Social Impact on Science and Technology

Human artifacts, like roughly shaped stones, mark the earliest form of science and technology, dating back 2.3 million years in Eastern Africa.

Sumerians invented the wheel, evolving from the potter’s wheel, which aided in pottery manufacturing.
Cuneiform, the first writing system by Sumerians, involved carving pictures and symbols on clay for record-keeping.
Egyptians developed papyrus, a lightweight and durable writing material derived from the cyperus papyrus plant, to overcome difficulties in writing on stone.
The invention of the shadoof, a manual water-lifting device, allowed Egyptians to irrigate crops, significantly increasing food production.

Johannes Gutenberg created a printing press, transforming handwritten texts into printed books and sparking the Printing Revolution.
The heavy plough aided European agriculture, enhancing land cultivation and rapidly advancing the economy.
The spinning wheel revolutionized cloth production, increasing efficiency by 10 to 100 times.
Leonardo da Vinci emerged as a Renaissance ideal, excelling in painting, engineering, and emphasizing experimental science.

Zacharias Janssen invented the compound microscope, enabling magnification of objects up to 10 times their original size.
Galileo utilized a telescope for celestial observations, discovering lunar craters and mountains.
Isaac Newton, a pivotal figure in science, contributed foundational theories in calculus, gravity, light, color, and planetary motion.
Albert Einstein became renowned for his Theory of Relativity, Quantum Theory, and the equation E=mc², significantly influencing 20th-century physics.

Dr. Fe del Mundo invented the first incubator for premature babies, revolutionizing neonatal care and saving countless lives worldwide.
Dr. Abelardo Aguilar discovered erythromycin, an antibiotic derived from soil bacteria, effectively treating respiratory infections and syphilis.