How does The Last of Us series get us to think about the role of science?

*This text was written by a TecMundo columnist; finally learn more.

One of the most successful productions of today is the HBO series The Last of Us. Derived from the video game of the same name, the program is set in a post-apocalyptic world where human society as we know it succumbs to an epidemic caused by a disease infected by a fungus called Cordyceps.

In the series, just before the global pandemic, a scientist named Ibu Ratna is summoned by military officials to evaluate a patient who dies from the disease caused by the fungus. Understanding the seriousness of the situation, the scientist advises the army and administrators to bombard the city with its entire population, as there will be no solution to prevent the spread of the disease.

After the series finale aired this March on the show episode of the NerdCast podcast, reviewers remember this particular scene and paraphrase it: “…human society collapses when even scientists give up on an idea why”. This thought may lead us to reflect on the role of Science in our society.

In times of crisis, whatever the type or cause of the crisis, our current society tends to turn to Science to seek solutions. The Covid-19 pandemic was a clear example of how research and scientific effort is affecting us as a society. Take a look at the record time social distancing measures and vaccine production have allowed us to save thousands if not millions of lives (and we could have saved even more lives if the government’s efforts were directed correctly).

Perhaps the most pressing issue at the moment is the climate crisis we are currently experiencing. However, this crisis has slower results than a pandemic caused by a virus or fungus as in the series. However, many scientists (and the scientific community as a whole) have warned that, like Ibu Ratna, we have reached a point of irreversible change in our climate and yet we are not achieving drastic changes in our way of life. .

If at the start of the pandemic the global scientific community takes the position that nothing can be done to mitigate the effects of the novel coronavirus, it is interesting to at least consider the chaos that will engulf our society. . We would definitely see scenes worthy of The Last of Us, where markets, hospitals are looted and a wide variety of atrocities are committed. All this is an example for us to consider how much the scientific position influences the most diverse social factors, after all.

However, it is not absurd to say that scientists, especially in Brazil, are highly underestimated professionals. For example, graduate and scientific enterprise scholarships have recently received a 40% increase. This news may even seem good, but such grants have not been adjusted for ten years and the accumulated inflation for this period exceeds 75%. In other words, when inflation is taken into account, despite the increases, scientists doing master’s and doctorate degrees receive less today than in 2013.

It is paradoxical to value science and its production only when we need immediate results. Investing in science produces knowledge and wealth that helps and directly affects the development of countries, even in the absence of crises. For this reason, the whole society should be involved in the process and be conscious so that only scientists are not responsible for not giving up on science.

Rodolfo Lima Barros Souza, professor of physics and TecMundo columnist. He holds a master’s degree in Physics and Science and Mathematics Teaching in Public Perception of Science from Unicamp. Available on social networks as @rodolfo.sou.