The Scientific Revolution

Scientific Revolution

• Science includes ideas, theories, systematic explanations, and observations of the natural and physical world
• Science as an intellectual activity involves systematic study of the natural world, using observation and experimentation
• Science is a subject or discipline that deals with learning about the physical world
• Science is knowledge and activities done to improve understanding and survival, interwoven with people's lives
• The science revolution started in Europe in the early 16th to 18th centuries
• The Scientific Revolution, a period of enlightenment, transformed views of nature via developments in math, physics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry
• Significant in developing human beings and transforming society and ideas
• Intellectual Revolution is when science and tech advancements changed perceptions and beliefs
• Scientists are driven by curiosity, critical thinking, and creativity to explore the natural world
• Intellectual Revolution showed how society was transformed by Science and Technology

Intellectual Revolutions

• Freudian Revolution (Sigmund Freud) revolutionized psychiatry
• Includes the "Freudian Theory of Personality" impacting human development
• Includes "psychoanalysis", the process for achieving proper functioning if a human completes their developmental stage
• Psychoanalysis studies the human mind and neurotic illness, focusing on human sexuality
• Copernican Revolution (Nicolaus Copernicus) shifted the placement of the Earth and sun, rejecting the Ptolemaic model
• Proved the heliocentric model where the Sun is the center, completed in 1510
• Darwinian Revolution (Charles Darwin) changed views on creation and evolution
• Impacted how people approach Biology
• Began when he published "The Origin of Species" in 1589, emphasizing evolution
• Presented evidence of species evolving over time with traits and adaptations

Cradles of Early Science

• Mesoamerica
• Asia
• Middle East
• Africa

Development of Science in Mesoamerica

• Mesoamerica includes Central America from Southern Mexico up to the border of South America
• The Mesoamerican region is rich in culture and knowledge before European colonization
• Mayan Civilization lasted about 2,000 years
• Known for astronomy, incorporating understanding into temples for astronomical observation
• Predicted eclipses and used astrological cycles for planting and harvesting
• Measured time using two complicated calendar systems for planning and observing rituals
• Developed technology for growing crops and building cities using machines and hydraulics
• Built looms for weaving and created glitter paint from mica
• Believed to be among the first to produce rubber products, 3,000 years before Goodyear's patent in 1844
• Used a writing system known as Mayan hieroglyphics
• Skilled in mathematics, creating a number system based on the numeral 20
• Independently developed the concept of zero and positional value

Inca Civilization

• Inca made advanced scientific ideas considering their limitations as an old civilization
• Scientific ideas and tools developed to help people in everyday life
• Roads paved with stones
• Stone buildings to withstand earthquakes
• Irrigation systems for storing water
• A calendar with 12 months
• The first suspension bridge
• Quipo, a system of knotted ropes for record keeping
• Inca textiles

Aztec civilization

• Made contributions to science, technology and society
• Mandatory education was valued regardless of class, gender, or age
• An early form of inclusive education
• Developed chocolate in Mexico, using cacao beans as currency and tribute to gods
• Used antispasmodic medication to prevent muscle spasms and relax muscles during surgery
• Chinampa is Aztec technology for agricultural farming with divided land and canals
• The Aztec calendar was used to plan activities, rituals, and planting seasons
• Canoes were invented as light boats for water travel

Development of Science in Asia

• Asia has ancient civilizations with cultural, economic, scientific, and political activities
• Civilizations in India, China, and the Middle East contributed to science, technology, and mathematics

India

• A peninsula with mountains
• Developed ideas and technologies
• Indians are known for manufacturing iron and in metallurgical works
• Their iron steel was considered the best and held with high regard in the whole of Roman Empire
• India is famous in medicine
• Ayurveda originated before 2500 BC as alternative medicine
• Ancient India notable in astronomy, developing theories of the universe and a 360-day year
• Ancient India known for mathematics
• Earliest traces appeared in the Indus Valley Civilization
• People tried to standardize measurement
• The Indian astronomer Aryabhata introduced trigonometric functions, tables, techniques, and algebra algorithms

China

• Has civilizations with contributions in many areas
• Greatly influenced neighboring countries
• The Chinese are known for traditional medicines, using plants and animals to cure illness, like acupuncture
• Developed tools like the compass, paper making, gunpowder, and printing
• The Chinese also developed the iron plough, wheelbarrow, propeller, and models of bridges
• Invented the first seismological detector and a dry dock facility
• They made records of supernovas, eclipses, and comets to understand heavenly bodies
• Known in seismology, making them prepared for natural calamities/earthquakes

Middle East

• Dominantly occupied by Muslims, with a Golden Age of Islam until the 13th century
• Arabic, access to Greek texts, and proximity to India contributed to intellectualization and innovations
• Muslim scientists valued experiments, leading to the development of the scientific method
• Ibn al-Haytham is regarded as the Father of Optics for his empirical proof of intromission theory
• Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi gave his name to the algorithm, while algebra is derived from al-jabr
• Development of the Arabic Numeral System included the introduction of decimal point notation
• Originally from India, refined by Muslims
• Jabir ibn Hayyan is considered the Father of Chemistry
• Ibn Sina pioneered experimental medicine, conducted clinical trials
• The Book of Healing and the Canon of Medicine were used until the 17th century
• Discovered the contagious nature of infectious disease and introduced clinical pharmacology

Development of Science in Africa

• Blessed with natural and mineral resources, science emerged before European colonization
• Early civilizations' knowledge procedures mirror those of other ancient societies
• Egypt contributed to astronomy, mathematics, and medicine
• Geometry developed to preserve farmlands along the Nile
• Egypt was known as a center of alchemy, studying anatomy and pharmacology
• Applied components like examination, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis
• Africans used lunar, solar and stellar calendars
• Metallurgy was known in ancient times
• Metal tools used in homes, agriculture, and architecture
• Mathematics was prominent
• The Lebombo Bone, from the mountains between Swaziland and South Africa
• May have been a tool for multiplication, division, and calculation dated from 35,000 BCE