Unit 4. Science and technology

Lead-in:

Science is important to most people living in the modern world for a number of reasons. In particular, science is important for world peace and understanding, for understanding technology, and for understanding the world. Science is important for world peace in many ways. On the one hand, scientists have helped to develop many of the modern tools of war. On the other hand, they have also helped to keep the peace through research, which has improved life for people. Scientists have helped us understand the problem of supplying the world with enough energy: using energy of the sun and of the atom. Scientists have also analyzed the world's resources. Scientists study the Universe and its possibilities for the benefit of people. Scientists are also important for everyone who is affected by modern technology. Many of the things that make our lives easier and better are results of advances in technology. In some cases, such as technology of producing salt from ocean water, technology may be essential for our lives on Earth. Scientists are learning to predict earthquakes, to study many other natural events such as storms. Scientists are also studying various aspects of human biology and the origin and development of the human race. The study of the natural world may help improve life for many people all over the world. Basic knowledge of science is essential for everyone. It helps people to find their way in the changing world.

The science of today is the technology of tomorrow.

Edward Teller

Science is organized knowledge.

Wisdom is organized life.

Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804)

Pre-reading:

Task 1

Practice the reading of the following words.

Technology, beneficial, deterioration, society, philosophy, characterize, eventually, scientific, phenomenon, spiritual, politicians, issue, machinery, technique, biodiversity, experience, competitive, consequence, mature.

Task 2

Make sure you can read these international words correctly and translate them into Russian.

Global, destruction, civilization, activity, commerce, agriculture, regularity, observation, natural, practical, realize, mastering, mystical, public, limitation, transportation, accumulation, degradation, superconductivity, detailed, restructure.

Task 3

Give the nouns and of the following words and translate them.

Advance, beneficial, describe, define, suggest, distinct, weak, evident, assume, verifiable, believe, separate, mystical, immortal, convert, different, gradually, improve, probably, quicken, link, intensify, measure, treat, deep, clean, know, capable, wealthy, warm, depend, improve, complex, maintain, efficient.

Task 4

Before reading the text, answer the following questions.

1. What is science and technology?

2. How does science influence everyday life? Give examples.

3. Can science explain all secrets of nature?

4. How Has Technology Affected Your Life?

5. Does living in a technologically advanced society have a positive or negative effect on humanity?

6. Has technology made the world smaller or bigger?

7. What will technology do to the way we live in twenty-five years?

Task 5

Read the text and be ready to do the exercises.

Text A

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The world of the 21st century has become so interconnected that the phrase "the global village" has become acceptable as a term to describe modern society. Today information technology links people and places from all civilizations, and national economies have become increasingly interconnected.

Whether it is commerce or media, manufacturing or agriculture, the advancing globalization of human activity would be unthinkable without the development of science and technology. Their contributions have not always been beneficial; indeed, many would argue that science is to be blamed for the deterioration of the global environment that we are witnessing today. However, is it science that, through its applications, leads to global warming, the ozone hole, weapons of mass destruction and widespread poverty? Or do these developments occur through actions of those who control science and use its findings for their own aims?

The most basic definition of science is "systematic knowledge of nature through repeatable observation and experimentation." Its aim is the discovery of the laws that govern natural phenomena. Regularity suggests that nature is not all chaos but follows rules. Defined in the way science has been a human activity well before the development of the first civilizations. The oldest civilizations are believed to have emerged some time before 6200 BC.

Such early evidence of scientific activity does of course not mean that the ancient society employed scientists. The term "scientist" as a description of a profession was first used in the 19th century. In early societies scientific study was undertaken by priests and monks, and scientific knowledge was taught in temples and monasteries. As civilizations developed, the link between science and religion weakened and science became the domain of philosophy. A clear distinction between science and religion did not develop until well into the 18th century. Religion, like science, attempts to establish a system of knowledge about nature. All religions are based on the belief that gods act in an orderly fashion and make sure that nature follows rules. The human mind is opposed to chaos; it can only make sense of an ordered world and finds order to meet its needs, even where order may not exist. While science is a system of knowledge based on repeatable observation and experiment, religion is a system of knowledge based on unverifiable belief. Early societies had only limited means of experimentation, and their endeavor to discover the laws of nature had to rely on a range of unverifiable assumptions. As human knowledge progressed, the need for unverifiable assumptions decreased progressively, and eventually science and religion separated.

People in early human societies had to spend much of their time procuring food and shelter and could not afford to put much effort into non-essential activities. If science was practiced in the earliest societies, it must have been for a purpose; in other words, science was undertaken for practical applications. Sometimes the practical applications resulted in new technological developments.

The word technology has changed its meaning several times since it came into use in Europe during the 17th century. In the most general terms, it can be defined as the application of knowledge about nature to practical aims of human endeavor. If this definition is accepted it follows that technological development occurred at least as early as first scientific study. Stone-age humans realized that flint stone produces better cutting tools than sandstone. They made that discovery and used their new knowledge well before someone found the scientific explanation for the phenomenon.

Long periods of human history were characterized by the mastering of technologies such as the smelting of copper, bronze or iron, without much knowledge of the underlying scientific principles. In some societies, this lack of scientific understanding gave technology mystical qualities and lead to misguided activities such as medieval European alchemy (unscientific attempts to convert lead or other low value metals into silver or gold) or the quest for immortality through chemical concoctions in ancient China.

Today the situation is very different. Most new technology is the result of scientific research that preceded it. It is also generally accepted that today science and technology are closely linked and that science provides the theoretical underpinning for its technological applications. The symbol of this symbiosis is probably Thomas Alva Edison, the first engineer to establish a factory for inventions just before the 20th century.

In this context technology and science have to be seen as closely related, since both require systematic thinking and experimentation. They began as parallel developments, initially more or less independent of each other, but grew closer as the centuries progressed, and became eventually inseparable. Science is a foundation that is closely linked to people’s lives, relations, views, and behaviors. While growing, the tree of new science has challenged the earth and water and the spiritual and mental atmosphere of the Renaissance. It has gradually gained its place as the coordinator of conditions and the stabilizer of life order.

Science is said to have a method. Can any individual at any place reach the expected result of his/her research provided that he or she uses the right method? The conditions under which science is created and its benefits and dangers are the questions that philosophers, scientists, and politicians should address. This statement is true to some extent.

Scientific knowledge can improve the quality of life at many different levels - from the routine workings of our everyday lives to global issues. Science informs public policy and personal decisions on energy conservation, agriculture, health, transportation, communication, defense, economics, leisure, and exploration. It's almost impossible to overstate how many aspects of modern life are impacted by scientific knowledge.

 

 

 

Task 6