Science, Technology and Society

Science

careful study of the behavior of the physical world around us.

Scientist

formulates explanations based on their observations. Called Natural Philosophers in the Ancient Time.

Technology

application of scientific knowledge.

Antecedent

a thing or event that existed before – using discoveries to solve problems to improve quality of life.

Stone Age

The main goal was survival/to survive.

Containers were crafted using stones, metals, ceramics and glass.

Fire was discovered through friction.

Bronze Age

Stronger than copper and stone alone. It led to more inventions.

Hieroglyphs and petroglyphs were practiced.

Prehistoric

Metals were used in making weapons, tools and armors. Metals such as copper, bronze and iron.

Hunting was another source of living other than farming.

Ancient Civilizations

Sumerians introduced the first style of writing. Cuneiform was the writing style used to maintain business reports.

150 - 100 BCE

Developed clockwork. Invented for time-keeping.

Mesopotamia

Ancient region located in the eastern Mediterranean. In modern-day Iran, Syria and Turkey.

Aeolipile or Steam Engine

Invented by Hero of Alexandria, a Greek born in 10AD in Alexandria. Used to automate opening of temple doors by lighting a fire on the altar.

Papyrus Sheets

Earliest paper-like material.

Ox-drawn Plough

Using the power of oxen to pull the plough.

Ink

Used for writing in hieroglyphs. Like carbon black – could not deteriorate when applied over papyrus.

Sunclock (Sundial)

Made predicting morning, after, and night possible.

Mummification

Egyptians believed in the afterlife – when a Pharaoh dies his life energy would move his body to the afterlife preserving the body from decaying.

Great Wall

One of the seven famous wonders of the world. The goal of protecting the northern borders of the country from different nomadic groups that invaded the Chinese empire.

Compass

Used for fortune-telling and architecture until the Chinese figured out it could be used for traveling.

Seismograph

Each dragon facing downward – had a bat in its mouth. In an earthquake, a dragon facing the closest direction would open its mouth releasing the ball into the mouth of the small bronze frog underneath.

Paper

Made from mulberry tree bark but later included hemp and fishnets to strengthen it. Said to have been made in 105 AD but suggested it already existed in Ancient China from 100 BC.

Gunpowder

Invented by alchemists searching for an elixir of immortality. A mixture of charcoal, saltpeter and sulfur.

Mechanical Clock

Worked by dripping water that activated the wheel.

City of Uruk

the first true city in the world.

The Great Ziggurat of Ur

Mountain of Gods, constructed using sun-baked bricks. How engineering and religion came up in early times

Irrigation and Dikes

One of the world’s most beneficial engineering works. Controls water for farming – improved way of living. Made agriculture more reliable.

Sailboats

Used for transportation, trading in fostering culture, information and technology.

Wheel

Used for farming and food processes. After making roads, they realized they can use the wheel for transportation.

Chariot

Based on two wheels which were attached with an animal.

The Plow

Invented to dig the Earth in a faster pace. Used mostly by farmers.

Roads

Facilitate faster and easier travel. No actual design – no checking if roads can support. Composed of massive stones.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Controversial based on the leafy design – construction.

Papyrus

Most important writing material.

Hieroglyphics

System of writing symbols.

Cosmetics

For health and aesthetic purposes only. Kohl around the eyes prevents and cures eye diseases.

Wig

Protects the shaved heads of wealthy Egyptians from the sun.

Clepsydra

A timekeeping device. The amount of water remaining determines how much time has passed.

Surgical Instruments

Lists of instruments used during surgeries for suturing wounds using a needle and a thread.

Sickle

Curved blade used for harvesting grain – wheat and barley.

Philosophy

Played a pivotal role in shaping Western traditions. Philosophers were so influential that their studies were used to teach other Western Cultures.

The Odometer

Measures distance traveled by a vehicle.

Perachora Wheel

Used for agriculture – milling, crushing or shaping grains which was a necessary form of food processing. Also used for metal shaping.

Cartography

Study and practice of making maps. Anaximander first pioneered cartographers to create a map of the world.

Alarm Clock

Elaborate system of dropping pebbles on a gong to make a sound.

Basic of Geometry

Geometric facts established by deductive reasoning.

Medicine

Discovered that disease was a natural process; signs and symptoms were a natural reaction of the body.

Discoveries in Modern Science

Astounding discoveries in the fields of Astronomy, Biology and Physics.

Thales of Miletus (620 - 546 BC)

A geometer, military engineer, astronomer, and logician. Discovered the solstice and equinox and credited with predicting a battle-stopping eclipse.

solstice

the time or date (twice each year) at which the sun reaches its maximum or minimum declination, marked by the longest and shortest days (about June 21 and December 22).

equinox

is a moment in the year, occurring twice annually (around March 20th and September 22nd), when Earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the Sun, resulting in nearly equal amounts of daylight and nighttime.

eclipse

an astronomical event where one celestial body is obscured by another, often due to a specific alignment of three celestial bodies.

