Nobel laureate Sir Richard John Roberts disregards spiritualism

Nobel laureate Sir Richard John Roberts disregards spiritualism 

-- saket_h1982@yahoo.com

MUMBAI: As Indian leaders make claims linking scientific discoveries to mythology, Nobel laureate Sir Richard John Roberts said science must be separated from religion and faith. Roberts, who received the the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1993, was talking at the sidelines of the Mumbai University’s convocation on Friday, where he was chief guest. “Science is science and it doesn’t matter who does it. But only science which is published and peer reviewed can be believed. Science produces fact whether you like it or not. People who make just claims have no scientific credentials. There is a need to separate science from religion and faith,” said Roberts (75), who works as chief scientific officer at New England Biolabs. He was awarded the Nobel Prize with Phillip Allen Sharp for the discovery of introns in eukaryotic DNA and the mechanism of gene-splicing. He felt the need to make unscientific claims could be driven by money or power and such people must be called out and stopped. “...It is a very commonly used political trick where people are promised things whether true or false,” he said. Adding that he has met with similar resistance when it came to advocacy about GMO (genetically modified organism) movement, he said, “GMOs are safer than traditionally bred crops. This is the point we are trying to get across through our letters.” Last month,141 Nobel laureates wrote an open letter to Greenpeace amd every UN ambassador urging an acknowledgement that GMO is safe and should be supported. He also urged young minds to pursue basic sciences. “If you pursue applied sciences, it would always mean following someone else’s work. But, if one pursues basic sciences, there is a chance you could make a discovery and be the first to do something. The work that won me the Nobel Prize was done in 1977, and was first used commercially 40 years later, in November 2017. But along the years we have learnt a big deal through the discovery.” When asked about his views on space missions, he said they were a vanity. “If you have spare money, you should do it, but if you don’t have the money, it must not be undertaken.

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I don't agree with this view fully. This may be view accepted in West because of separation of Church and also because Biblical claim has not been scientifically proven. Further Rajiv's Shruti-Smriti framework to classify current science and Smriti implies in India we don't have such a dividing line. 

Saket