“Yes, sir, we all know you know everything about atoms!” a junior scientist exclaimed from the penultimate row. Some senior scientists sitting in the front row nodded in agreement, as if the setting was a military camp, not a meeting about subatomic physics in Mumbai. The more-senior scientist on the stage was more than pleased with this sentiment. With an approving smile, he replied loudly, “I can only thank god for being able to spread my work.”
Front row seats being reserved for grey-haired scientists, designated with ‘reserved’, ‘distinguished’, ’eminent’ and other pompous adjectives, with their younger counterparts relegated to the back benches in scientific conferences is typically something that plays out only in developing countries. It is obviously in bad taste considering the spirit of scientific temper. One would expect scientists – of all fields – to take themselves a little less seriously knowing we all live and work on a tiny blue dot in the larger scheme of things.
What is really detrimental to the scientific spirit is the attendant culture. In countries like India, there are many senior revered figures who are seldom open to healthy criticism, if at all, especially from younger scientists. They encourage and accommodate only praises and appreciation of their work at scientific events. There is no room for tough questions from research students or junior scientists, and critical comments from scientists of similar seniority and standing are often considered personal insults.
These scenes are in stark contrast to the conference atmosphere in the West. All the antics of seating people according to their experience is beyond question in any scientific conference or meeting of repute. Speakers, whether young or old, encourage critical questions from students and junior scientists (as long as they aren’t personally directed). On many occasions, distinguished scientists working in the West have expressed concern, even irritation, if there are no questions after a talk or if they find someone who agrees with them on everything.
For some senior Indian scientists attending top conferences in Europe or North America, this culture comes as a shock that forces them to exit their bubble, where they are surrounded by sycophants. In addition, bullying or threatening students and interns openly for critical questions is taken very seriously, quite unlike in India, where such behaviour is often a non-issue given the overt hierarchies at play.
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In our culture, seniority is taken too seriously in professional environments, and not just in science. This attitude is to be found in all professions and professional environments. However, it would be more reassuring if scientists broke such barriers first, instead of waiting for other professionals to do it for us.
Some of the top autonomous research institutes in India do buck this trend and much of what has been said here does not apply to them. But there are still hundreds of research institutions and universities where this flavour of the colonial hangover persists. Such places are breeding grounds for yes-men researchers that make their way to the top without having ever challenged a senior colleague’s ideas or having had a healthy argument on any scientific matter. Outside India, there are many circles in which such a career would be considered futile.
Vice-chancellors, deans, heads of department and senior academics are treated like royalty when they present talks or results at meetings. Junior academics and students are often too intimidated to ask any questions or make any critical remarks about the speaker’s work. When they do, there is likely to be a repercussion, for example as a badly worded recommendation letter in the future, at least a sharp reprimand later in private.
The irony is that being critical and argumentative is appropriate, even desirable behaviour, for scientists.
Obviously these behaviour patterns are not going to change overnight, and it’s likely to be a few generations before these attitudes evolve socially for the better. Let us remember that scientists often lay claim to leading by example, so there should be no exception on this front as well. At the very least, we shouldn’t take anyone seriously if they can’t take a joke!
Aswin Sekhar is a scientist and science writer.