The Scientific Edge  (English, Paperback, Narlikar Jayant V)

The Scientific Edge, written by Jayant V. Narlikar, tracks the history of successes and failures of Indian scientific ventures, and questions the legitimacy of various discoveries and pseudosciences.

Summary Of The Book

In The Scientific Edge, author Jayant Narlikar provides an endearing look at India’s scientific history, its contributions during various historical periods, and the problems the country is currently facing.

The author begins his examination by looking at the discoveries made during historic times. For instance, before the Pythagoras theorem and Euclid’s Proof of Elements, Narlikar states that Bhaskara and Aryabhata made similar discoveries long before. After making this point, Narlikar questions, that if India had such a rich university system and advanced scientific laboratories, why is it losing its scientific edge?

When examining problems related to modern science, Narlikar discusses in detail, various questions about scientific culture, scientific temper, and the validity of Vedic astrology and Vedic Mathematics. He claims that the latter two are based on a few postulates, especially Vedic mathematics, which is neither scientific nor Vedic. The author also states that the modern world is steadfastly dedicated to refusing discoveries made during ancient times and that independent research institutions are draining away the talent from many universities.

In the final section of the book, the author looks at future prospects of scientific discoveries in India. Narlikar is a fervent supporter of studying astronomy in India. This is because astronomy is vital for making theoretical advances and its observations help in the advancement of mathematics, which generally tends to advance science.

About Jayant V. Narlikar

Jayant V. Narlikar is a notable science fiction Author and the Director of the Inter-University Centre For Astronomy and Astrophysics.

He has also authored From Black Clouds To Black Holes, Philosophy of Science: Perspectives from Natural and Social Sciences, and An Introduction To Relativity.Narlikar completed his Ph.D. and M.A. in Astrophysics at Cambridge University. He began his career by taking up a Professorship at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Narlikar gained international acclaim for his contributions to the field of cosmology.

He has received many awards and accolades for his field work. These include the Padma Bhushan in 1965, Padma Vibhushan in 2004, and the Kalinga award from Unesco. He is married to mathematician Dr. Mangala Narlikar, and together they have three daughters.