Prospecting Notebooks: a breeze of hope and encouragement in difficult times

Abstract

We have seen a time of change. Changes in habits, customs, traditions, which involve rethinking simple habits (such as handshakes and warm hugs – which so characterize our Brazilianness), but also deeper reflections. With all certainty, such reflections will pass through an adaptation and valorization of the role of Science and Technology in our societies. It is strange that in the flowering of the 21st century we are still talking about the appreciation of Science. This is because, to a large extent, what defines our advancement as a society necessarily involves the advancement of Science (and here I refer to Science in its broadest sense, regardless of the area of ​​knowledge). However, in several parts of the world, the questioning of the principles of Science was put in check. It is good to explain that doubt is at the root of the scientific method, and being put in check is not necessarily a problem for science professionals. The problem lies in the quality of the questions presented. Questioning the shape of the Earth, the movement of celestial bodies, the effectiveness of medical procedures are not, in fact, doubts, but a tangle of conspiratorial assumptions and beliefs. Science needs to be questioned, put in check, but in a qualified way and based on the scientific method itself. Only then will we have a properly evolutionary science. This issue of Cadernos de Prospecção Magazine is a clear example of what we are talking about. By dedicating a large part of the published articles to the prospective and critical survey of numerous technologies, it provides researchers and interested parties with a broad and updated view of the “state of the art” in different sectors and areas of knowledge. It is an example that scientific knowledge, combined with the interests of civil society, generates results that go far beyond cold bibliometrics and unrelated to scientific, economic and social development.
The 22 articles published here demonstrate how it is possible to align the interests of academia with the real problems of society. They also show that there is a very well established network of knowledge and investigations, in part led by the efforts of hundreds of students and professors linked to Profnit, across the country. This is evidenced by the participation of the 84 authors (from 22 different organizations and from 5 regions of Brazil and the Federal District), who submitted their work to the rigorous sieve of the Journal. All this effort is like a breeze of hope and a breath in such difficult times. I wish you all a pleasant reading and I congratulate the authors, reviewers and reviewers for the excellent edition of Cadernos de Prospecção.