Overview of Science, Technology and Society

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture on the overview of Science, Technology, and Society (STS).

Technology

Developed to meet humans' basic needs to survive and thrive; a way of adapting to the changing world; a body of skills and knowledge by which humans control and modify the world.

Technological Development

Usually stems from the identification of a need to be met and is dictated by human needs from prehistoric times to present.

Technology and Society Interaction

Technology interacts with society because it is an integral part of it, and society influences the entire process of technology, including its development and utilization, which may involve regulation or prohibition.

Science-Based Technology

Technology that emerged and led to great advancements when science combined with technology, starting during the Industrial Revolution, enormously impacting society.

Science and Technology (S&T)

Considered the backbone of national development today, technology emerged ahead of science, but their combination since the industrial revolution led to significant advancements.

Invention

The creation of a new product or process.

Innovation

The improvement of an existing technology.

Emergence of STS

A key point in the emergence of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) is the understanding that scientists and technologists are humans, influenced by intentions of governments, funding agencies, employers, or colleagues.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962)

A book by Kuhn which claims that scientific facts are results of a scientist’s socially conditioned studies rather than objective descriptions of the physical world.

Importance of STS

Enables us to understand the positive and negative effects of advancements in science and technology, as S&T continually influences society.