3
P
rince
of
A
sturias
A
wards
1981-2014. S
peeches
Laureates. Excerpts
The ease with which humans incorporate new findings into their everyday lives is astounding. For
many, knowledge is only palpable when reduced to novel technological advances: a new drug, a
mobile phone, the Internet, aviation, new diagnostic devices and so on. However, knowledge has
another very important role: it provides us with new perspectives with regards to the world we live
in; it is part of individual and collective consciousness. Knowledge is like a large expanding sphere;
we live inside it, limited by the harsh frontier of the unknown. The scientific and technological
progress achieved over the last century overwhelms many young people, who think that there is
nothing left for them to discover. My impression is that the best is yet to come; providing, of course,
we do not destroy the planet or curb the imagination and creative activity of its peoples first.
As for technology, living organisms still outshine us in their capabilities: think of limb
regeneration in a salamander; the ocean voyages of the albatross; or a dog’s sense of smell. Nature
always reveals to us its amazing technology, in units that self-assemble (as in the enigmatic
development of the embryo) and self-recycle to integrate fully into the environment… without
leaving a carbon footprint in the atmosphere or piles of waste that endanger the planet. Increasingly,
we scorn and annihilate life forms that have a great deal to teach us. As living beings, our future lies
with biology. We have so much to learn from other organisms, as well as from ourselves.
In this respect, the simple act of enhancing knowledge through the fostering of imagination,
exploration and creativity is what makes a people great. The great leap forward that Spain has made
as a driver of science, culture and the arts over the last 30 years will hopefully serve as an example
to other countries and, in particular, to Latin America.
Arturo Álvarez-Buylla
—
Prince of Asturias
Award for Technical and
Scientific Research
2011
Excerpt from the speech given on
the occasion of receiving the Prince
of Asturias Award for Technical and
Scientific Research on 21/10/2011.
