Only 8% of Spaniards take into account Ramón y Cajal one of many three most necessary scientists in historical past | Science | EUROtoday

A bit of over a month in the past, a public tv program selected the neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal as the perfect Spaniard in historical past, forward of the poet Federico García Lorca, the author Miguel de Cervantes and Queen Isabel la Católica. However, solely 8% of Spaniards take into account Cajal to be one of many three greatest researchers in world historical past, in line with a research carried out by the BBVA Foundation on scientific tradition in 18 European nations, the United States, Israel and Turkey. Those surveyed in Spain point out the German Albert Einstein (48%), the French Marie Curie (25%), the British Isaac Newton (22%), the Spanish-American physician Severo Ochoa (11%) and the additionally British Charles Darwin (9 %) earlier than Cajal and the biochemist Margarita Salas (8%).

Europeans, quite the opposite, don’t hesitate to prioritize their nice nationwide references. When requested who crucial scientists in historical past have been, the French, for instance, identify Louis Pasteur (36%) and Marie Curie (33%); the Italians, Galileo Galilei (25%); whereas within the United Kingdom Isaac Newton (33%) and Charles Darwin (19%) seem.

The curator of the good exhibition on Cajal organized in 2020 in Zaragoza, Alberto J. Schuhmacher, lamented that “except for part of the scientific community, Cajalist fans and Cajal scholars, the figure of Don Santiago is unknown and ignored, despite name streets, squares, educational centers, hospitals and suburban stops.” For many years, the nationwide scientific group has denounced the disregard for his legacy, which for 4 years has been partially exhibited within the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid. Cajal demonstrated that the human mind is organized into particular person cells, neurons, and for this he received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1906.

In the BBVA Foundation survey, carried out with 1,500 folks over 18 years of age in every nation, there’s a consensus on two nice references: Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton. The first reaches its peak in Israel and Germany (61% in each nations). Names akin to Marie Curie, Thomas Alva Edison or Nikola Tesla stand out amongst European respondents at a distance. Subsequently, mentions of nationwide scientists have important numbers in nations akin to Hungary, with the physiologist Albert Szent-Györgyi talked about by 32% of the contributors, or Newton (33%), Darwin (19%) and Stephen Hawking (16%) among the many British. In Denmark, the 1922 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, Niels Bohr, is even forward of Einstein with 49%.

Scientific information

This is the second installment of the Foundation's evaluation. In the primary part, facets such because the values ​​and belief of residents concerning science and their group have been addressed, the outcomes of which have been introduced final March. In it, Spain appeared as probably the most optimistic nation in its atmosphere in scientific advances. On this event, the research focuses on the extent of scientific information among the many inhabitants. In the outcomes, Spaniards are barely under the European common in understanding elementary ideas and notions. However, they don’t present important variations in comparison with different nations in Europe and the United States. In Spain, 24% of respondents present low or very low information, in comparison with 21% in Europe and the US. There are not any important variations between women and men. As for the phase with a excessive degree of data, it barely reaches 14% in Spain, in comparison with 19% within the United States and 22% on common in Europe.

In a questionnaire of 11 true or false questions, some primary ones appeared akin to “the Sun revolves around the Earth”, the place 76% have been appropriate in saying that it was false in all of Europe and the US, 72% in Spain, 71% in Israel and 52% in Turkey. The recognition of the origin of the universe within the nice explosion of the universe additionally yields favorable outcomes. Big Bangwith 75% appropriate in Europe, 78% in Spain, 71% within the United States, 67% in Turkey and 49% in Israel.

There is, nonetheless, a better lack of information about points such because the function of antibiotics, genetics and the causes of local weather change. In the primary, all nations are under 52%. Around 40% of Europeans and Americans, 30% of Israelis and 55% of Turks mistakenly consider that “the common tomatoes we eat do not have genes, while tomatoes obtained by genetic engineering do”; and fewer than a 3rd in all nations know that local weather change is just not attributable to the outlet within the ozone layer.

Regarding the method of validating scientific information, the overwhelming majority in all societies perceive that the outcomes of analysis are reworked into public information or validated by the scientific group by way of its publication in specialised scientific journals or its look within the media. common.

The research offers a panoramic view of the notion and understanding of science in several cultural contexts and highlights the necessity to promote a strong scientific schooling, in addition to to adequately acknowledge and worth the contributions of scientists all through historical past. From the social research and public opinion division of the Foundation, they emphasize that it’s essential to know and acknowledge excellent researchers, women and men, who’ve managed to have a major impression on the map of data on a world scale, in addition to highlighting that “the The educational system has an essential role in getting to know these types of figures.”

You can comply with MATERIA in Facebook, X e Instagramclick on right here to obtain our weekly publication.

_