By Queena Lee-Chua
Inquirer
“EARLY in my working life i realized that I am not intellectually superior,” says National Scientist Gelia T. Castillo. “But as a simple sociologist, I found comfort in the thought that science must serve a human purpose. This often means doing science from the ground up and then tapping into sophisticated tools to address problems. When doing workshops in rice breeding, drought, trees, weeds, malaria, or HIV-AIDS, I always look for the people factor. For example, in breeding rice, I ask questions like: For what? For whom? For where? For what purpose? These are all people issues.”
I am proud to call Gelia a friend. Her story “The Eloquence of Seeds,” which shows her love for the natural world, is included in my book “Cogito Ergo Sum and Other Musings on Science,” which won a National Book Award.
Whatever Gelia may say, I affirm that she possesses not just intelligence, but wisdom as well. Take for instance, the fact that for scientists, progress is mainly counted by the number of journal publications; up to now, I still get a thrill when a paper has been accepted internationally. Gelia acknowledges this, but also adds, “Science pursued to address the problems of ordinary people often has other ways of communication than journals. When research fits into real life, the impact on human well-being makes it all worthwhile. Sometimes the proof of the pudding is in farmers’ fields.”
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