Could he have done more as a scientist than a diplomat?

Use this forum to discuss the February 2021 Book of the month, "Dream For Peace: An Ambassador Memoir" by Dr.Ghoulem Berrah
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WADonnelly
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Re: Could he have done more as a scientist than a diplomat?

Post by WADonnelly »

raluca_mihaila wrote: 08 Feb 2021, 15:56 I think that the matter of accomplishment is a subjective one. If Dr. Berrah felt like his calling was diplomacy instead of the scientific world, that maybe his opinion about being successful matters more than ours. Nevertheless, it is hard to decide "the success" of diplomacy because it is a long term goal, not easily quantifiable. So I think it is not for us to draw a conclusion in this matter. Also, it is impossible to do so.
I agree with you here as if Dr Barrah felt his calling was to one rather than the other he may never have fully applied himself in science and this not been as successful.
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Njokime
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Post by Njokime »

What matters is that he tried his best, followed his passion and attempted to bring about peace. I think his attempt in bringing world peace had a significant impact even though small.
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Sushan Ekanayake
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Njokime wrote: 18 Feb 2021, 06:17 What matters is that he tried his best, followed his passion and attempted to bring about peace. I think his attempt in bringing world peace had a significant impact even though small.
I won't say what he accomplished is small. Actually it was huge, though many of that didn't persist. And he can't be responsible for that sine that is the nature of world politics and human nature. But he put all the effort that he could gather for his tasks.

What I see is, he could have put the same effort and time in the field of science. With his abilities and knowledge, he could have done a similar service in that field too. But what will differ is the time that those wonders may have persisted. We still get benefited by scientific findings which were done even thousands of years ago. Dr. Berrah could have easily become a part of such a thing, if he did not leave the field of science
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Post by cd20 »

I think it's hard for us to decide if he made the right decision or not. Ultimately it is his choice and he went in the direction he felt he needed to go. I think he made strides in both directions and had he stayed in virology he would have worked just as hard as he did as a diplomat and would have made more discoveries.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

cd20 wrote: 19 Feb 2021, 08:48 I think it's hard for us to decide if he made the right decision or not. Ultimately it is his choice and he went in the direction he felt he needed to go. I think he made strides in both directions and had he stayed in virology he would have worked just as hard as he did as a diplomat and would have made more discoveries.
I agree. We can't decide what was best to him and he had all the rights to choose whatever the path he wanted.

I strongly believe that if he stayed in the science field, he could have continued to do marvels. He had the ability as well as the determination to succeed in whatever the field he invested those qualities.

Why I feel his diplomatic work as a waste because none of them seemingly persisted. It is not because of any fault of Dr. Berrah, but that is the nature of world politics and diplomacy. That is why I believe that if he spent his time for the development of science, the results could have persisted and could have been more useful
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Post by Katherine Smith »

I like your questions because it raises many complex issues that as human beings we are dealing with today and will always deal with at some level in our lives. I think that as a scientist he did many great things, but at a certain level you can only make small incremental changes. As a diplomat, he can affect things on a bigger scale such as peace, but also fighting against pandemics or fighting global hunger for example. I understand that the world can seem cruel at times and peace can seem like a fool's cause, but one man cannot go it alone instead we need a community of people to make lasting changes.
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Post by Nitika Sood »

Since Dr.Ghoulem Berrah was a professor of Virology at the University of Yale school of medicine and had made huge contributions to the world of Biological Sciences, I do believe that had he made the choice to stay in science, not only would he have made a more lucrative career for himself but he would've also helped the rest of the world make progress. World Peace, on the other hand, is quite often used by the more powerful countries to get into the politics of smaller countries but at the same time, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's a futile effort. At the end of the day, Dr. Berrah was the best judge of where he thought he was needed the most and where he would be able to help the most. I can't say that I would've made the choice he made, but at the same time, he also made lot of progress in establishing world peace so I wouldn't say that his skill set was wasted.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Katherine Smith wrote: 19 Feb 2021, 18:21 I like your questions because it raises many complex issues that as human beings we are dealing with today and will always deal with at some level in our lives. I think that as a scientist he did many great things, but at a certain level you can only make small incremental changes. As a diplomat, he can affect things on a bigger scale such as peace, but also fighting against pandemics or fighting global hunger for example. I understand that the world can seem cruel at times and peace can seem like a fool's cause, but one man cannot go it alone instead we need a community of people to make lasting changes.
I too say the exact same thing. He has put his maximum effort on his diplomatic goals. But when looking back at what he accomplished or tried to accomplish, we see that many have not sustained. I don't say that it is his fault. Maybe he was the only one, out of those who involved in those missions, who had a pure heart for peace with no hidden agendas.

