Introduction : science and technology in the service of man

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Hello stemians i believe we all have experienced the impact of science and technology in our daily life. I chose to write about the impact of science and technology to man.

INTRODUCTION

People from primitive societies have only fairly small store of knowledge on which they can draw and exploit while people from civilised societies can benefit from the results of centuries of research and specialised learning. The level of stored knowledge grows when people start questioning the wisdom and teaching of the societies they live in. It is through that questioning that men learn more facts about the earth, nature and about their societies and so on. Men also learn more efficient ways of organising those facts into systems of thoughts.
When the processes of asking questions itself become systematic and organised, we have science.
One of the most compelling spurs to human thought is overriding curiosity. Most of us are not satisfied simply to know what something is also want to we know the way the thing is made. When we consider a primitive man in a simple hunting society who comes across a spring of boiling water for the first time, his curiosity should be to know what makes the water hot.
He might reason that there is fire. The sophisticated scientist and the untaught hunter are alike in that they search for reasonable explanation of baffling things.
And when men look for a reasonable explanation, they are simply trying to tidy up the vast; untidy diversity of everyday experience.

Before going further, it will be good to define the words science and technology

Science is a systematized body of knowledge, which can be verified at any place, at any time and under certain given conditions.
Technology refers to ways of making or doing things. It includes the development of tools that permit the specialisation of labour on a gradation of levels.

In the olden days, farmers were only able to produce food for their family members. People living in abject poverty, victims of dieases, poor medication, poor means of transportation and communication were on the increase then. But in recent times, mans technological knowledge advanced and peoples condition became better.

Scientific basis of technology

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1. Transportation
The early methods of transport were characterized by the use of head portage, animal transport and inland waterway transport.
These systems of transport were poor and most communities, which traded on small scale with neighbours, had to depend largely on human and animal resources. They occasionally trekked to distant places under hazardous circumstances to dispose of their wares. Adverse climate conditions presented hostile environment for people to travel far. Material and personal insecurity is a feature of land transport as traders who carried their wares to distant places were exposed to danger of being killed or abducted into slavery. But man being an intelligent being soon found as a result of science and technology certain solutions to most of his problems.
Thus, the traditional means of transportation were replaced with the modern methods of transportation.
Modern methods of transport involve
i. The use of road.

ii. By air.

iii. Railway.

iv. waterway and underground pipeline transports.

To summerize, with science and technology, man can now go to the ends of the earth and travelling has now become a luxury wether by land or by air or by sea.

2. Communication

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Man possesses versatility and has a highly developed brain, which controls his endeavours.
Science and technology has made man realize that he can never do without them. That is why we always have to refer to science and technology in anything we are doing.

Now look at this! The old traditional form of communication were by the use of smoke signals, shrugging or relaxing body signs, dtums, metal or wooding gongs, town criers, whistling, gun shots, messengers and so on. What will the whole world look like if these traditional forms of comminication were still in use worldwide? The answers these two questions will be no and others will say it sounds funny. Most of the traditional methods are still in use till today, but have many disadvantages. Traditionally, messengers were sent to deliver verbal messenges and such messages were being distorted biased or even forgotten due to memory lapses.

In Nigeria, communication system had its antiquity in the advent of British rule. The postal division which was an arm of posts and telecommunication department of the ministry of comminications started in 1851.

Radio broadcasting came into existence in Nigeria in experiment. A wireless station was later established in Lagos in 1933 by posts and telecommunications deepartment to achieve its purpose.

The idea of television services in Nigeria was borne in 1961. It was when the federal ministry of information engaged the services of Nations broadcasting corporation international (an American company) to set up and run a television service. The idea materialized on the 1st of April 1962, when the first television signal went on air in the then federal capital Lagos.

Other forms of moderm communication systems include:
1. Signs and symbols:

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This form of communication is affected by the use of visual aids. They includr signboards, posters, road signs, traffic lights, trademarks or symbols etc.

2. Postal services:

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Their communication services are concerned with tge provision of letters, parcels, post cards, conveyance of wire ot wireless information.

3. Telecommunication systems:

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They effect communication through wire or wireless systems. These involve the use of radio, telex, telegrah, telephone, television, cablegram, satelite, video machine E-mail, fax etc

4. Books:

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Text books, enclyopaedia, dictionaries, etc. They all communicate information.

5. The press:

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The press includes newspaper, magazines periodicals, journals, pamphlets etc. The press is a powerful instrument of communication.

6. Sensitve machines or equipment:

Profesional rain, snow and hail gauge with mounting hardware
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They are the communicators of vital information. The machines or equipment concerned are rockets, thermometers, barometers, rain gauge ete.

7. Artifacts:

mound 72 Artifacts from cahokia
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They include excavated human made or used materials such as pebbles, rocks, knives, axes, metal materials.

Let's now delve into some of the problems associated with the operation of modern communication system in Nigeria. They are as follows.
1. Lack of skilled manpower:
As Nigeria is still one of the many under developed countries in the world, she really lacks technologists and technicians who can squarely and effiently manage the newly installed telecommunications system.

