Science and Technology in the 21st Century

That was the title of the public seminar by Nobel laureate Professor C. N. Yang who won in 1957 in the field of physics. It was held at the Le Meridien hotel yesterday from 2 till 5 pm.

The place was filled with students and lecturers, professors and researchers. The seminar was started off by giving the background of the speaker. For someone aged above 80, he sure looked young and energetic. He looked 60. Maybe it was the distance from the stage that played such trick.

Prof. Yang started off by giving the history of MRI, computer and biotechnology. And then he talked about these fields in the current situation, followed by the future prospect in the next 50 years. Just as it was starting to get interesting, it ended abruptly.

Prof. Yang was talking about the inter-relation of basic science, developmental science and applied science. According to him, in the next 50 years, more emphasize will be given to applied science. At the end, it's all about money.

Kak Sofie was about to ask a question related to where Malaysia stands at this point. Is applied science given its due importance? Or are we lagging behind? But people were starting to queue up behind the microphone. Alas, it was too late for anymore questions. Better luck next time Kak Sofie.

The speaker was an interesting person. He knew all the people in the history he spoke about. He even knew Watson and Crick. In case you're wondering, they're the guys who discovered the double helix structure of DNA. It was a shame that his talk was a short one.

Apparently it is the Academy of Science Malaysia who is in charge of bringing these Nobel laureates here to give talks to the public. Hopefully, Malaysia will be able to produce one of its own soon enough. And I hope I'll live to see that day.