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Modern consumer electronics are so ‘user friendly’ they may be stifling
an interest in science and technology among young people, suggests this
year’s White Paper from Japan’s Science and Technology Agency. The paper,
published last week, attempts to explain why young Japanese have lost interest
in science and technology, a trend which the STA believes could create a
shortage of scientists and engineers in the future.

According to the agency, the number of Japanese in their twenties with
an interest in science has been declining in recent years, and the proportion
of school leavers applying to study science and engineering at university
has been falling since the late 1980s.

The White Paper places much of the blame on what it calls ‘the black
box syndrome’. ‘It is no longer possible to tell from the external appearance
of (consumer electronic) products how they are constructed or how they work.’

Gone, it seems, are the days when youngsters acquired a taste for science
from their investigations of the innards of clocks and wirelesses. The ubiquitous
plastic moulded casing is guaranteed to deter the curious. The paradox is
that teenagers and people in their twenties are the segment of society most
enthusiastic about such products. But such enthusiasm, says the White Paper,
indicates a ‘passive’ rather than an ‘active’ interest in science and technology.

While not confined to Japan, the declining interest in science and technology
among young people can also be explained in terms peculiarly Japanese. The
White Paper points out that the Japanese science curriculum relies on ‘the
mere learning of an enormous number of facts’, specifically tailored to
passing exams, rather than to the pursuit of scientific knowledge through
‘investigation and experimentation’.

When they do have time off from school, Japanese children spend it
enjoying ‘ready-made forms of entertainment, such as comic books and video
games,’ says the White Paper.

Another reason why science is out of favour seems to be the anonymity
of science and scientists. Famous inventors and scientific ‘heroes’ are
hard to find. It is almost always the inventor’s employer that wins the
kudos for a new development. ‘It is usually only the company which receives
attention . . . while the scientists and technicians . . . rarely become
the topic of conversation,’ notes the White Paper.

Makoto Ueda of the electronics company Toshiba argues that greater recognition
of individuals may not be the answer. Engineers are highly regarded within
the company and they are paid for the work they do, he says. A spokesman
for Sony said that its employees are given a free rein to pursue ideas and
this gives them great job satisfaction.

An official of the STA stressed that the popularity of science was waning
in most industrialised countries, including Britain. ‘But discussion in
the UK and the US concentrates on the salaries of scientists and engineers,’
he said.

He admits that Japan probably faces similar problems to Britain when
it comes to the quality of students signing up for science at university
(see ‘Classroom science goes into free fall’, New Å®ÉúСÊÓƵ, 4 December).
Although there are no official figures, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence
that the best students are turning away from science. ‘More and more, we
hear university professors say the quality of students is deteriorating,’
says the official. ‘Of the highest scoring students in university entrance
exams, few want to go into science and engineering.’

Both Sony and Toshiba say that so far they have not had any problems
recruiting scientists or engineers. But Toshiba says it recognises that
the declining interest in science and technology could have an impact once
the recession ends.