The science and art of transmitting the magic of knowledge

Thus, the ABC Fair was once again the stage on which four high-ranking Andalusian women shared their skilled expertise, such as: Silvia AlguacilResponsible for scientific publishing projects at Discover Foundation; Elena IbanezCEO of Singularity Experts; Adela Muñoz, professor of inorganic chemistry at the University of Seville and scientific publisher; And Lola PonceLanguage historian and Seville professor again.

Under the supervision of journalist Isabel Aguilar, the four scientists – Ponce herself, despite her purely humanistic training, claimed not only her roots as a scientist, but those of all the women who had preceded her in this branch of knowledge. – They expressed their opinion on what are the “ingenious” formulas for inoculating the poison of knowledge, understood as that curiosity which, when born from the self, drives one to want to learn more and more about a subject.

Different target audiences

The first to speak was Alguacil, with a full and varied academic background. Although he first studied biology, he also studied early childhood education where the idea of ​​imparting knowledge greatly motivated him. for her, The key is to target a very broad audience, but not as a general audience, but as a group of different target audiences. His challenge is “to figure out how to deal with all these challenges, with appropriate tools, to foster interest in science and respond to difference.” Challenges faced by the publishing community in Andalusia». In this sense, he asserts that they “disseminate all scientific knowledge existing in Andalusia, from the humanities to the social sciences, legal sciences, and economics…”

Elena Ibanez, who formed the Singularity Experts, was quick to offer her opinion, encouraged by the discouragement of educational problems in society such as the fact that “one in three students abandon a degree or foundation program during their first year” or that we have one of “Highest youth unemployment rates in Europe“, while “half of companies can't find qualified profiles.”

He understood all this marigold as an opportunity and focused on it Youth guidance Not towards “traditional professions that may disappear”, but towards them Future careers“Like computational linguists, algorithm auditors, or AI ethical experts.” In his case, he calls for a kind of balanced fusion or coexistence between technology and the humanities, which is necessary to anchor young writers who generally believe that their careers have “no future.”

For her part, Adela Muñoz raised controversy about the culture of effort. Her profile is consistent with the previous thesis, because although she was part of one of the first generations of women most committed to training, in her case as a chemist, she never gave up her passion for literature, focusing on Writing books about the history of science And above all scientific.

Regarding the idea that difficult is usually not chosen, the scientist considers it necessary to facilitate the access of younger people to those subjects that are supposed to be more difficult. He is not limited to the classical route when it comes to exciting his students. Rather, he is part of the theatrical staff, a small theatre, where, through… The short monologues represent the lives of scientists So that children become familiar with concrete references. At the end of the play, she appears with the rest of the actresses, dressed in normal clothes, and talks about her lifestyle, her hobbies… everything so that it is understood that being a scientist is not only a possible profession, but also a possible profession. Real too.

He is also behind comics that serve as an additional media outlet, along with attractive, youth-friendly illustrations. In this publication, as many as 91 professionals share their interest in spreading chemical knowledge.

Attention to language

Since it could not be otherwise, the approach was linked to the way of thinking of the fourth guest in the picture, the linguist Lola Pons, who understood that all these formulas were nothing but diverse manifestations of the language. It is possible to extract more encouraging data from their interventions, such as the fact that philology has seen an increase in enrollments in recent years, “particularly the classics.” “Despite the demographic decline, there are now more students than in my time, “I'm a baby boomer,” he explained.

The reason he gives is the “multilingual” nature of our society, although in his opinion other language skills must be acquired beyond simply learning a second language.

Moreover, at a time when countries appear to be locked in a battle for technological leadership, more specifically when it comes to artificial intelligence, Ponce called for… We will never lose “the linguistic, human and mythological past we have as Europeans.”But to get your chest out of it. “Culture cannot be reduced to just a Saturday afternoon pastime. “Not in Europe,” he insisted adamantly, explaining that machines and systems can focus on the craftsman, but humans hold the key to added value in interpretation.

The three success factors

The drive for knowledge should start at an early age. Silvia Alguacil recalled the successful initiatives implemented in her native Algeciras, through which they were able to “infect young children” by making them part of the scientific method, allowing them to develop it, establish their hypotheses and obtain results. Moreover, at an older age, they were able to transfer the solutions they had arrived at themselves regarding the real problems in the municipality to the mayor.

Regarding the next stage, Adela Muñoz explained Heroes and heroines for teacherswho are able to impart knowledge, awaken “curiosity in a sometimes hostile environment,” and even integrate “different cultures, religions, or languages” in the same classroom.

Although it was the move to university that emerged as one of the most transcendent steps in this art of publishing.

Elena Ibanez explained that there are three factors that lead to success: First “Encouraging curiosityIt is exploration, not decision, because curiosity is what stimulates knowledge.” In the second, Value “Well, the effect of the culture of immediacy, rightness and non-compliance is very depressing. I believe that when there is no merit, there is no effort. As a final contribution, that of Respect decisions“I see how there are parents who influence children’s choices too much. If someone chooses a career that seems to have no future, parents should make an effort to guide them so that they choose something in that field that can bring better results.

As for the CEO of Singularity Experts, we should watch Generating “happy and unemployed people”Because knowledge is always completed by the desire to do it.

“We are no longer in a knowledge society, but in a learning society. He added that the person who learns fastest and horizontally is worth more than the person who has the most knowledge at a given moment.

Accordingly, Lola Ponce made the final point by emphasizing that a degree obtained five years ago may not be qualified for current tasks or needs. You have to renewIn this sense, the university does nothing but replicate these new ways of knowing – ideally in real time.