Desenrascanço à Portuguesa

Desenrascanço

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Desenrascanço (loosely translated as "disentanglement") is a Portuguese word used in common language in Portugal, to express an ability to solve a problem without the adequate tools or proper technique to do so and by use of sometimes imaginative resourcefulness when facing new situations. In Brazil, the equivalent term is Gambiarra. Achieved when resulting in a hypothetical good-enough solution. When that good solution escapes us we get a failure (enrascanço — entanglement). Most Portuguese people strongly believe it to be one of the their most valued virtues and a living part of their culture. Obviously, they are aware that this subjective feature is not exclusive of theirs.

However, some critics disagree with the association of desenrascanço to the Portuguese culture. They argue that this concept is related to the subjective evaluation of oneself, or of the Portuguese people, and belongs to the world of subjectivity and feeling. Some have the opinion that the concept is related to the discoveries period and to student activities in the 15th century. But sceptics doubt there is any substantial proof of that relation.

Some say that in the 16th and 17th centuries it was very common for other exploring nations, such as the Dutch, to bring a Portuguese national along during the voyages, because the Portuguese were allegedly the most skilled and knowledgeable in properly handling the occasional emergency aboard the ship when the control of the vessel was given to them (what is known among the Portuguese as "desenrascanço"). Serious historians would disagree with the association between a 20th century idea and 17th century events. Apart from this myth, desenrascanço is in fact the opposite of planning: it's managing that any problem does not get completely out of hand and beyond solution.