Activity 1 in STS

GEC 17 – Science, Technology, and Society

2nd Semester, SY 2020-2021

Name: Aculan, Omar L.

Date: January 30, 2021
ACTIVITY NO. 1
1. Give some distinctions and overlap between science and technology by using the Venn
diagram below.
SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY
 The study of nature and  The application of scientific

behavior of natural things knowledge for practical
and the knowledge we purposes
obtain from them  Technology leans toward
 Science is concerned with taking action to meet human
the physical world and  Both revolves around need rather than merely
understanding its pheno- knowledge and facts understanding the natural
mena  Requires specific set world
 Science aims to discover of skills  The goal of technology is to
knowledge for its own  Involves organized solve problems and improve
sake way of doing things human life
 Uses testable opinions,  Continuous quest for  Focuses on the design aspect,
predictions, good theories, progress and invention, and production
and accurate data to estab- development based on approximate
lish knowledge models
 Science requires experimen-  Design, construction, planning,
tal and logical skills decision-making skills
 Science is always deemed  Technology is not always
useful useful because there are
innovations that can
be dangerous and
harmful
2. Science and Technology affect society?
Science and technology have drastically changed the lives of humans for the past
hundreds of years ever since man began to ponder beyond the thinkable. Through the
endless and ever-growing discoveries of science – scientists, innovators, designers, and
engineers have been able to craft and develop virtually all things essential to survival and
more. Both fields have altered our diet – from plants and root crops, we were able to
produce palatable and nutritious food on our tables. Farmers no longer had to manually
plant their seeds and harvest their products by hand. With the knowledge our scientists
continued to seek, innovators created equipment that would speed up the agricultural
process, thereby increasing yield. Our means of communication and transportation have
also received its share of development. From traveling by foot and through our four-legged
companions, humans realized the convenience of riding cars, trains, ships, and even
aeroplanes. Hundreds of years ago, the idea of man flying in the sky like a bird was but a
fantasy. Today, modern jets and planes populate the air traffic. From sending letters to
loved ones across borders, we went to using telephones and eventually mobile phones all
thanks to the efforts of scientists and inventors. In the realm of health, we were able to
engineer medicines that cured a wide array of diseases. The invention of vaccines was
undeniably one of the best achievements of science. Global immunization prevented the
spread of deadly and communicable diseases.
However, not all inventions could be deemed helpful to our society. Greed for power
and influence created weapons and machinery that brought catastrophic effects to
mankind. Man learned how to devise the vilest and most wicked instrumentalities of terror.
Some of the hundreds of thousands of tools marketed to “make life easier” have caused us
to be lazy and even lethargic. At some point, we became too dependent and reliant on
technology that it has also caused problems more than benefits. Deadly substances were
crafted that could alter human perception, leading them to do harm unto themselves and
even others.
All in all, it could be deduced that science and technology have indeed produced a
huge impact on our society. We owe our scientists and engineers a lot because of their
discoveries.
3. What is Intellectual Revolution?
Intellectual Revolution refers to the period through which scientific beliefs which
were long held to be true, widely accepted, and embraced, where challenged and opposed.
This is also characterized to constitute a paradigm shift in how we perceived the world.
In the 6th Century, Ptolemy introduced the geocentric model, where the Earth was
said to be the center of the universe. This was challenged during the first part of the
Intellectual Revolution, known as the Copernican Revolution. Nicholas Copernicus
posited that it was the Sun, and not the Earth that was the center of the universe. Such
theory was known as the heliocentric model, and was backed up by several other
hypotheses. Tycho Brahe observed Cassiopeia, whereas Johannes Kelper stated that all
planets move in a elliptical orbit and that the sun is at the center. Galileo Galilei’s telescope
helped him observe the planet Venus, while Sir Isaac Newton discovered the Law of
Gravitation. All discoveries changed the people’s belief about the placement of the Earth
and the Copernican model was accepted by the people in a period called the “birth of
modern astronomy.”
The second wave was called the Darwinian Revolution, which brought huge
impacts on how people studied biology. English naturalist, geologist, and biologist Charles
Darwin wrote about the Theory of Evolution in his book On the Origin of Species. He
believed that over time, organisms change as a result of alteration in their heritable
physical or behavioral traits. Such modifications allow organisms to adapt to their
environment and reproduce. This theory sparked numerous controversies amongst the
members of the Church and religious devotees for it went against the divine teaching that
the universe was a creation of a Supernatural Being.
The Freudian Revolution was named after Sigmund Freud, who pioneered in the
field of psychoanalysis or the study of human behavior. He theorized that the brain can be
divided into three segmentations: the id (instinctive), ego (moral checker), and superego
(responds to reality). Freud’s findings changed people’s perception of psychology as an art
and gave birth to the notion of psychology as a science.
The Information Revolution is an era where technology became prevalent and

