Science Technology and Society

• Transportation during ancient times was significant as people traveled to discover new places, search for food, and find better settlement locations
• Communication methods such as smoke signals, clay tablets, and cave paintings were essential for trade and preventing conflicts with natives
• Record-keeping was important for documenting travels, trades, history, and culture to establish identities and relate with other cultures
• Mass production was necessary due to increased demand for food and basic necessities, requiring technology to increase food supplies without extensive travel or labor
• Science and technology played a major role in discovering cures and preventing illnesses for the conservation of life
• Architecture in ancient times was a sign of technological advancement and identity for civilizations
• Engineering advancements allowed for the construction of structures addressing specific needs like transportation, protection, and infrastructure
• Accessories and decorations were added to beautify infrastructures and improve the quality of life
• Sumerian contributions included the first writing system (Cuneiform), the first true city (Uruk City), the Great Ziggurat of Ur, irrigation and dikes, sailboats, wheels, and roads
• Babylonian contributions featured the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world
• Egyptian contributions included papyrus for record-keeping, the invention of ink, hieroglyphics, cosmetics, wigs for health purposes, and the water clock (clepsydra) for measuring time
• Intellectual Revolution:

  • A period where paradigm shifts occurred and scientific beliefs widely embraced were challenged and opposed
  • According to Wootton, it is the replacement of Aristotelian ethics and Christian morality by a new type of decision making termed instrumental reasoning or cost-benefit analysis
• Western Science:

  • Greeks were the first to explain the world in terms of natural laws rather than myths about gods and heroes
  • Passed on the idea of the value of math and experiment in science
• Scientific Revolution:

  • Golden age for people committed to scholarly line in science
  • Some individuals faced painful death or condemnation from religious institutions trying to preserve faith, religion, and theological views
  • Renaissance scholars uncovered Greek authors contradicting Aristotle, leading to skepticism, freethinking, and experimentation
• Aristotle:

  • Most influential figure in Western science until the 1600s
  • Theories made sense when taken in a logical order
  • Relied very little on experiment
  • Attacking one part of Aristotle's system involved attacking the whole thing
  • The Church had grafted Aristotle's theories onto its theology, making any attack on Aristotle an attack on the tradition and the Church itself
• Copernican Revolution:

  • Claudius Ptolemy (Astronomer and Geographer in Alexandria, 2nd century AD) proposed geocentrism, widely accepted by people and Christian church
  • Aristarchus of Samos suggested heliocentrism
  • Nicolaus Copernicus placed the sun at the center of the universe, reducing the number of epicycles from 80 to 34
  • Tycho Brahe proposed a geo-heliocentric system
  • Johannes Kepler introduced Laws of Planetary Motion, showing planetary orbits were elliptical
  • Galileo Galilei observed sunspots, moon craters, and Jupiter's moons, spreading new findings across Europe
• Galileo Galilei:

  • Saw sunspots and moon's craters through his telescope
  • Observed four moons orbiting Jupiter
  • Reported findings in The Starry Messenger (1611)
  • Church tried to preserve Aristotelian and Ptolemaic view of the universe by clamping down on Galileo
• Galileo published "Dialogue on the Great World Systems" in 1632, presenting both the Aristotelian and Copernican views "equally"
• Galileo was faced with the threat of the Inquisition and torture for his views, recanting them at the age of 70
• Isaac Newton realized the force pulling apples to Earth also kept the moon in its orbit
• Newton had to invent calculus to mathematically prove his theory of gravity
• Newton's book "Principia Mathematica" in 1687 marked the start of the Enlightenment
• Charles Darwin published "The Origin of Species" in 1859, introducing natural selection
• Darwin completed the Copernican revolution by applying the notion of nature as a lawful system of matter in motion to biology
• William Paley's "Natural Theology" in 1802 argued for the existence of a Creator based on the design of the human eye
• The Bridgewater Treatises, published between 1833 and 1840, emphasized the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God as manifested in Creation
• Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis concept highlighted unconscious factors influencing behavior and emotions
• Freud's psychoanalysis had a significant impact on psychiatry, particularly in the United States
• Freud's contribution to psychoanalysis is still important due to its historical significance and impact on understanding human behavior
• Freudian Revolution in Psychology and Psychiatry:

  • Turned away from the search for organic causes
  • Turned towards the search for inner psychic conflicts and early childhood traumas
  • Blurred the line between sane and insane according to Freud
  • Everyone, according to Freud, had an Oedipal crisis and could potentially become mentally ill
• Meso-American Civilization:

  • Comprised modern-day countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica
  • Developed on its own and became self-reliant
  • Among the three developed civilizations (Maya, Inca, Aztec), Maya civilization was the most advanced
• Maya Civilization:

  • Used pictorial script called Maya hieroglyphs
  • Created books on long strips of paper folded in harmonica-style
  • Developed the most accurate calendar ever designed
  • Used temples for astronomical observation
  • Measured time using two complicated calendar systems
  • Developed technology for growing different crops and building elaborate cities with sophisticated waterways
• Inca Civilization:

  • Made advanced scientific ideas considering their limitations as an old civilization
  • Developed roads paved with stones, stone buildings, irrigation systems, a calendar, suspension bridges, quipu, and textiles
• Aztec Civilization:

  • Introduced mandatory education for children
  • Developed chocolates, antispasmodic medication, Chinampa for agricultural farming, an Aztec calendar, and canoes
• Other Meso-American Contributions:

  • Cultivated crop plants such as corn, papaya, avocado, and cocoa
  • Early Meso-American civilizations knew about and used magnetism
• Asia's Contribution to Science and Technology:

  • Japan is notable for scientific and technological achievements in electronics and automobiles
  • Taiwan, South Korea, and China produce 90% of the world's digital gadgets
  • India, China, and the Middle East civilizations made significant contributions to the development of knowledge
• India's Scientific and Technological Contributions:

  • Known for manufacturing iron and metallurgical works
  • Developed Ayurveda, a system of traditional medicine
  • Notable in the field of astronomy with theories on the configuration of the universe and the spherical self-supporting Earth
• Indian Astronomy:

  • Siddhanta Shiromani covered topics such as mean longitudes of the planets, true longitudes of the planets, the three problems of diurnal rotation, syzygies, lunar eclipses, solar eclipses, latitudes of the planets, risings and settings, the moon's crescent, conjunctions of the planets with each other, conjunctions of the planets with the fixed stars, and the paths of the Sun and Moon
  • Developed theories on the configuration of the universe, the spherical self-supporting Earth, and the year of 360 days with 12 equal parts of 30 days each
• Indian Mathematics:

  • Aryabhata (476-550 CE) introduced trigonometric functions, tables, and techniques, as well as algorithms of algebra
  • Brahmagupta in 628 AD suggested that gravity was a force of attraction and explained the use of zero as a placeholder and a decimal digit, along with the Hindu-Arabic numeral system
  • Madhava of Sangamagrama is considered the founder of mathematical analysis
• China's Scientific and Technological Contributions:

  • Made significant records on supernovas, lunar and solar eclipses, and comets
  • Observed heavenly bodies to understand weather changes and seasons
  • Known in seismology