RAKIDUAM - Knowledge

11 In 1914, exactly one century ago, an advertisement in the British press requested volunteers for an expedition to the Antarctic: “Men wanted for a perilous voyage. Low salary. Extreme cold. Long months in complete darkness. Constant danger. No assurance you will return alive. Honor and recognition in the case of suc- cess.” A handful of courageous men answered this call, and led by the explorer Ernest Shackleton, began an audacious journey through unknown regions, eager to discover unexplored places. Thanks to the courageous action of the Chilean sailor Luis Alberto Pardo, they were rescued safe and sound. The adventure of knowledge has been in the center of human behavior since its origins, allowing borders to be to be moved and talents displayed. This tireless energy, passed on from generation to gene- ration and has left an impression in the structure of our country. Since the dawn of the Republic, science has been a fundamental part of the country’s cultural, social and economic structures. It has drawn the boundaries of the nation we inhabit, with indelible strokes that today configure its identity. Shortly after independence, at the beginning of the XIXth century, visionary presidents and statesmen in our country understood the ineludible need to know the territory under the new leadership and agreed to the noble task of hiring experts from other lands to examine our territory up to its borders, the natural resources, and the people who inhabited it.