Where are all the Science in the Cosmos?

Remember the good old days when we'd rush home from school to catch that half-hour of TV? Quiz shows hosted by Siddharth Basu and Derek O'Brien, hunting for child geniuses. The fascinating "Surabhi" program, unraveling mysteries like that mind-boggling detumbling water jug. Those were the days, weren't they?

Fast forward to today. I'm 37, and OMG!, has the world changed! We've gone from savoring that precious 30 minutes of daily media to being bombarded every few seconds on our smartphones. But something's missing in this data deluge – where are our desi Neil deGrasse Tysons and Carl Sagans?

Sure, we've got tech YouTubers coming out of our ears. But when it comes to pure, unadulterated science geekery? Crickets.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good unboxing video as much as the next person. But remember how we used to hang on every word when Abdul Kalam or those brilliant ISRO scientists gave interviews after a successful mission? That spark of curiosity, that drive to explore the unknown – where has it gone?

Speaking of Kalam, it's been nearly a decade since we lost him (on July 27, 2015). His dream of India Vision 2020 seems to have faded from our collective consciousness. Instead of working towards those lofty goals, we're stuck in a loop of Wikipedia skimmers and WhatsApp forwards. Gone are the days when people sought out credible scientific information. Now, it's all about quick opinions and inherent biases.

Globally, we've got Physics Girl and Veritasium making us question everything we thought we knew. NatGeo's still out there blowing our minds. But in India? We seem more interested in watching news anchors yell at each other or pranksters pull off their latest "epic" stunt.

Here's what keeps me up at night: How will the next Kalam be inspired to tackle 22nd-century problems if they're drowning in a sea of social media influencers talking about... well, not much at all?

Don't get me wrong – I'm not some grumpy old man shaking my fist at the clouds (though at 37, sometimes I feel like one!). I just can't help but wonder: in this age of information overload, are we actually becoming less informed?

So, here's my challenge to you, LinkedIn fam:

1. Who are your favorite Indian science communicators? (They must be out there somewhere, right?)
2. What do you think it would take to nurture more science content creators in India?
3. How can we make science as "viral" as the latest dance trend?

Let's get this conversation started. Who knows? Maybe the next great Indian science YouTuber is reading this right now, just waiting for a push to hit that "record" button.

#IndianScience #ScienceCommunication #YouTubeIndia #APJAbdulKalam #IndiaVision2020 #MondayMotivation #ScienceLiteracy #DigitalLiteracy #InnovationInIndia #FutureOfScience