Two years ago, I arranged for a round table discussion with the prominant physicists that were visiting us on the occasion of a meeting held by our institute on high energy phenomenology.
In the meeting Prof. Altarelli (a distinguished Italian professor who at the time was at CERN) emphasized over and over on the importance of expanding the relations with physicists around the world. Of course, I knew that scientific relations were instrumental for research and developing ideas but back then, I did not understand why he was emphasizing that much on this point.
Altarelli is a smart person and far more experienced than Monjoog. At one glance, he realized subtleties in the isolated physics community in Iran that took three years for naive
Monjoog to realize!
Monjoog to realize!
The story was that someone (I do not remember who) told me Altarelli would be interested in visiting Iran. Quite happily I sent him an email inviting him to participate and lecture in our school. He immidiately replied, thanked me for the invitation and asked about the background of the participants to prepare his lectures accordingly. This is the international norm! He came and gave very good lectures (as was expected from him) and after the school (without violating any deadline) he sent his follow-up paper for the proceedings. He, as well as other distinguished lecturers of the school, took our school very serious as they would have taken any school organized in a developed country. As a physicist he treated me as a younger colleague (as I expected him to do) without any arrogance but of course with respecting the due academic hierarchy. As a gentleman, he treated me with the same gallantry that he would have treated European young ladies. I remember that to arrange for listening the music performance by Shahin, a couple of students and I were arranging chairs. Once Altarelli saw this he stepped in and helped us with the chairs. That was while many young Iranian men present there did not bother to step in and watched Prof Altarelli (who was of their father's age) and the rest of us do the job! (Yes, a woman notices such gestures and never forgets!)
Now, about the subtleties that Prof. Altarelli saw in a "mud brick" that took me three years to see in a "mirror". It was the behavior of the so-called senior people. They were jumping up and down to show that Prof. Altarelli was their "Pesar Khaale". One of them who had not even participated in the school suddenly appeared and insisted on taking Altarelli to coffee. Altarelli did not know the guy. He was rather skeptical about him. He asked me if he was trustworthy!
Another one was killing himself to take the credit for inviting Altarelli to Iran....
Such a stupid behavior would not happen in a less isolated atmosphere! Altarelli was too polite and kind to point out his wonder at such manner but he was quite right in diagnosing the syndrome. He was right also about the prescription. We should expand our relations with the outside world. It will bring multi-facted benefits.
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بعضی از سیندرم‌ها درمان دراز مدت دارند. باید دقت کرد که در درمان یک سیندرم خودِ شخص مبتلا به آن سیندرم نشود. مخصوصن اگر سیندرم را تنها ناظر خارجی می‌تواند مشاهده کند
یک دیالکتیک عشق و نفرت به غرب در ایران هست.این که شما و آلتارلی پیشنهاد کردید را خوبی برای برون رفت هست. از خیلی قدیم تر گوردون آلپورت در کتاب سمینالش «پیشداوری» گفت که تماس میان گروه های فرهنگی باعث کاهش پیش داوری می شه، البته این تماس برای او شرایطی داشت. امروزه هم همین نظریه پخته تر و پرداخته تر شده و کم و بیش بر آن اجماع هست. در عین حال شما هرگز بستر بزرگ فرهنگی را فراموش نکنید، یعنی موسسه شما جزیره ای در ایران نیست.
As in the late centuary, Gordon Allport has cleared in his so called "contact hypothesis": the contact among cultures and subcultures causes a reduction of prejudices.
Iran is leaving in a formal culture of antioccidentalism; but as all other cultures its acceptance for its members is not uniform, and as all formals there exists an informal counterpart and more, I think this idea/ideology to be less acceptable among Iranian scientits.
khosrow ahsani ghahreman
Dear Birooni,
What you are saying is a real threat. I have thought a lot about this issue. My conclusion is as follows: If there is a monopoly so there is a temptation to abuse it. Let me explain. For years, the monopoly of having relation with the high energy physics community abroad was in hands of a few professors. Most of the professors in Iran either could not converse in English or did not care to establish relations. Then, our generation returned to Iran. We had our own independent connections with outside world. As a result, the monopoly broke out. This is something that the older generation are not capable of comprehending so they cause such a nausea whenever we invite few visitors from abroad.