I don't say that in science one person can do large scale changes that affect the whole world at once. But most of the times, one small finding has been the base for many others to develop on them and make bigger things that has affected whole world. If he remained in the field of science, he could have been a part of something like that
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

HDFC Head Girl wrote: 20 Feb 2021, 08:50 Since Dr.Ghoulem Berrah was a professor of Virology at the University of Yale school of medicine and had made huge contributions to the world of Biological Sciences, I do believe that had he made the choice to stay in science, not only would he have made a more lucrative career for himself but he would've also helped the rest of the world make progress. World Peace, on the other hand, is quite often used by the more powerful countries to get into the politics of smaller countries but at the same time, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's a futile effort. At the end of the day, Dr. Berrah was the best judge of where he thought he was needed the most and where he would be able to help the most. I can't say that I would've made the choice he made, but at the same time, he also made lot of progress in establishing world peace so I wouldn't say that his skill set was wasted.
Well, I also don't say that his skills were wasted, since they were of some use in his diplomatic missions. But as per the way that I feel about the fraud called 'world peace', which is merely a term used by the powerful countries to handle the world as per their needs, any effort you put in that is a waste. Why I say is that they send ambassadors like Dr. Berrah to small countries saying that it is to solve the issues in their countries, while doing all the human right violations and whatever the illegal things in their own countries. They are the ones who really need ambassadors like Dr. Berrah to keep order in their countries.

So, Dr. Berrah has been only a pawn of such countries and has wasted his time which could have been utilized in a more useful manner if he remained in the field of science. Maybe his efforts were true to his heart, but that doesn't change the true nature of his missions, which did the bidding of the few powerful countries.
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Post by natasha juhl »

Science and diplomacy seem to have many similarities and differences as defined by this book. He could have done more as a scientist as the work of a scientist is never over. There is no end goal of science where it would ever be completed due to the fact that science is always changing and the point of it is always to question and explore. He could have done more as a scientist by dedicating more time to exploration.
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Post by natasha juhl »

As this book has shown, he has a role as both a scientist and a diplomat. However, when it come to science, no one truly has ever done enough as a scientist. The goal of scientific discoveries are not to just simply solve a problem but to ask new questions and make new discoveries. He would do better trying to continue being a scientist by making more discoveries.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

natasha juhl wrote: 20 Feb 2021, 16:52 Science and diplomacy seem to have many similarities and differences as defined by this book. He could have done more as a scientist as the work of a scientist is never over. There is no end goal of science where it would ever be completed due to the fact that science is always changing and the point of it is always to question and explore. He could have done more as a scientist by dedicating more time to exploration.
I like the way you think. Yes, a scientist has no ultimate goal or a limit. Science is an evolving subject and the human needs are increased in a daily basis. So scientists have to and can do an enormous amount of work to the betterment of the world.

So, if Dr. Berrah had stayed in the field of science, he would definitely have done many more researches and have found many more theories, that might have changed the world. And who knows! Maybe there were things that were meant to be found by him, but he hasn't since he left the field, and no one else has found them so far either
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

natasha juhl wrote: 20 Feb 2021, 18:01 As this book has shown, he has a role as both a scientist and a diplomat. However, when it come to science, no one truly has ever done enough as a scientist. The goal of scientific discoveries are not to just simply solve a problem but to ask new questions and make new discoveries. He would do better trying to continue being a scientist by making more discoveries.
I believe that that argument is valid for diplomats as well. Whatever the efforts one put in diplomacy, no one can obtain permanent goals. What you achieve today may not be there anymore by tomorrow. So it is also a hard and strenuous work that you can never truly finish or quit.

But what is good about science is, atleast what you found and did will remain and someone else will continue your work for further development. But in diplomacy, your work of a lifetime can go in wayne and someone else will have to start from the beginning, as if you had done nothing
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Post by lavkathleen »

With how he's inspired me with just his memoir, I imagine that the impact is greater for the people he's met. I refuse to think that he'd be this same person if he chose the field of science. Being an activist as he was growing up, it only made sense that he left that field. And even though his successors failed to carry on his hardwork and ideals, it meant a great deal to the people that he served during his time. A great deal... I can't even emphasize it enough.
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Post by lavkathleen »

gabrielletiemi wrote: 04 Feb 2021, 14:03 I think that it is really hard to know if Dr. Berrah could have done more as a scientist, especially when we see that it is related to his passion and his motivation. I think that his attempts at peace mattered, even though he didn't bring world peace, he did his best and he helped to bring new perspectives to various populations.
Agreed. I think it's less about where he could do more but more about where he could be his best self. He was always going to be an activist and fighter for people's rights. His efforts will not be in vain; his work as a diplomat laid down a road towards a better future and if there's anything I learned from his book, it's the fact that things take time. I can't wait for it.
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