Science Technology & Society: Definitions of Science

• Science, Technology & Society is presented in Module 1: Introduction to Science, Technology and Society.

Definitions of Science

• Science can be defined as either a process or a product.

Science as a Process

• Science seeks to discover relationships between observable phenomena in terms of theories.
• It involves systematized theoretical inquiries.
• The goal is to seek the truth about nature.
• Science relies on observation, hypothesis, measurement, analysis, and experimentation.
• Science describes and explains the development of knowledge.
• Science studies the beginning and end of everything that exists.
• It involves the conceptualization of new ideas, moving from the abstract to the particular.
• Science is a kind of human cultural activity.

Science as a Product

• Science is a systematized, organized body of knowledge based on facts or truthful observations.
• Science employs logical and empirical methods for the systematic observation of empirical phenomena.
• It serves as a source of cognitive authority.
• Science is concerned with verifiable concepts.
• Science is a product of the mind.
• Science comprises a variety of knowledge, people, skills, organizations, facilities, techniques, physical resources, methods, and technologies that are interconnected.

Definitions of Technology

• Technology can be defined as both a PROCESS and a PRODUCT.

Technology as a Process

• Technology is the application of science.
• It involves the practice, description, and terminology of applied sciences.
• It includes intelligent organization and manipulation of materials for useful purposes.
• Technology involves the means employed to provide solutions.
• It focuses on inventing new or improved tools, materials, and methods.
• Technology harnesses the findings of science to produce new things for a better way of living.
• It searches for concrete solutions that work and give wanted results.
• Technology is characteristically calculative and imitative, which can be dangerously manipulative.
• Technology is a form of human cultural activity.

Technology as a Product

• Technology involves a system of know-how, skills, techniques, and processes.
• It is like a language, rituals, values, commerce, and arts, and is an intrinsic part and reflects the cultural system and its values.
• It is the product of scientific concepts.
• Technology is the complex combination of knowledge, materials, and methods.
• It encompasses material products of human making or fabrication.
• Technology constitutes a total societal enterprise.

Notable Human Successes in Science and Technology

• Humans (Homo sapiens) have created amazing things, from sharp-edged tools to Mars rovers and the Internet.

The Wheel

• The wheel was invented around 3500 BC.
• The wheel and axle concept was invented to connect a non-moving platform to a rolling cylinder.
• Wheeled carts facilitated agriculture and commerce.

Compass

• The Chinese invented the first compass between the 9th and 11th centuries.
• Compasses were made with lodestone, a naturally magnetized iron ore.
• The compass allowed mariners to navigate safely far from the land, increasing sea trade and helping contribute to the Age of Exploration.

Printing Press

• Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press around 1440.
• The printing press used a mechanized process to transfer ink (made from linseed oil and soot) from movable type to paper.
• Printing presses exponentially increased the speed of book production.

Internal Combustion Engine

• Internal combustion engines release high-temperature gas from fuel combustion.
• The gases apply force to a piston, converting chemical energy into mechanical work.
• The modern form of the internal combustion engine emerged in the late 19th century
• Internal combustion engines enabled the Industrial Age.

Telephone

• Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first patent for the electric telephone in 1876.
• The telephone revolutionized global business and communication.

The Internet

• The Internet is used by billions worldwide.
• The internet has the U.S. Defense Department's ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) to thank, because they built a communications network called ARPANET to connect the computers in the agency
• ARPANET used a method of data transmission called "packet switching" and was the predecessor of the Internet.

Eco-Friendly Technologies/Advantages

• Eco-friendly technologies use resources from the environment without harmful effects.
• Solar energy uses solar panels to provide electricity.
• Geothermal energy = the heat from the sub-surface of the earth and can be used to produce electricity.
• Wind power utilizes windmills as a source of energy.

Disadvantages and Ethical Dilemmas of Science and Technology

• The invention of nuclear weapons in 1945, such as the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima caused deaths of many people.
• Chemical, bio- logical warfare (bio-warfare) ,and toxic wastes produced by manufacturing companies threaten human survival and stability.
• Advanced scientific knowledge created ethical dilemmas.
• Advanced countries enjoy high technological benefits while less developed countries do not.
• Military power is vital for national security, and superior weapons dictate the outcome of conflicts.
• Innovating technologies can have negative consequences like pollution associated with production processes.
• Increased unemployment is a consequence of new labor-saving technologies.
• Agricultural land may undergo conversion into urban areas.
• Psychological and emotional effects due to addiction from use of gadgets and overuse of technologies in the medical industry that can cause fatal births and diseases.
• Global warming is a negative consequence of technology.

Explore the multifaceted definitions of science within the context of Technology & Society. Understand science as both a dynamic process, emphasizing observation and experimentation, and a structured product, focusing on systematized knowledge. Examine its role in discovering relationships and seeking truth.