Tomás Unger: the day the scientific popularizer launched a blog, he reflected on its use and won a national contest with it

A few years before 2010, between 2007 and 2008, a good number of blogs (Zona Blogs) appeared on the El Comercio website. Within that group, “Vida y Futuro” also appeared, by journalist Juan Carlos Luján. It was an interesting scientific blogging prelude to what would come later with the blog of Tomás Unger (1930-2023). Unger’s blog was called “Tomás en Línea” and appeared in February 2010.

This blog of the prominent scientific popularizer arose when Facebook, Twitter and Youtube they already reigned in the digital consumption of the youngest; but the blogosphere I would gain a lot with a blog like that of Ungerwhich would allow reflections, thoughts and teachings to be posted on the web of the best disseminator of scientific knowledge in the country in those days.

In truth, the blogging in it Peruat least with some notoriety, had appeared with the new 21st century. For him 2001 was the novelty among thenetizens”, was what was talked about weekly; the desire to have their own space to share fascinated everyone. Of course, you had to know what to say and say something interesting, unique if you could; that is, find your “niche”. Year 2001even the 2002 Those were times when social networks did not exist or did not yet cover the space that they would later have in our lives.

But over the years, you’re social networks and others were gaining more ground. Thomas Unger opened his blogThomas Online” in the first week of February 2010, in the midst of the initial boom of the networks. The blogosphere He received it then as an older brother, just when the whirlwind of information began to make users dizzy. His thoughtful voice, leisurely, analyticswith data and accurate projections on different topics of the sciencethe technology and social uses, it became extremely necessary before the call digital infoxication.

Unger wrote in the printed edition of the newspaper Trade from the July 7, 1981always on topics scientists and technological (he was fascinated by the world of motoring); that is to say, she had spent almost 30 years in that arduous task of journalistic dissemination. It was in these circumstances that he was encouraged to open up to the blogging world.

The blog www.tomasenlinea.com was the ideal space for curiosity about human life and science that Unger He felt like his faithful readers, as curious as he was. In an interview of February 8, 2010with only a few days online, Thomas Unger answered a classic but essential question: “How did your interest in disseminating scientific topics come about?”, they asked him in one.

He answered: “I have always been a great reader of scientific texts. I started at La Prensa, in 1956, writing my ‘Crónicas Hepáticas’ and also about cars. I stayed there until Velasco confiscated the newspapers. I went to work for the IDB and came back in 1980. So, he called me ‘Jan’ Miró Quesada, from El Comercio, and he suggested I do two pages: one on cars –which later became Ruedas & Tuercas– and another of Science. I accepted”.

“I must tell you that I am not a scientist. I am a popularizer of science, a generalist, who knows a little about everything. My work has been greatly helped by my years and my knowledge of several languages ​​– research is abundant, and the best is not always in Spanish”.

And in that same conversation with Tradethey questioned him about the topic of the moment: the Blog that premiered on the web: “Why did you decide to write a blog?”. Unger took advantage of the question to clarify something: “I have many books and published texts. I told myself: all this is capital that can be put into a blog (…). The blog includes some texts that I have already published and some unpublished“, said.

His Blog It did not take long for him to receive his first public recognition. Although it was not during the “blog day“, he August 31the award he received was given days before, the August 27, 2010six months and days after opening the blog space.

It was about the “Contest 20 Peruvian Blogs”, which was then organized by Perublogs and Lamula.pe. There, in the auditorium of Telefonica Foundation (Av. Arequipa), the Blog www.tomasenlinea.com received the first prize in the science category. Thomas Unger He was already used to standing out, although his humility held him back from being the star of any night… A great scientific journalism has just left.