Blogging from Pakistan: We need science programs on TV here
by Salman Hameed
Yesterday's Dawn had a letter urging a focus on science & technology. I was already thinking about this while watching the plethora of cable and satellite channels here in Pakistan (a list from Wikipedia).
There are countless news talk show programs on more than 10 24-hour news channels. In fact, while arriving in Karachi yesterday, we were stuck at the airport traffic because there were about 8 television vans taking up space in the exit lane (they were there to cover the arrival of a federal minister). There are 8 24-hour music channels. I haven't seen these yet, but there are 3 fashion and lifestyle stations. There are 6 24-hour religious channels, and perhaps not too surprisingly, there are three food channels! Oh - and then there are about 10 regular channels that run soaps.
But science is missing. I'm not referring to a 24-hour science channel - which would be very cool. But even just an hour-long local program on science would be beneficual. There are are primetime programs on astrology (for example, here on Geo). But no science.
There is indeed interest and curiosity about science. As I have written multiple times before, the amateur astronomy scene is booming here. Whenever I have given talks here, I have encountered a lively audience interaction and a genuine interest in the topic. I'm sure if there were regular science programs on TV, there will be an audience for it, and if done well, the programs can serve as a vehicle for critical thinking.
By the way, just having science-sounding programs is not enough. Perhaps, there is no bigger disgrace than the Discovery channel or the History channel in the US. They lend credibility to completely wacky programs - from UFOs to the end-of-times documentaries. Whenever a student start by saying "I saw it on the Discovery channel" and you go "uh-oh". This is such a shame. Just think about it. In Pakistan, I'm lamenting the lack of any science programs. In US, there are couple of 24-hour science channels - but they mostly show crap on it, or worse, bad science (In case you are wondering, yes, bad science is worse than crap). NOVA is perhaps one of the few science havens left.
Some of it is also personal. I got into astronomy after watching Cosmos on TV in Pakistan in 1984. The first episode - especially the Cosmic Calendar - was enough to change the direction of my life. Television is an amazingly powerful medium. You never know how science programs are going to affect people.
Lets have some (good) science shows on TV.
By the way there have been some efforts at producing science programs in Pakistan. For example, Pervez Hoodbhoy had an excellent 12 part series for kids about 7-8 years ago. And more recently, Zakir Thaver has also produced some science-related episodes. These need to be aired on channels such as Geo, ARY, PTV etc.
Yesterday's Dawn had a letter urging a focus on science & technology. I was already thinking about this while watching the plethora of cable and satellite channels here in Pakistan (a list from Wikipedia).
There are countless news talk show programs on more than 10 24-hour news channels. In fact, while arriving in Karachi yesterday, we were stuck at the airport traffic because there were about 8 television vans taking up space in the exit lane (they were there to cover the arrival of a federal minister). There are 8 24-hour music channels. I haven't seen these yet, but there are 3 fashion and lifestyle stations. There are 6 24-hour religious channels, and perhaps not too surprisingly, there are three food channels! Oh - and then there are about 10 regular channels that run soaps.
But science is missing. I'm not referring to a 24-hour science channel - which would be very cool. But even just an hour-long local program on science would be beneficual. There are are primetime programs on astrology (for example, here on Geo). But no science.
There is indeed interest and curiosity about science. As I have written multiple times before, the amateur astronomy scene is booming here. Whenever I have given talks here, I have encountered a lively audience interaction and a genuine interest in the topic. I'm sure if there were regular science programs on TV, there will be an audience for it, and if done well, the programs can serve as a vehicle for critical thinking.
By the way, just having science-sounding programs is not enough. Perhaps, there is no bigger disgrace than the Discovery channel or the History channel in the US. They lend credibility to completely wacky programs - from UFOs to the end-of-times documentaries. Whenever a student start by saying "I saw it on the Discovery channel" and you go "uh-oh". This is such a shame. Just think about it. In Pakistan, I'm lamenting the lack of any science programs. In US, there are couple of 24-hour science channels - but they mostly show crap on it, or worse, bad science (In case you are wondering, yes, bad science is worse than crap). NOVA is perhaps one of the few science havens left.
Some of it is also personal. I got into astronomy after watching Cosmos on TV in Pakistan in 1984. The first episode - especially the Cosmic Calendar - was enough to change the direction of my life. Television is an amazingly powerful medium. You never know how science programs are going to affect people.
Lets have some (good) science shows on TV.
By the way there have been some efforts at producing science programs in Pakistan. For example, Pervez Hoodbhoy had an excellent 12 part series for kids about 7-8 years ago. And more recently, Zakir Thaver has also produced some science-related episodes. These need to be aired on channels such as Geo, ARY, PTV etc.
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welcome to my blog. please write some comment about this article ^_^