ABSTRACT
Major social changes occurred in Brazil, in both social stratification and governance, affecting markets and labour, education and the S&T national system. Indicators of access to and consumption of technoscientific information are variables that can be understood as aspects of embodying the cultural authority of science in Brazil. Actually, optimistic views are shared by most low-income, low-education Brazilians, who trust scientists as sources of information. People who remember the name of some scientist have less chance to be pessimists, and chances to be ultra-optimists. Perception of promises and reservations on S&T, as well as anti-science positions, cannot be related in a simplistic way to educational level, or access to information. Good predictors exist for attention and embodiment, and they demonstrate high levels of cultural authority of science, due to dramatic social and educational stratification: interests, consumption of information, cultural habits, knowledge of the name of scientists and institutions are strongly associated with income and educational level.
