed that taking electricity to more customers will improve the economy substantially and their living standard.
Bibliography
J.O. Malo
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J.O. Malo
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J.O. Malo
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Major Constraints in Application of Science and Technology in National Development. The African Perspective. COP1D 2000, Durban, South Africa, 4-7 September 2000
J.O. Malo
Physics in Contemporary World. The African Perspective. Third World Congress of Physical Societies. Berlin, Germany 15- 16 Dec. 2000