Saturday, June 14, 2008

Why Research?

Its long I have been hounded by this question by variety of people. The spectrum is wide - from graduates to Post Docs. The first type of questioners are my parents. Like every parents, they dreamt their son to earn in lakhs, marry a drop - dead gorgeous girl and support the family. Hence when I decided on a career of research, initially I found my father researching the options left before me and how I can fulfil his dreams. But unlike every parents, mine were different. No impositions, no arguments, but a hug from him - a silent but firm gesture - showed his faith on me. Whatever may be the outcome of this endeavour, it is a tribute to them, and their faith on an individual who loves to give them surprises, many times nasty and sometimes pleasant. The second type of questioners are my school friends. Few of them are married and almost all of them are employed. Their reaction to my this endeavour was a mixture of shock and disbelief. I was labelled as "insane", "maverick" and what not. Some sent me their wives' photographs wishing to poke my hormones and the "bright future that I happen to miss". Good luck to you guys ! The third category are the peer group I am in. However each of them ask that question to get my future career plans. It always happens that I get advised be many over various "options" before me. An answer follows a comment and ultimately ends in proving the superiority of certain departments and disciplines over others.
Today I thought seriously to clear the air why I am in research. This is not to answer the questioners, but to reaffirm my faith in myself. I view research as an act of evolvement with involvement. You get involved with yourself, discover the assumptions you normally take for granted and question the origin of those assumptions. Research according to me is an act of refinement of mind and through that the being. You present a slice of truth to the waiting mankind, who try to find soccur and solace in it for sometime. You are in the business of solving a puzzle - a puzzle to reconstruct the truth and you dont do it for money... for it cannot be done for money! Research is done for seer joy of doing it.
Research is not the act of proving but contributing. What can you find that does not exist ! What can you prove that is not proved ! You just throw light, you direct attention and offer a view point. The euphoria is in giving another alternative to mankind. Its like the universal spiritual principle of God being one and religions being the paths to the same. So the joy lies in exposing a buried phenomenon. It is a sort of intellectual excavation, where repeated reinforcements have solidified some ideas to permanency. Research loosens it up and makes you mobile. It makes you accept and respect the viewpoints of others. It makes you simple yet effective.
The product of 4-5 years in a research program is not a few papers or a thesis. It is you - a changed being who is impartial and unbiased. The process should make you approachable and one should be able to view things objectively. Hence all the arguments about disciplines and departments being superior should subside. For a true researcher appreciates every organ of the body, missing of any one however small makes the body look ugly. Imagine your hand without the little finger, you will know what I mean !
Let me conclude by stating that all our theories are nothing but generalizations of an observed phenomenon over a wide range of contexts. But somewhere the applicability of the same comes to an end. So why the fights and egos between researchers? Not proving others wrong but reaffirming ones' rightness is the goal. Let it not happen that your learning loses its value in the absence of an audience. Learn for yourself, for the aim is evolvement !
Note: Part of the above article was written by me and was published initially in http://fpm-iiml.blogspot.com/