Science Superheros

With the current sweep of superhero movies on the big screen like Hancock and the infamous Dark Knight (RIP Heath) I was excited to discover that not all the people who want to help society have to have super powers and dress with their underpants outside their Lycra suits. A small band of South African scientists are in the process of organising/producing a free science textbook for Grade 10-12 learners.

The concept is basic open source in that it is structured around the free sharing of intellectual knowledge. The home site for the project says the objectives are

• To provide a complete high school science text that can be used for free anywhere else in the world as needed
• To provide a free resource, that can be used alone or in conjunction with other education initiatives in South Africa, to any/all learners and teachers
• To provide a detailed, accurate and interesting text that adheres to the South African school curriculum and the outcomes-based education system
• To provide a text that is easy to read and understand even for second-language English speakers
• Make a difference in South Africa through helping to educate our next generation

According to Internet World Stats, 11.6% of the population of South Africa uses the Internet. One of the best aspects of the Free High School Science Texts (FHSST) project is that it uses principles of open source which are usually based on the Net to reach ordinary South African school children who are not necessarily part of that 11.6%.

FHSST is importing open source into tangible printed forms, but is at the same time including the Internet in the recruiting of volunteers to write the textbooks. It’s a great merging of new technologies and platforms with traditional mass media forms that are able to reach and help more people than the Internet alone currently can.

Another interesting facet of the project is that it is basically one giant wiki. It is more like the Knol concept which Google is working on where contributors are experts and not any old randoms who think they have scientific wisdom to share because they were able to create an electrical circuit in Grade 7.

The motivation of the scientists involved in the project are reminiscent of the work done by the Shuttleworth Foundation in the Hip2B2 initiative and it is encouraging to see that there is a recognition by South African scientists of the need to freely share information and ideas for the development of the scientific potential in the country.

The science superheros of this project prove the Joker in The Dark Knight wrong when he says “If you’re good at something, never do it for free”. Villian, I’d have to respectfully disagree.