Book Review: Geek Nation: How Indian Science is Taking Over the World

Saini is a good story teller; her prose has a rhythm of its own. The narrative neatly ties together the chapters as well as the arguments but the problem is with the stories themselves: Individually and collectively, they do not persuade us to believe her hypothesis.

Take for instance open source drug discovery (OSDD): the newest of all the science projects Saini talks about, and a classic example of a tiny oasis of good-calibre science in a vast desert. It’s the brainchild of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) director general Samir Brahmachari, who is himself surprised at the interest OSDD has generated in the international community.

I won’t go into the usual argument that most sceptics hold — when will a drug come out it? — but it’s worth asking: Has CSIR managed to bring similar zeal, or geekiness if you will, in to its 37 other laboratories? If it had, it would have produced geeks in hordes.