rampant. It is also known as the Computer Age. Alan Turing’s invention introduced the
idea that thinking and consciousness can be attributed to nonhuman entities. This period
also includes other technologies such as the Sumerian pictographs, Gutenberg’s printing
press in 1455, and the typewriter and telegraph.
The fifth period is termed as the Mesoamerican Revolution. Discoveries of ancient

civilizations greatly contributed to archaeology, and the temples and pyramids left a lot to
talk about in the world of architecture. The Aztecs were said to possess a great military
force. They also practiced a technique known as chinampa, where they used small
rectangular areas of land to grow crops on shallow lakebeds. The use of rubber was also
documented in a Mayan ball game called tlatchtli. Cocoa beans were also used as currency
and they were known to develop an accurate calendar system. Meanwhile, the Incans used
quipos for bookkeeping and the mita, a labor service system they used in roads and bridge
construction, cultivation of maize or corn, and textile production.
The Arab world also contributed a lot in the fields of arithmetic, medicine,
architecture, machinery, and philosophy. The Arabs employed Roman principles and
improved the watermill or noria. They designed equipment and machinery for irrigation,
industrial work, and war. The book written by Badi’ al-Zaman ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari
talked about candles, water vessels, fountains, automata, and water-raising devices. Taqi
al-Din ibn Maruf al-Rashid al –Dimashqi explained steam power and developed a
blueprint of a six piston pump in his authored work. This age was known as the Middle
Eastern Revolution.
The African Revolution saw the spread of coffee and kola nuts, two important finds
in the world of beverages, and exposed the flourishing advances on medicine and crafts.
Kola nuts are stimulants mostly found in West Africa and was the basis for the popular cola
drink. Coffee was also developed to be a consumable drink which spread to Arabia and
throughout the world. Africans also used plants with salicylic acid for pain and for diarrhea.
They were also highly advanced in performing autopsies and caesarian operations.
Evidences also suggest that they have already mastered making steels.
Lastly, the Asian Revolution demonstrates the rich culture and vast expertise and
knowledge of the East. Traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and herbal medicine
were already practiced. It also saw four general ancient Chinese inventions namely:
compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing.
4. Name one (1) revolutionary scientist and briefly discuss his/her theory.
One revolutionary scientist that imparted a groundbreaking discovery is Alfred

Wegener. He hypothesized that the Earth’s land masses are in constant motion. His theory,
on the Continental Drift aimed to explain why continents fit perfectly together like a
jigsaw puzzle. Looking at his map, Wegener observed that the continents of South America
and Africa looked like they were once connected to each other. He posited that millions of
years ago, all continents were joined in a supercontinent he called Pangaea. Evidences of
fossil remains, glaciers, and complementary coastlines seem to assert this theory. However,
Wegener could not explain what caused the movement of the continents. People and
scientists during his time did not agree with his findings and even ridiculed him for it.
A few decades later, scientists and researchers were able to fill in the gaps of Alfred
Wegener’s theory on the continental drift. J. Tuzo Wilson was among those who greatly
contributed to the theory of Plate Tectonics. According to this hypothesis, the Earth’s
crust is broken into roughly twenty sections called tectonic plates. When they press
together and move suddenly, energy is released in the form of earthquakes. The Plate
Tectonics model also provided answers on queries regarding the formation of ridges along
the gaps of the tectonic plates. Today, both theories are considered revolutionary and
significant to the study of the Earth. Scientists now have reasons to believe that the
continents are constantly moving, and will continue to do so in the generations to come.

Activity 1 in STS

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Activity 1 in STS

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Activity 1 in STS

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

GEC 17 – Science, Technology, and Society

2nd Semester, SY 2020-2021

Name: Aculan, Omar L.

 The study of nature and  The application of scientific

3. What is Intellectual Revolution?

The Information Revolution is an era where technology became prevalent and

The fifth period is termed as the Mesoamerican Revolution. Discoveries of ancient

One revolutionary scientist that imparted a groundbreaking discovery is Alfred

You might also like