"Something deeply engraved in our genetic structure may be what prompts us to find out what we are and where we came from" - Dionysis P. Simopoulos July 15, 2020 – Posted in: Magazine – Tags: , , , , , , ,

Introductory note of Dionysis P. Simopoulou, Honorary director Eugenidei Planetariou for the #1 issue of the magazine How it works

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this new science and technology magazine, hoping that you will find in it a faithful friend that will help you better understand the world around you. Because I believe that the understanding of science and technology by the widest possible strata of our society is today not only necessary but also imperative. My assessment is not something recent, but it started in the 1960s in America and was established a few years later in our country, on the one hand in the Eugenide Planetarium, but also later in various publishing efforts, such as the publication of the magazine Lectern from my old and dear friend Kostas Kavathas, a truly renaissance man and pioneer in the publishing field of special type magazines.

And all this because in our time, when citizens are faced with critical choices in matters with a scientific and technological basis, it is necessary for the scientific methodology to be more widely understood. After all, humanity's dependence on the responsible use of science and technology is increasing every day. And yet, the understanding of such matters by the average person is currently limited, while the need for a wider diffusion of knowledge will increase even more in the near future. As individuals and as conscious citizens it is necessary to familiarize ourselves with science, technology and its implications in our daily lives.

And yet, most of the people around us do not possess the necessary basis for a wider understanding of the changes, since their mode of education is usually too vague to allow them to follow them, with the result that many of them give up any further effort. , since they consider that many things in the world are now beyond their abilities. It is obvious that such a situation does not help to create a citizen with self-confidence and self-respect, nor to his creative and responsible behavior in the context of a democratic society.

HOW IT WORKS #1
HOW IT WORKS #1

And to think that in the near future things will get even worse, because we are already facing an explosive increase in the number of new knowledge and discoveries, which implies a corresponding increase in their impact on our daily lives. This development also means that all new knowledge will be increasingly specialized, so that it will not be easily understood by "non-experts". Therefore, the transmission of knowledge should be done in such a way that at least the most basic concepts can be understood by every person, even if he does not have any special training, while it is the duty of the "experts" to transmit what they know to the non-experts in a simple and understandable way and on a daily basis.

In such a context, I believe that every scientist has an obligation to play a very crucial role in the dissemination of new knowledge, since, anyway, most people of all ages are fascinated by nature and would really like to understand it better . Something deeply etched in our genetic makeup may be what prompts us to find out what we are and where we came from. Perhaps it is what drives us to ask questions, what makes us knowledge hunters, experimenters and explorers. It is what makes us wonder what lies behind the next hill or across the vast sea.

We should never forget the lesson taught us by the history of science, because it is almost impossible to predict the consequences of a scientific discovery or technological development, since every additional piece of knowledge, no matter how strange, irrelevant or abstract it may seem initially, it results, sooner or later, directly or indirectly, in some practical and useful application. If we do not continue our scientific research, search and continuous enrichment of our knowledge, we will quickly be buried under the weight of our daily problems with no hope of ever solving them. Because as Robert Goddard used to say: "Yesterday's dream is today's hope and tomorrow's reality".