Order does matter

The other night, while walking around central Lisbon with a friend, I found by accident the Embassy of Colombia in Portugal. It is located in a historical palace (Palácio Sotto-Mayor). Oddly enough, only one side of the palace seems to correspond to the embassy; also in the palace there is a bank and a hotel. I found it a bit weird, as I would have expected the embassy to have a whole building, even if small and modest, for the offices and the residence of the ambassador. I was intrigued immediately about the seemingly hybrid nature of the palace, and the role of the Colombian embassy. I went for further information to the awful website of the Colombian embassy. Apart from a few pictures, there is nothing regarding the residence itself. However, and as part of my lack of focus when I am online wasting my time, I managed to find a list of "famous Colombians" as part of the website.

The list is certainly insightful, and composed of notable individuals, mostly artists and scientists. All names are fairly reasonable, at least if you think from an average Colombian perspective. However, it was the order of the names in the list what shocked me. While the two names at the top of the list (Gabriel García Márquez and Fernando Botero) admit no discussion, ranked third and fourth were Shakira and Juanes, the two singers. I find this outrageous, especially considering the fifth entry: Dr. Rodolfo Llinás, neuroscientist, who is considered a founding father of modern brain science. As a matter of fact, while Llinás has made notable contributions to the understanding of the nature of the human brain, Shakira and Juanes have ruined thousands of brains with their "songs". I therefore fail to find a reason to explain the fact that Dr. Llinás is ranked only fifth. (Popularity or fame is not a good reason to promote the individuals of a country. If that were the case, the list should include Pablo Escobar, who is known everywhere.)

Independently of the ridiculous ranking in the embassy website, I must confess that Dr. Llinás is probably my favorite Colombian abroad. Educated at Bogotá and Australia, he has developed his career in the United States, and is currently working at NYU. He also collaborates with NASA. Apart from his decisive contributions in science, in interviews Dr. Llinás always finds a way of putting his research in easy-to-grasp terms. By looking at the humor and audacity when he expresses himself, he also seems to have a nice personality. Dr. Llinás is the author of I of the Vortex: From Neurons to Self, a book for a general audience in which his view on brain organization and functioning is presented. To get to know better this Colombian genius, you could take a look to this very interesting interview which is, at the very least, thought-provoking.