Duttada's general outlook was rational. He did not believe in superstitions. He only believed in what he saw and in his calculations.
When Indrani Debi said that she wished he had not discovered the comet as it brought ill-luck, he laughed and said that even an M.A. degree had not cured her of her superstitions. Later when Indrani Debi asked him to perform a yajnaso that the comet would not harm him, he reacted very angrily. He said that such superstitious behaviour could be understood in the olden times because back then man did not know the true nature of comets. However, in modern times, such behaviour was unacceptable. He said that it had been clearly established by statistical
studies that their visits have no correlations with disasters on the earth.
In the end, when she told him that they made Khoka perform the yajna, he formed a mental picture of Khoka performing the yajnaand uttering mantrasdictated to him, which he did not understand. At the same moment, he thought of an assembly of scientists analysing the problem, devising solutions and executing them rationally. He wondered if the gap between the superstitious and the rational would ever be eliminated.
Give one example to show how science has been misused, and has as a result been harmful to us
Give two or three examples to show how science has been useful to us.
Do you think ours is a traditional society? What are some of the things we do to be called traditional? Do you find these
things useless or useful?
Should a scientist's findings be suppressed if they seem disturbing? Give reasons for and against the topic.
Why, according to Indrani Debi, had the comet not been disastrous?Do you agree with her?