2. Damges:
Nigeria's telcommunications are usually hit by theives, road building and other construction works. The wires are often cut, destroyed and it takes time before repairs could be made because of lack of experienced technologists.

3. Poor administration:
Poor administration, planning and management have contributed a lot to making communication system ineffective in Nigeria.

Note they are other problems associated with the Nigerian telecommunication system include lack of public understanding, lack of incentive etc

Some of the advantages of modern communication system include
I. It makes the world to become smaller;
II. It defies obstacles to communication - at least the radio does that;
III. it helps to save time in emergency situation
Iv. It increases and strengthens intercontinental links with sovereign states;
V. it creates employment fof the qualified individial etc.

In fact, any country without communication system\ network is totally blind. In short, science and technology have not only liberated man from problems but have also made mans interaction with fellow beings to increase tremendously.

3. Agriculture

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As a result of science and technology, man has succeeded almost in solving all his problems. With it, solutions to his many multi-faceted problems seem easier than never. He can now manipulate his environment to suit his convenience.

In unscientific agriculture, man was faced with many problems such as weather, crude implements or tools like hoes, knives, sticks and other unscientific methods with which he practiced agriculture. In modern agriculture, science helps man to conquer nature and environment. The scientific irrigation system brings to the cultivator, a perennial supply of water, mechanized implements like tractors, harvesters etc which helps him to plough large acres of land quickly. Science helps in the fight against pests with various types of pesticides. Science also enabled ordinary farmyard manure to be reinforced with fertilizers having adequate proportion of nitrogenous, phosphatic and potassium components.

Today, the agricultural sector is paying more attention to the growth of the oil palm because of science and technology. It has saved our parents in the rural areas the ridicules involved in asking the youth to climb the palm trees to harvest the bunch. Farmers can now stand on tge ground and tap the palm tree, cut down the palm fronds etc. Technology contributed a lot in the invention of palm kernel cracking machine, palm oil processing machine, garri processing machine etc. With science and technology most of the risks and problems encountered in agriculture have been solved.

4. Medicine

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Science and technology have relieved man of his sufferings. In the olden days, a child born with certain deformities were simply thrown into the thick forest to die without investigating the cause of their ailment. We have equallyy heard or read of the great plague of london (1665) when people left their plague stricken relatives to die and had to run away to save their own lives. When there is cholera or small pox outbreak, many lives are claimed. Before, many women die during child delivery. Infant mortality was equally high. In the olden days, people used local herbs to treat themselves. They usually conducted native doctors to diagonise their illness and also made sacrifices to appease the idols. But with modern science and technology, advances and improvements in medication have been made. Many diseases now yield to scientific treatments and many are prevented or checked by vaccination, inoculation and prophylactic injections of different sorts. Different categories of operations are successfully carried out and untimely death of patients have equally reduced.

5. Tools

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Our tools have been revolutionizedby science and technology. Old tools such as those for hunting, farming, making cloths or weapons of war etc. Have been revolutionized. New tools with improved qualities have been introducd. Today, agricultural tools for warfares such as bombers, tanks explosives, atomic bombs, submarines; tools for constructing roads such caterpillar, tractors graders, etc have helped man a lot.

7. Fashion
Animal skins, leaves, grasses etc were man's early form of clothing. Better machines were not invented for making his body wears. The situation gradually changed with the intruduction of science and technology. In Nigeria for example, our local looms have been refined and the basic principles of weaving, the interlacing of the warp and weft thread are already in use.

8. Building

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Poorly constructed dwellings marked our dwelling in the olden days. Most of the dwellings were built with mud, block, tree branches, logs of wood, sticks and grasses. Science and technology have helped in the evolution of new designs for constructing houses. Corrugated iron sheets, cements, concrete, metal, steel, iron, alloy, bricks and many other modern types of materials are in use today. These have replaced the use of mud blocks and thatched roofs. Science and technology have also revolutionized the building of houses. Building of upstairs and skyscrapers other than the common bungalows that accommodated fewer tenants have also solved mans need for accommodation.

9. Culture
Culture simply means the way of life of people. It also involves thr way of thinking, the attitude and values, the manner of expressing language and mannerisms. It also refers to the mass of learned and transmitted motor reactions- habbits, techniques, ideas, value and the behaviour. They include, manner of dressing and way of reasoning. Culture also influences the philosophy or ways of thinking of people.

Science and technology equally influenced the culture of the people. In Nigeria, our eating habbit is a typical example. It is our culture that most Nigerian eat the pounded yam or garri and some other food items with bare hands. But because of the impact of science and technology to culture many have reverted to eating with cutleries.

Science and technology have also effected a lot of changes in the way of thinking, reasoning, values and in fact to tge general philosophy of life of people.

To summerize, what is good is good. Science and technology have totally helped man rise from his primitive and uncivilized way of life to well - organized and civilized way of life.

I believe you have learnt a lot on the wonderful study of the impact of science and technology to man. I really appreciate your time and I still remain your humble and loyal friend @uniquegem .

References

Bendoza M.G.(1982) Systems of society. U.S.A. and company

http://www.unesco.org/science/wcs/meetings/eur_alberta_98_e.tym

Smith A.D. (91979) The CONCEPT of social change. London. Kegan and Paul.