Science and Technology

Science and Technology

Prepared by

SABARISH-P

M.Sc., M.Ed., JRF & NET

Assistant Professor in Physical Science, Arafa Institute for Teacher Education

Attur, Thrissur.

Difference between science and technology

The goal of science is the pursuit of knowledge but the goal of technology is to create products that solve problems and improve human life.  Science reasons ‘why’ and technology answers ‘how’.  Simply saying, technology is the practical application of science.

	Science	Technology
Motto	Science is knowing	Technology is doing
Mission	The search for and theorizing about cause/truth.	The search for and theorizing about new processes.
Evaluation Methods	Analysis, generalization and creation of theories	Analysis and synthesis of design
Goals achieved through	Corresponding Scientific Processes/Method	Key Technological Processes
Focus	Focuses on understanding natural phenomena	focuses on understanding the made environment
Development Methods	Discovery (controlled by experimentation)	Design, invention, production
Most observed quality	Drawing correct conclusions based on good theories and accurate data	Taking good decisions based on incomplete data and approximate models
Skills needed to excel	Scientific, Experimental and logical skills needed	Design, construction, testing, planning, quality assurance, problem solving, decision making, interpersonal and communication skills

Significance and relevance of Science and Technology in Society

The importance of science and technology in society is demonstrated by the unconscious use of it in our daily lives. We live and work in structures given to us by science and technology. We are transported around on the ground, across water and in the air by vehicles that are the direct products of science and technology. Modern societies are literally built on science and technology. When we turn on the tap, or flip a light switch, we are accessing science and technology.

We constantly use cell phones and computers, which are gifts of science and technology. And there are thousands of other electrical devices that science and technology have given us. Medicine is wall-to-wall science and technology, and anyone who is more than mildly ill or has been injured in more than a minor way will benefit from science and technology. No food in modern society is not touched by science and technology, either in its origin, packaging and processing, transportation or vending.

Benefits of Science and technology

Science and technology are making advances at an amazing rate. From telephones to the internet, calculators to computers, cars to rockets and satellites, we are submerged in a sea of discoveries and inventions made possible by science. Fields like medicine and communication have made inroads into our cultures and thus our lifestyles.

HEALTH

People have started taking charge of their own health and life. Therefore, the life expectancy of a person living in the nineties is about twenty years more on an average from that which people enjoyed at the start of the last century. By the virtue of medicine, not only does a person live longer but also lives his life to the fullest in the best of health.

Deadly diseases such as small pox, plague and polio have caused a large number of epidemics resulting in major loss of life. Researches and scientific effort led many scientists to find cures or preventive vaccinations for these life-threatening diseases. Today these diseases have been eradicated.

Thanks to science, millions of lives have been saved from the clutches of these evils. The benefits of discovery of these vaccines needed to be passed on to the public. To cater to the huge human population, technology in this field evolved side by side the scientific progress. Better techniques resulted in faster and more efficient development of these scientific discoveries.

The field of medicine today is well equipped to cope with the health problems faced by man. Science behind medicine has led to awareness and preventive education among the public. Certain procedures propagated through these awareness programs such as regular exercising and taking regular dose of insulin for diabetes patients help maintain the health of today’s patients. Insulin can now be synthetically prepared in our laboratories using bacteria cultures. Antibiotics and other medicines sometimes help us fight life-threatening conditions. In short, the patients are often handed a second chance to live.

Medical technology has reached a point where organs can be transplanted from one individual to another. However, by donating his or her organs to give a new lease of life to someone else, the person found a meaning not only in his lifetime but also in his death.

Communication

Communication is one more area where technology has undergone a rapid transformation. A century ago, telegraphs were regarded as luxuries and one of the few modes of communication with the rest of the world. Today, the scene appears to be quite different. From telephones and faxes to internet, email and mobile phones, technology has connected the whole world into a global village.

Technology has helped increased the speed of communication whereas at the same time the cost for such a proposition have greatly reduced. People who are separated from their friends and relative by a distance of thousands of miles can now get their message around the globe in a matter of seconds using technological instruments such as the phone and emails.

Computers have often been cited as the greatest boon offered by technology to humanity. Its entry revolutionized the whole world. Great pieces of data could be store with comparative ease. Problems, which would have taken years to solve manually, took a couple of days for the computer to work out. This led to an amazing rate of progress achieved in a considerably short period.

Security

Science and technology also helps a nation protect its citizens from any natural or man-made disasters such as earthquake, tornadoes or even war. In such events the people are warned in advance and timely action is taken to guarantee the lives of millions of people every year. Weather-man reminds us how technology has improved such that humans can predict the weather of the next fifteen days. Weapons built by the nations for protection and serving their integrity help bring about peace amongst rival counties as no one in such a case is ready to face the destruction caused by them and thus shrink of thought of war on an enemy. Thus we can conclude that both Science and technology complement each other for the progress of humanity.