A scientific future.

Byline: Ghufran Ahmad

THE pandemic has clearly and firmly established the value of science in making important decisions that affect lives and livelihoods across the world. No ideology, political creed, religious belief or philosophical orientation can defeat the virus. Only hardcore science can - and will. It is difficult to imagine any other situation where the value of scientific opinion and the contributions of scientists were so evidently manifest. Individuals and governments throughout the world are listening to what researchers have to say. There is no alternative, except for those suggested by scientists. Only science matters when it comes to making good decisions - the rest is commentary or distraction.

Science implies a dispassionate search for the truth and use of resultant knowledge effectively. Its process is basic: observe the world without bias, quantify and systematically link observations to generate tentative theories, and test theories in a way that permits refutation. Only data-backed theories are accepted as provisional truths. The possibility of refutation makes us sceptical of cherished theories and helps science advance by discarding old theories. The ongoing Covid-19 vaccine trials illustrate this process. Whereas people and governments are pressing for a cure, researchers are ensuring that the process is not compromised and the solutions are robust.

It is not that science is all good; it is a tool that can be used to make lives better or worse. But it is the best tool that humanity has created. It can be hijacked by dogma and politics. Yet, science by its very nature resists such attempts because it develops a mindset that constantly challenges the status quo and pushes its practitioners to continue searching for the truth. Dogma withers away in the face of truth, though it may sometime happen belatedly. The pandemic exploded so rapidly that half-hearted attempts at denial or resistance, motivated by dogma and politics, waned quickly.

There is no alternative, except for those suggested by scientists.

Pre-pandemic, Pakistan existed in a state of deliberate and effective resistance to and denial of a scientific way of thinking and living. The virus has exposed us as a nation. We cannot even make basic machinery and equipment to protect citizens from devastating diseases and other threats. We may be able to reverse-engineer production processes and use imported machinery, but we are decades away from producing the...