Since you are living abroad I must emphasize that the people who are keen to maintain that monopoly have no resemblence to the infamous stereotype of "rishu" which is so [un]popular among Iranians living abroad. In fact, they openly criticize the government and even mock religion. But their beliefs is none of my concern. In my opinion, this demonstrates that the intoxicating effects of monopoly can endanger everybody regardless of the ideology and ethics s/he obliges her/himself to subscribe.
Being a human being, I am of course prone to contract the desease. In fact, if I maintain the monopoly that I hold at the moment, no doubt after a while I will be just like those I am criticizing now. That is why I take students and teach them whatever I know. That is why whenever I invite someone from Iran I arrange a meeting around their visit so that more people (especially students) can have a chance to establish their our connection independently. And finally, some of my posts in Hamvarda are in this direction.
Dear Birooni, you are a "Birooni" or "Nazer Khareji". Point out the symptoms as soon as they appear. I am quite serious about this. Actually, I do not like some of your teasings. I feel too old to be teased like a 14 year old girl. Some people are tolenrant of teasing and/or like it but I am not one of them. However, I appreciate the criticism and remarks as the one above. .
Dear Khosro,
In the meetings, we organize students from all universities are welcome to participate. I however believe extending activities of our institute to support the whole Iranian physics community is pointless!
The reason for this belief is simple: We do not have the resources (neither from funding point of view, nor from the point of view of manpower). Further commitments will be such heavy shackles on us which will prevent any progress.
منظور من این نبوده که شما مشکلات را در عرصه کشوری حل کنید. منظور این بوده که در این سطح هم ببینید.
کانکریت تر بگویم این مدل رقابت برای نزدیک شدن به نام آور که در آن دانشجو شرح دادید. قارچ نیست که در موسسه شما سبز شده باشد و بخواهند ریشه کنش کنند یا مثلا بر خورد انظباطی بکنند. این مدل وجود دارد چون حتما در جایی کارایی اش را ثابت کرده.
همداستانان با دید اتمی زمانی گفتند پیچ دانشگاه را باز کنیم بگذاریم کنار تمیزش کنیم و دوباره ببندیمش به جای خودش میان بقیه بستر اجتماعی. البته تا آن جا که من می دانم آن زمان اولویت با تمیز کاری سیاسی/ایدئولوژیک بود. ولی بحث من معتبر است. من می گویم اشکال ندارد که وقتی یک فیزیک دان مشکلاتی را مطرح می کند که دقیقا مربوط به روانشناسی ارگانیزیشن است. به روانشناسی سوشیال هم نگاه کند.
ساده تر بگویم شما اگر به من آدرس بدهید شماره 304 یک دید به من داده اید، بگویید نیاوران 304 یک دید و اگر بگویید ایران تهران نیاوران شماره 304 یک دید دیگر.
حرف من این است که هرکس می خواهد از خانه خودش برای دیگران بگویید فراموش نکند که اشاره ای بکند که این خانه در کدام شهر است.
این ها مبادی متدولوژیک هستند نه سلیقه ها.
چنان که اداره پست از شما شماره 304 قبول نمی کند تفسیر متودیک هم از شما گزاره بی متن قبول نمی کند.
حال شما می گویید درد دل استاد بوده با دانشجویانش. از وقتی شما در سایبرسپیس بگذارید. من هم که دانشجوی جای دیگر هستم آن را می خوانم و با خودم می گویم حیف که این نقد استاد نخواسته کمی زیرتر را هم درنوردد.
حیف این دید تیز بین که فقط با میکروسکوپ نگاه کند.
Dear Khosro, Those who had abnormal behaviour were not students. In fact students were behaving quite normally like their counterparts do in developed countries: they were attending the lectures, they were asking questions, they were curious about the foreigner visitors and were trying to make friends with them, they were trying to show off their knowledge and enthusiam in research so that they can secure a better career for their future.... This is what students are supposed to do. They are supposed to be curious as well as ambitious.
Otherwise, they are dead! I always encourage to be ambitious and curious. I encourage them to mix with visitors and make themselves known by asking relevant questions. This is what I teach my students to do and what I have been taught by my supervisors to do.
What I consider abnormal and a shame is to take credit for something that some else has done.
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