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Science Technology and Society Lesson (One) Introduction

The document discusses the significance of science and technology in contemporary society, highlighting their definitions, interactions, and historical advancements. It outlines notable inventions such as the wheel, compass, and internet, while also addressing eco-friendly technologies and the ethical dilemmas posed by scientific advancements. Additionally, it emphasizes disparities in access to technology and the negative consequences that can arise from technological progress.

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kianna cassandra
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4 views

Science Technology and Society Lesson (One) Introduction

The document discusses the significance of science and technology in contemporary society, highlighting their definitions, interactions, and historical advancements. It outlines notable inventions such as the wheel, compass, and internet, while also addressing eco-friendly technologies and the ethical dilemmas posed by scientific advancements. Additionally, it emphasizes disparities in access to technology and the negative consequences that can arise from technological progress.

Uploaded by

kianna cassandra
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SCIENCE

T E C H N O LO GY
AND ITS
SIGNIFICANCE IN
SOCIETY IN
C O N T E M P O RA RY
WORLD
A. THE MEANING OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
• Science, technology and society (STS), also referred to as science and
technology studies, is the study of how social, political and cultural values affect
scientific research and technological innovation, and how these, in turn, affect society.
• Science, technology and society refers to the interaction between science and
technology and social and cultural, political and economic context which shape and
are shaped by them, specific examples throughout human history of scientific and
technological developments.

B. MEANING OF SCIENCE
• Science is a systematized body of knowledge
• Science is an organized and dynamic inquiry
• Science is knowledge gained through observation and experimentation
• Science is a human activity; scientist
• Science is a social enterprise; people, knowledge, skills, facilities, apparatuses and
technologies
• Science leads to formation of concepts, methods, principles, theories, law and
procedures which seek to describe and explain nature and its phenomena
C. MEANING OF TECHNOLOGY
• Technology as material products; results of scientific inquiry; hardware
produced by a scientist
• Technology as the application of knowledge in solving scientific and
practical problems that will help humans to survive and improve his life
• Technology as human cultural activities or endeavors
• Technology as a social enterprise- technology is a complex system of
knowledge, skills, people, methods, tools, materials and resources applied
and allocated to the development, operation and production of a new or
improved product, process or services.
• Technology as modern technology based on the advances of science since
the end WWII to the present.
D. SOME OF THE NOTABLE HUMAN SUCCESSES IN THE FIELD OF
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. THE WHEEL
The concept of inventing the wheel during 3500 B.C. Humans were
severely limited in how much stuff they could transport over land, and how
far. The idea came to connect a non- moving platform to a rolling cylinder.
People then invented the wheel and axle which is the concept of making
wheels. The holes at the center of the wheels and at the ends of the fixed
axles had to be nearly perfectly round and smooth for the wheels to work.
Wheeled carts facilitated agriculture and commerce by enabling the
transportation of goods to and from markets, as well as easing the burden of
people travelling great distances.
2. THE COMPASS
Before, mariners navigate with the star, but that method didn’t work
during the day or on cloudy nights. The Chinese invented the first compass
sometime between the 9th and 11th century; it was made of lodestone, a
naturally magnetized iron ore, the attractive properties of which they had
been studying for centuries. Soon after, the technology passed on the
Europeans and Arabs through nautical contact. The compass enabled
mariners to navigate safely far from land, increasing sea trade and
contributing to the Age of Discovery.
3. THE PRINTING PRESS
It was Johannes Gutenburg, a German who invented the printing press
around 1440. Though others before him– including inventors in China and
Korea- have developed the movable type made from metal, Gutenberg was
the first to have created a mechanized process that transferred the ink
( which he made from linseed oil and soot) from the movable type to paper.
Printing presses exponentially increased the speed with which book copies
could be made, and thus led to the rapid and widespread dissemination of
knowledge for the first time in history.
4. THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
In these engines, the combustion of fuel releases a high temperature
gas, which a it expands, applies force to a piston, moving it. Thus combustion
engines converts energy into mechanical work.

5. THE TELEPHONE
Alexander Graham Bell was the first to be awarded a patent for the
electric telephone in 1876. Though several inventors did pioneering work on
electronic voice transmission, the invention quickly took off and
revolutionalized global business and communication.
6. PENICILLIN
In 1928, Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming noticed a bacteria filled
Petri dish in his laboratory, the sample had contaminated with a mold, and
everywhere the mold was, the bacteria was dead. The antibiotic mold turned
out to be the fungus Peniccillium, and over the next two decades, chemists
purified it and developed without harming the human themselves. Penicillim
was being mass produced and advertised by 1944.
7. THE INTERNET
Is the global system of interconnected computer networks used by
billions of people worldwide. It is impossible to credit the invention of the
Internet to a single person, as countless people helped develop it.

ECO-FRIENDLY TECHNOLOGIES/ ADVANTAGES: These are sustainable


technologies. This technology utilizes resources from the environment
without causing negative effects to it. Some of these are:
• Solar Energy- use of solar panels to provide electricity
• Geothermal energy
• Wind power- wind mills as source of energy
E. DISADVANTAGES AND ETHICAL DILEMMAS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1.Threats to human survival – the invention of nuclear weapons in 1945,
like the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima that caused death of
many people. This was a product of chemical and biological warfare ( bio-
warfare); toxic wastes produced by manufacturing companies that threaten
human survival and stability of the environment.

2. Ethical Dilemmas – exploitation of advanced scientific knowledge and


technological devices and systems gave rise to situations in which advances
seem to have turned against their benificiaries, creating ethical dilemmas.
The negative effects of technology are numerous. In our march to progress
we have degraded the natural world. Forest are chopped down, topsoil is
washed away, rivers are polluted and our waste is dumped in the oceans.

3. Disparities to Human well being- there are advanced countries


enjoying science and technology based on successes and hold high esteem in
contemporary society, versus millions of people in less developed countries
who have not partaken in these benefits.
4. Social and Cultural conflicts – military power is vital for national
security of many governments; superior and highly technical weapons
dictated the outcomes of some recent wars.

5. Innovating technologies can have negative consequences for


certain sectors or constituencies;
• Include the pollution associated with the production processes
• Increased unemployment from labor-saving new technologies
• Conversion of agricultural land into urban areas
• Effect on humans psychologically and emotionally- the usage and addiction
of new gadgets
• Effect of overused technologies in medical industry that can cause fatal
births and disease s
• Global warming

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