Ramy El-Dardiry
19 July 2008
Surviving thanks to science
Posted in Research and educationAt the beginning of the twentieth century, Dutch science was without doubt world-class. The first Nobel Prize for chemistry went to the Dutchman Van ‘t Hoff. The first three recipients of the Nobel Prize in physics were either Dutch (Zeeman and Lorentz) or were partly educated in the Netherlands (Röntgen). All of them were born in upper-middle-class families.
Interestingly, none of these famous scientists went to the Dutch grammar school (“gymnasium”), which was the traditional, elitist place for secondary school education. Instead, most early Dutch scientists received their education at the so-called HBS, a public school type that was supposed to be more or less open to everyone. Not surprisingly, it was also at the HBS that the first woman, Aletta Jacobs, was allowed to attend classes. The HBS became a way for upper-middle-class families to give a proper education to their children. Practicing science was a superb opportunity for those children to get highly respected jobs in society.
Nowadays the situation is, in some sense, not very different. Although surviving in science might sometimes be a serious hassle, the scientific community is still relatively open to anyone. In science, it is foremost one’s talent and discipline that decides whether or not someone becomes successful. Compared to other careers, such as law or politics, a scientific career is not so sensitive to the size of a person’s social network (and that is probably why my physics friends were the latest to join LinkedIn). For a physicist, it is the content that counts in the end. This observation can provide society with new possibilities.
Any government that is serious on creating a “knowledge society” on the one hand and solving “minority problems” on the other hand should consider stimulating children of minority groups to study science. Scientists should be proud of their diverse community and realize that they can play an important role in improving the societal position of children from an uneducated background. Besides, an extra source of PhD students seems very welcome to me. Thus, let us start using science as a tool for emancipation.
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21 Jul 2008 14:51, Timmo
That is a very occidental – and maybe even Dutch- way of portraying things, don’t you think? Accessibility to good secondary education for the less privileged is an asset in most occidental countries, but a utopia in many “third world” societies. Furthermore: in some countries it is hard to even access scientific education unless you are lucky enough to have a scholarship, wealth or the right social network…
21 Jul 2008 18:10, Ramy El-Dardiry
Timmo,
You are right in the sense that I am naturally writing from a Dutch perspective. Indeed most third world countries have much more urgent problems to consider than providing a proper science education to their citizens My entry, however, was not aimed at these type of countries. What I am arguing is that within occidental countries, as you call them, there are still many minority groups that could benefit tremendously from a career in science rather than e.g. a career in law. In the Dutch case, I would be very interested to see the relative number of Moroccan students studying science.
22 Jul 2008 8:51, Timmo
Agreed on the last comment of your answer, but you would have to come up with more convincing arguments than the above I am afraid! The reputation of a scientist will always have to compete with the allure of for example the fast suits in the financial sector; especially within these so-called “minority groups”.