A Portuguese village, as the birthplace of an iconic symbol of a hypothetical future, and its deep meaning through a modern interpretation of a past that never existed

 

The image that starts this post concerns a rough replica (of the spaceship Eagle of the movie Space:1999) that was built and several decades ago in a small town in Alentejo, Portugal and used as a kid's playground. However, much more interesting than the attraction of those Portuguese folks to that movie is the question of how much Space:1999 is related to the Homeric Odyssey (the famous voyage of the Greek king Ulysses and its return to Ithaca after the Trojan War), and the deep interpretation of the German philosophers Theodor Adorno & Max Horkheimer of the very same voyage https://books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/arthistoricum/reader/download/941/941-17-97136-3-10-20220413.pdf 

For those who do not want to waste time reading the text in the link above, let alone researching the interpretation of the Odyssey carried out by the German philosophers T. Adorno and M. Horkheimer, just read what ChatGPT wrote when I asked him, 'Produce a short essay of 200 words on the interpretation of the Odyssey by philosophers Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer and the similarities of this interpretation with the film Space: 1999'"

Answer of ChatGPT: "The interpretation of the Odyssey by philosophers Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer presents a critical view of Odysseus' journey, highlighting alienation and the perpetuation of power structures. According to them, Odysseus is an agent of oppression who does not question the structures that led him to war and the separation from his family. This interpretation finds parallels in the film "Space: 1999". In the film's plot, the Moon is launched into unknown space after an accidental nuclear explosion, and the crew of Moonbase Alpha finds themselves on a journey similar to that of Odysseus. Both works address exploration and the unknown, questioning the consequences of human actions. Both Odysseus and the crew of "Space: 1999" face challenges and dangers but are also confronted with the need to reflect on the consequences of their actions. The nuclear explosion that propels the Moon into space serves as a powerful reminder of the destructive effects of human irresponsibility. Adorno and Horkheimer's interpretation of the Odyssey and the similarities found in "Space: 1999" highlight the importance of critical reflection on our actions and their consequences. They invite us to question power structures and seek positive change in our relationship with the unknown. These works remind us of the responsibility we have when facing challenges and inspire us to seek a more conscious and transformative path"

The above context is appropriate for "resurrecting" a previous post, where I mentioned the important statement by the renowned emeritus professor Sobrinho Simões, who stated that "what distinguishes the human species is not the ability to provide answers but the ability to ask questions" https://pacheco-torgal.blogspot.com/2021/11/o-catedratico-sobrinho-simoes-e.html and this statement prompts me to request that ChatGPT provide information on what are, after all, the 19 most relevant questions for the human species, which, after all these years, have not yet been answered and it is not known when they will be, or even if they ever will be, at least for some of them. Response from ChatGPT below:

1. What is the exact mechanism by which inorganic molecules transformed into living organisms?

2. How does consciousness emerge from brain activity?

3. How did the Big Bang occur, and what was there before it?

4. How does gravity fit into quantum theories?

5. Is there intelligent life on other planets?

6. What is dark matter and dark energy?

7. Is there an ultimate purpose for human existence?

8. What is the exact mechanism behind the emergence of complex traits in living beings?

9. Can we create an artificial intelligence that is comparable to human intelligence?

10. What is time?

11. What is the biological and cultural basis of language?

12. How is memory formed and stored in the brain?

13. In addition to the three spatial dimensions and time, are there other hidden dimensions in the universe?

14. What are the conscious experiences of animals?

15. What are the mental processes behind the generation of original and innovative ideas?

16. Is it possible to travel through time, either to the past or the future?

17. How can virtual reality alter our perception of reality?

18. What causes mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia?

19. What is the ultimate fate of the universe?

Fantasias "românticas" de um Presidente e uma oportuna desmemória financeira

Mário Pimenta é o primeiro do lado esquerdo, 

à direita de Mariano Gago, numa foto de 1985

O catedrático Mário Pimenta, Presidente do Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas (que apesar das suas várias centenas de publicações indexadas, mesmo assim, não consegue integrar o grupo dos cientistas Portugueses mais citados) é hoje autor no jornal Público, de uma linda história de embalar, quase romântica, porquanto esquece o esforço dos contribuintes Portugueses, que desde há algumas décadas a esta parte, foram chamados a financiar anualmente, com vários milhões de euros, uma decisão do Ministro Mariano Gago, a adesão ao CERN em 1985, que acima de tudo contribuiu para beneficiar a área científica a que aquele pertencia e bem assim a carreira de investigadores dessa área, que por conta disso passaram a ter o seu nome em centenas de publicações. 

Passados estes anos todos e as centenas de milhões de euros que foram gastos na referida adesão, que nem sequer incluem os vencimentos de todos os professores universitários Portugueses da área científica da Física, aquilo que essa área científica tem para mostrar, é um desempenho internacional, no ranking Luso-Germânico, que mesmo para a universidade melhor classificada, a Universidade de Lisboa, não vai além de "um triste 10º lugar"  https://pacheco-torgal.blogspot.com/2021/06/as-universidades-alemas-mostram-bem-o.html que é recorde-se bastante inferior ao desempenho da área da Engenharia Civil (uma área mediaticamente pouco sexy, que em termos de ensino superior está longe do topo das preferências da juventude Portuguesa, mas que contribuiu no passado e continua a contribuir bastante para o bem estar dos Portugueses) que tendo recebido muitíssimo menos dinheiro dos contribuintes, apresenta no entanto um desempenho no mesmo ranking que é bastante superior, não só ao daquela rica área como até de qualquer outra  https://19-pacheco-torgal-19.blogspot.com/2023/01/as-areas-cientificas-tecnologicas-mais.html

PS -  A contribuição monetária de Portugal para o CERN, per capita, é superior à contribuição da Polónia e da Hungria. Curiosa e ironicamente porém a Polónia (ao contrário de Portugal) ganhou vários prémios Nobel na área da Física e o mesmo também sucede com a Hungria. Nobel da Física para Portugal, que servisse para compensar o esforço dos contribuintes, esse gambozino, é que nem sombras dele. 

Game changers in science and technology: The next 10 years, 2053 and the limits of knowledge, what we will never know

Ulrich A.K.Betz,Vice President of Innovation at Merck, also Head of the department of Innovation, the same Ulrich Betz, who five years ago rightly asked "Why should a super star scientist be celebrated less than a super star football player?" https://pacheco-torgal.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-devaluation-of-science-and.html  is now the first author of a very recent and most interesting article. The article was written jointly with three dozen other researchers, from universities in nearly a dozen countries, also including top universities such as Harvard, Cambridge, and Oxford. The game-changer topics are clustered into the following buckets: 

Smart Living, 

Health Enablers, 

Advanced Biotechnology,

Ubiquitous Engineering, 

Dynamic life science and 

Alternate resources for the future.

From this 33-page long article, I reproduce just a very short sentence that appears at the end of the conclusions section:"...a world where the knowledge of humanity is available to everybody at our fingertips with a press of a button, combined with empowering AI-tools and robotics, a new golden age for the polymath is dawning" https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162523002731#s0020