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RATIONALE
I have been
a university researcher and teacher for over forty years
(since 16th January 1958). Since I obtained
tenure as professor in 1974 I have been able to direct
my scientific activity towards areas which I considered
were most useful for protecting community health.
Therefore I have not indulged in the mania for
sophisticated instruments for personal kudos, by seeking
a high impact factor, but I have limited my research to
biochemical analyses for research projects, first on
animals and later in the field.. Following this
deliberate choice, in the mid-1980s, I have devolved a
considerable part of my time, the part I consider the
best spent, in a vast range of informatory extra-mural
activities, paralleling my university teaching. To
perform this task appropriately, I have followed the
example of Trevor Frank Slater, the Uxbridge biochemist,
who adapted his English according to his audience, using
neo-Latin words in Italy and more words of Anglo-Saxon
origin when lecturing in Great Britain.
The practical
result is to make yourself intelligible, without the
arrogance and detachment of so many scientists,
especially those concerned with their impact factor.
Many of the students and citizens who have heard me
speak over the years have told me how much they
appreciate this. Therefore I can say that I feel really
satisfied because I have transmitted to so many people
what I have learned during the many years of study and
bibliographical research for my teaching activity.
Furthermore, a comment that has always gratified me
particularly is that what I am talking about is new
knowledge to most people. This comment from ordinary
people on my commitment recognises that passive
ignorance, with which one is born, must be removed by
knowledge and awareness. On the other hand, especially
in the last few years, I have encountered the worst
difficulties, those derived from the choice of many for
active ignorance, where laziness or economic interests
take the upper hand, to the detriment of the prevention
of environmental risks. Actually, I am comforted by the
suggestion of Giulio Bizzozero who one century ago
warned us of the forces of ignorance, speculation,
prejudice and inertia. His words reflected those that
Dante Alighieri put into Ulysses’ mouth: “Ye were not
made to live like unto brutes, but for pursuit of virtue
and knowledge” . Doing so, however, I have remained
entangled in the web of the targets of Bizzozero and
Ulysses, because now I find myself without funds, having
wished to be a doctor who is unrepentant about caring
for health, rather than one who has sold out. I may add
that I have been lucky in that I have not yet met the
fate of Giordano Bruno, burned at the stake, as
predicted by an ambitious colleague who suggested that I
should blow my own trumpet more. All in all, I would
consider it a pity if I were to close my eyes and never
wake up again that I would depart with a considerable
heritage of medical knowledge aimed at the primary
prevention of environmental risks. This is the rationale
that is urging me to offer this knowledge to as large a
public as possible with ten CDs, valid modern tools,
and probably also as a result of a considerable personal
sacrifice.
My best wishes to all
future users.
Giancarlo Ugazio
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