Let me begin with a fact and a parable.

The fact is that in Japanese the word for blue and green was the same until about 200 years ago. This does not mean that they were color-blind --- rather that they saw the borders between colours differently.

The parable is that of the blind men and the elephant. None could "see" all of the elephant. Each could only examine that part of the elephant that was within reach. They then shouted out their own version of what the elephant was like.

Just like we have more or less arbitrarily divided the spectrum, so has the division between disciplines been arbitrary.

Why do we do impose such limitations on what words can mean? ... Because we wish to communicate! Science is a social activity not just an individual one. Let me repeat that, Science is a social activity not just an individual one.

This society of science is not only a "friend network" but is also vertical. So one needs not only the collaboration of one's peers but also their respect. Respect can only be gained over time, so it is not surprising that the most respected scientists are most often not young adults.

To obtain this respect, one must not only have good ideas but communicate them in a way in that others will appreciate. There are rules about --- how to study and what to study. These rules can seem constricting and on occasion can be broken, but experience dictates that they allow us to see more clearly and communicate what we see precisely. This discipline of following these rules is what makes the subjects into disciplines.

One must (largely) follow these subject-specific rules and learn to communicate as expected. To paraphrase the singer-comedian Tom Lehrer "If you can't learn to communicate, then you can at least shut up!"

Let us then return to the elephant in the room! If we all only stick to our own disciplines which are increasingly specialised then we will become the world's greatest experts on almost nothing! This is the net result of the men becoming smaller and larger in number and exploring every nook and cranny of the elephant.

So as we grow as research workers, we must simultaneously expand our horizons and learn new things --- not just to use them in our research. Just as the blind men could "see" better if they had only listened to the other blind men, we can understand things better if we listen to scientists from other disciplines and try to correlate our ideas with theirs.

Developing enough confidence in one's own understanding to the extent that we can listen to what is said by others without getting confused takes time. Hence, inter-disciplinarity is really an older person's game!

IISER gives you an opportunity to prepare yourself for this game by giving you greater familiarity with the many tongues in which science is spoken.