Historical Antecedents of Science and Technology PDF

Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the Course of Science and Technology Learning Goals: At the end of this topic, you will be able to: 1. Discuss the interaction between science, technology and society throughout history; 2. Explain how s...

Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the Course of Science and Technology Learning Goals: At the end of this topic, you will be able to: 1. Discuss the interaction between science, technology and society throughout history; 2. Explain how scientific and technological developments affect society and the environment; and 3. Identify the paradigm shifts in history. You may ask, what is the importance of knowing the beginning of science and technology? Do you know that the earliest form of science and technology was found during the pre-historic time, 2.3 million years ago? Yes, it was human artifacts such as roughly shaped stones used for chopping and scraping. The said artifacts were found in Eastern Africa. Ancient Period One of the significant inventions during ancient period was the Sumerian wheel which is said to evolve from tool known as potter’s wheel use in pottery where clayware is made. Cuneiform was the first writing system developed by Sumerians. They carved pictures and triangular symbols on a clay using wedge to keep records of their activities. Another essential invention in ancient period was when Ancient Egyptians began writing on papyrus (made from a pith of cyperus papyrus plant), lightweight, durable and portable material similar to thick paper. Egyptians invented this paper because of difficulty in writing on stones. The increase in population paved the way on the invention of a tool used to irrigate lands to produce more food items. To be able to do the irrigation of crops, ancient Egyptians invented shadoof – a manual device used for lifting water. This invention initiated the concept of lifting things by the use of counterweights. Middle Ages (Dark Ages) In Germany, to ease the pain of having huge volume of texts being handwritten, Johannes Gutenberg developed a printing press to convert handwritten text into printed books. His introduction of mechanical movable type printing initiated the Printing Revolution. The invention of heavy plough by the European helped them not only in the cultivation of their fertile land but it also turned their agriculture and economy to prosper rapidly. Spinning wheel is a device that converts fiber into thread or yarn and then woven into cloth. This device is said to be a breakthrough of this period because it sped up the production of cloth 10 to 100 times. Leonardo da Vinci was one of the prominent people in the Middle Ages. He was coined as the epitome of the Renaissance humanist ideal. A great painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, engineer and had interest in science in which he stressed the importance of experiment. Modern Ages The compound microscope was invented by Zacharias Janssen by putting together several lenses on a tube. This invention sparked the idea that when an object is placed near the end of the tube, it can be magnified 3 times its original size when closed and up to 10 times when extended to the maximum. Galileo was the first one who used telescope out of spyglasses, to observe the sky that led to the discovery of craters and mountains on the moon. Isaac Newton is known to be the most influential scientist of all time. He is a mathematician who founded calculus; a physicist who defined the law of gravity; light; color; and planetary motion; an astronomer; and a theologian. The most famous physicist in the 20th century was Albert Einstein. His known works were: Theory of Relativity which won a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921; Quantum Theory, nuclear power, the atom bomb; and the famous equation E=mc2 which is employed up until now in calculus. Science and Technology in the Philippines Dr. Fe del Mundo was the one who invented the first incubator – a device used to maintain the environmental conditions of babies born premature. An improved version of this device helped not only premature babies but also in treating jaundice. This Filipino invention had saved countless babies not only in the Philippines but to the world as well. Dr. Abelardo Aguilar discovered erythromycin using the bacteria Saccharopolyspora erythraea extracted from the soil of his backyard. Erythromycin is an antibiotic used to treat respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections and syphilis. Leonardo S. Sarao was the first one who manufactured the most iconic and popular mode of transportation in the Philippines, the “Jeepney”. Gregorio Y. Zara was a famous Engineer and Physicist. He was the one who invented and patented the first Videophone – a photo phone signal separator. Interconnection of Science, Technology and Society Science comes from the Latin word scientia which means knowledge. It refers to the systematic study of the nature and behavior of the universe through observation, experimentation and measurement (Collinsdictionary.com). Science explains how material and physical things in the universe work. Technology pertains to the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes. It is used to create useful tools to solve real-world problems and make people’s lives easier (yourdictionary.com). Society is a group of organized people living together, making decisions about how to do things and share works that need to be done (Cambridge dictionary).