THE DIFFICULT SCIENCE IN MAKING SCIENCE DIFFICULT - EDITORIAL

Ano: 2019 | Volume: 4 | Número: 2

Autores: Sergio Eduardo de Paiva Gonçalves

Palavras-chave: Odontologia

Resumo Inglês:

What to do when your manuscript is violently debased by the reviewers of a journal? What tounderstand of such forceful affront to your knowledge and ethical principles? Why is it necessary tolook abroad for quality and creativity when these qualities areinherent to Brazilians? Why does thefeeling of “Colony” rule over the country that occupies the second place in scientific publication inthe area of Dentistry? Why do regulators of the Brazilian academic management system themselvesdevalue Brazilian journals and maintain unclear rules policy1?Amazingly, these are questions and reflections that are apparently not restricted to our area ofknowledge.History has conditioned us to value what comes from abroad over what can be generated in ourown country. The foreign singer is better, more prepared; European food is more sophisticated;Americans are better educated and more capable; We export our best food and our market carriesgoods of a lesser quality. We are trying desperately to publish our most relevant studies abroad,without even thinking that Brazilian journals are now available in an international language (English)and indexed in an international databasis, allowing free and online access to the manuscript fromanywhere in the world.The disciple surpasses the master and this is the natural course of human development, but itseems that Brazil insists on maintaining itself on the contrary of universal learning.Perhaps the reviewer’s aggressive response keeps him at the top of the knowledge hierarchy,or at least it makes him think this is true. Perhaps you will reflect on these aspects when you come toa denial addressed to Mr. “Dear Brazil”, clarifying the denial by the excessive number of paperssubmitted to the newspaper.Perhaps preprints can contribute to a truer discussion of the science produced by everyone,which seems to be a trend of open publishing. As well as the “Pint of Science”, which brings sciencedirectly to the public with lectures in bars, makes the population aware of the importance of investingin science and how the results of these studies influence the future of humanity2.Valuing the publication in national journals may perhaps put us on a higher level of awarenessof the strength of Brazilian science, which is necessary for the researchers themselves.Perhaps economic supremacy can really favor the science that needs inputs. But creativity anda sense of observation generate ideas and results that can surprise and overcome the scarity ofresources. Perhaps still, the real difference between European or American science and Brazilianscience is that we need to go to great pain to prove our competence.Sergio Eduardo de Paiva GonçalvesFull Professor UNESPEditor-in-chief of Brazilian Dental Science journalREFERENCES1. Silva, M. R. Editorial – Clinics 2010, v.65 (10), p.935-36.2.Pontes, N. Editorial- Science in New Spaces. Braz Dent Sci 2019, v.22, n3, p. 295-6.