Anaximander of Miletus (611 - 547 BC)

Invented gnomon on the sundial. Created a map of the known world. One of the first cartographers.

gnomon

The part of a sundial that casts a shadow.

Plato (428 - 348 BCE)

Constructed his own version of an alarm clock with vessels much ahead of Ctesibius.

Aristotle (of Stagira) [384 - 322 BCe]

Decided Earth must be a globe – concept of sphere for the Earth appears in Plato’s Phaedo. Classified animals, father of zoology.

Claudius Ptolemy of Alenxadria (90 - 168 CE)

Founded the Ptolemaic System of geocentric astronomy. Drew maps with latitude and longitude – developed the science of optics.

Alcuin of York

a monk instigated a system of education.

Monks

were preserved as well as their knowledge in astronomy and such.

Medieval Society

An era that slipped into barbarism and ignorance. This era saw scientific and technological advances.

Western Europe

Shared Christian identity gave unity of purpose.

Thomas Aquinas

using philosophy to prove the existence of God.

Robert Grossesteste

one of the major contributors to the scientific method - promoted the dualistic scientific method by Aristotle. Supported Aristotle. First to set out on an empirical process.

Roger Bacon

student of Grossesteste. Took the work of Grossesteste, Aristotle, and the Islamic Alchemists - used to propose induction. Described using observation, prediction (hypothesis), and experimentation.

Black Death

35% of the English Population died. Cities turned into ghost towns killed by the plague.

Mechanical Clock

Timekeeping device that is more accurate; composed of minutes and seconds.

Printing press

Johannes Gutenberg – printing technology was developed. Knowledge can be spread faster

Eyeglasses

Ability to correct vision problems – helped people with poor eye sights that benefit people until today.

Water and Windmills

Harness energy from wind and rivers – natural forces.

Spinning Wheel

Used in the textile industry – fibers were drawn out of wool to form a continuous strand.

War Scythe

a form of polearm with a curving single-edged blade with the cutting edge on the concave side of the blade.

Helicopter

A rotorcraft derives the whole or a substantial part of its lift from one or more power-driven rotors.

Ornithopter

A term which means an aircraft which maintains flight through the flapping of wing-like elements

Ribauldequin (Multi-Barrel Gun)

was a late medieval volley gun with many small-caliber iron barrels set up parallel on a platform, in use in medieval and early modern Europe during the Renaissance period.

Tank

an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; their main armament is often mounted within a turret.

Nicholas Copernicus

Contributed in Arts, Law, Medicine and Astronomy.

Proposed the Heliocentric Universe.

Heliocentric Universe

is the theory that the Sun is at the center of our solar system, with Earth and the other planets orbiting around it.

Galileo Galilei

Contributed many things in physics; Isochrous motion and Parabolic motion.

Parabolic Motion

describes the curved, a path an object follows when projected at an angle and acted upon only by gravity, neglecting air resistance.

Copernican Revolution

Period where scientific beliefs are widely embraced.

Geocentric Model

Earth is the center of the universe.

Charles Darwin

proposed theory of natural selection.

Heliocentric vs. Church

Not accepted by the religion. Inadequacies.

Geocentricity was established first and was believed by most.

Darwinism

all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations to increase the individual’s ability to survive and reproduce.

natural selection.

Only the survivors of the competition for resources will reproduce.

Survival of the Fittest

a way of describing the mechanism of natural selection. Survival of the form that will leave the most copies of itself in successive generations.

Sigmund Freud

Proposed psychoanalysis scientific method of understanding inner and unconscious conflicts embedded in one’s personality.

Conscious Mind

Immediate awareness.

Preconscious

Accessible memories.

Subconscious

drives, instincts, repressed traumas, painful emotions.

Id

Impulsive and unconscious. Illogical, irrational and fantasy oriented.

Ego

Decision-making competent. Works by reason.

Superego

Values and Morals. Conscience and ideal self.

Psychosexual Development

suggests that humans are inherently pleasure-seeking individuals.

Oral Stage

Birth to 1 year; Erogeneous Zone: Mouth

Anal Stage

1 to 3 year; Erogeneous Zone; Bowel and Bladder Control

Phallic Stage

3 to 6 year; Erogenous Zone; Genitals

Latent Stage

6 to puberty; Erogenous Zone; Libido Inactive

Genital Stage

Puberty to death; Erogenous Zone; Maturing Sexual Interests

Oedipus

boy develops sexual (pleasurable) desires for his mother.