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ISSUE 10 SPECIAL FEATURE:
BEST OF SCIENTIFIC MALAYSIAN ARTICLES
Photo: Carine Felgueiras/Flickr
To celebrate the milestone of the 10th Issue of the Scientific Malaysian Magazine, we conducted a poll among our readers and supporters to help us pick the best of Scientific Malaysian Magazine articles.
Over the past three years (9 issues) we have published over a hundred articles, written by both Malaysian and international scientists, as well as science enthusiasts around the globe. We love many of them, but here are five of our readers’ most liked articles and why we think they are important.
1
Fundamental Research: What is the Use?
by Hwong Yi Ling
http://magazine.scientificmalaysian.com/issue-6-2013/fundamental-research-what-is-the-use
With the havoc wrecked by the Global Financial Crisis still fresh in our memory and the economy of most of the world’s biggest developmental powerhouses barely limping along, investing in fundamental research may seem foolish and untimely. After all, what is the practical use? With this compelling article, the author sets out to breakdown the perception that fundamental research is a frivolous pursuit and argues that throughout history, big leaps in human innovation is often the result of curiosity-driven research, e.g., the unintentional development of World Wide Web by the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN). Why is this article important? It dispels the notion that fundamental research is often viewed as a ‘useless’ subject, too difficult to comprehend and thus reserved for the ultra-intelligent. At its most basic, fundamental research is the manifestation of the quintessential part of being human - curiosity S C I E N T I F I C M A L AY S I A N
and wonder. It gives us the power to dream, and lies at the heart of innovation. Originally published in Issue 6/2013. Photo: Kong Yink Heay.
