📘 Part 3: Science

This episode's vocabulary

To conduct (verb) - organize and carry out.

Time-consuming (adj.) - taking a lot of or too much time.

Attention span (noun) - the length of time for which a person is able to concentrate on a particular activity or subject.

Dreadful (adj.) - causing or involving great suffering, fear, or unhappiness; extremely bad or serious.

Fundamental (noun) - a central or primary rule or principle on which something is based.

To keep abreast of something (phrase) - to make sure you know all the most recent facts about a subject or situation.

In-depth (adj.) - comprehensive and thorough.

On a par (with someone/something) (phrase) - the same as or equal to someone or something.

Broad (adj.) - covering a large number and wide scope of subjects.

Appeal (noun) - the quality of being interesting or attractive.

Species (noun) - a set of animals or plants in which the members have similar characteristics to each other and can breed with each other.

To confine (verb) - to limit an activity, person, or problem in some way.

Stray (adj.) - stray things have moved apart from similar things and are not in their expected or intended place.

Hazard (noun) - something that is dangerous and likely to cause damage.

Extinction-level event (noun) - a catastrophe resulting in the extinction of the majority of species on the planet.

To hinge on/upon something (phrasal verb) - if one thing hinges on another, the first thing depends on the second thing or is very influenced by it.

Questions and Answers

M: Why do some children dislike learning science at school?

R: Oh, lots of reasons. Science is fascinating, but the process of conducting it can be quite time-consuming, and you actually have to know a fair amount to do it properly. So that can be quite taxing, especially for children who have short attention spans. Some teachers are pretty dreadful as well, not to mention the difficulties of trying to learn in a class with other people who might have different needs or expectations.

M: Is it important to study science at school?

R: Well, it's always good to know things, but science is quite a broad field, and things are always changing and being updated, so it would be impossible to know everything about it. So I'd say it's good to understand the fundamentals and know what's going on in simple terms. And then, if you want to work in that field, you can build up from there.

M: Which science subject is the most important for children to learn?

R: Oh, that's a good question, actually. I mean, I suppose, given the state of people's health in general, and what I said about physiology, probably biology or anything connected to human biology. People really need to know more about how their bodies work and how to maintain them properly. Or at least, it seems that way.

M: Should people continue to study science after finishing school?

R: If it's their chosen career path, it certainly makes sense. But if not, then it might be important to keep abreast of major developments, but in-depth knowledge on par with an expert probably isn't required.

M: How do people usually get to know about scientific news?

R: Most major breakthroughs and developments get published in the media, like the general media, so most people probably just have to pick up a newspaper or read news articles online. There could be some specialist newspapers or scientific journals that you can sign up for as well, but I doubt those things will have broad appeal.

M: Do you think space exploration is important for humanity?

R: I can definitely see how it might be. If our species is confined to the one planet, then the risk of us being wiped out by a stray asteroid or something is pretty high. In fact, it's like 100% if we're still here when that happens. So by exploring space, we can find new places to live and identify hazards before they become these sort of extinction-level events. That's on a species level. Individually, I doubt it matters much. I mean, our personal survival hinges on a lot more than being able to go into space.