Social involvement in technological advances

UNIT 1

SCIENCE

Pre-reading tasks

1. You are supposed to read the text “Science”. In your opinion,

- what does this text run about?

- What is the main aim of science at present?

- What are the most important problems that scientists try to solve nowadays?

2. Can you name problems that are of particular value for scientists working in your field? Explain why they attract close attention.

3. The words in the column A are in the text “Science”. Match a word in the column A with its definition in the column B.

A	B
understanding	causality; causing or being caused;
science	(explanation of the) general principles of an art or science (contrasted with practice); reasoned supposition put forward to explain facts or events;
law	recognizing or being recognized;
detached	rule made by authority for the proper regulation of a community or society or for correct conduct in life;
fundamental	power of clear thought; agreement; realization of another’s views or feelings towards oneself;
theory	state of being regular;
causation	based on opinion or impulse only, not on reason;
regularity	knowledge arranged in an orderly manner, esp. knowledge obtained by observation and testing of facts; branch of such knowledge;
arbitrary	of or forming a foundation; of great importance; serving as a starting point;
recognition	impartial; not influenced by others; unemotional.

4. Match verbs and nouns given in the box. Make use of the text given below to check whether you have formed suitable word combinations. Use each word (a verb or a noun) once only.

to give up	the meaning of a word
to demand	a quest
to investigate	an upheaval
to tolerate	description
to formulate	regularities
to lead to	laws
to recognize	phenomena
to rest on	chaos
to presage	starvation
to exhaust	explanation

Reading

Read the first paragraph of the text “Science” and fill in the blanks choosing the proper words.

SCIENCE

The word science comes from the Latin word scientia meaning to know. Science is systemized knowledge derived through experimentation, observation, and study. In its widest sense it is formulated knowledge, knowledge of structure, laws, and operations. On the simplest level, science is 1) … of the 2) … of nature. There are a lot of 3) … in nature that mankind has had to recognize for survival since the emergence of Homo sapiens as a 4) …. The Sun and the Moon periodically 5) … their movements. Some motions, like the daily “motion” of the Sun, are simple to observe; others, like the annual “motion” of the Sun, are far more 6) …. Both motions correlate with important terrestrial 7) …. Day and night 8) … the basic rhythm of human existence; the seasons 9) … the migration of animals upon which humans 10) … for millennia for survival. With the 11) … of agriculture, the seasons became even more crucial, for 12) … to recognize the 13) … time for planting could lead to starvation. Science 14) … simply as knowledge of 15) … processes is universal among mankind, and it has existed since the 16) … of human existence.

The mere recognition of regularities does not exhaust the full meaning of science, however. In the first place, regularities may be simply constructs of the human mind. Humans leap to conclusions; the mind cannot tolerate chaos, so it constructs regularities even when none objectively exists. Thus, for example, one of the astronomical “laws” of the Middle Ages was that the appearance of comets presaged a great upheaval, as the Norman Conquest of Britain followed the comet of 1066. True regularities must be established by detached examination of data. Science, therefore, must employ a certain degree of skepticism to prevent premature generalization.

Regularities, even when expressed mathematically as laws of nature, are not fully satisfactory to everyone. Some insist that genuine understanding demands explanations of the causes of the laws, but it is in the realm of causation that there is the greatest disagreement. Modern quantum mechanics, for example, has given up the quest for causation and today rests only on mathematical description. Modern biology, on the other hand, thrives on causal chains that permit the understanding of physiological and evolutionary processes in terms of the physical activities of entities such as molecules, cells, and organisms. But even if causation and explanation are admitted as necessary, there is little agreement on the kinds of causes that are permissible, or possible, in science. Science is to be considered in this article as knowledge of natural regularities that is subjected to some degree of skeptical rigour and explained by rational cause.

But science is not the only part of human knowledge. In general, the unity of human knowledge may be artificially divided into religion, philosophy, and science. Science and philosophy, as presently understood, have in common the quality of being speculative, as opposed to religion, which is supposed to be founded merely on faith and moral sentiments. The present distinction between science and philosophy lies largely in their respective fields of speculation. What is known as modern science investigates the phenomena of physical nature and formulates general laws whereas philosophy starts from axioms.

Fundamental science is the part of science that describes the most basic objects, forces, relations between them and laws governing them. Fundamental science includes physical sciences, biology, biotechnology, engineering, computer and information technology and some others. The physical sciences are generally divided into four broad areas: physics, chemistry, astronomy, and the Earth sciences.

Physics, in its modern sense, was founded in the mid-19th century as a synthesis of several older sciences – namely, those of mechanics, optics, acoustics, electricity, magnetism, heat, and the physical properties of matter. The synthesis was based in large part on the recognition that the different forces of nature are related and are, in fact, interconvertible because they are forms of energy.

The boundary between physics and chemistry is somewhat arbitrary. Physics is concerned with the structure and behaviour of individual atoms and their components, while chemistry deals with the properties and reactions of molecules. These latter depend on energy, especially heat, as well as on atoms; hence, there is a strong link between physics and chemistry. Chemists tend to be more interested in the specific properties of different elements and compounds, whereas physicists are concerned with general properties shared by all matter.

Astronomy is the science of the entire universe beyond the Earth; it includes the Earth’s gross physical properties, such as its mass and rotation, insofar as they interact with other bodies in the solar system.

Besides fundamental science there exist the humanities that represent a group of academic subjects such as philosophy, language, literature and so on.

To understand basic phenomena and processes taking place in nature and society one needs special theories that will establish relationship between causes and effects of phenomena and will help to explain them.

1. a) knowledge b) data c) information d) understanding

2. a) kingdom b) world c) properties d) universe

3. a) systems b) rules c) regularities d) order

4. a) kind b) species c) sort d) group

5. a) repeat b) redo c) remake d) recur

6. a) puzzling b) difficult c) hard d) easy

7. a) events b) occurrences c) incidents d) episodes

8. a) supply b) furnish c) provide d) equip

9. a) resolve b) decide c) settle d) determine

10. a) relied b) depended c) counted d) trusted

11. a) invention b) devising c) creating d) appearing

12. a) success b) insufficiency c) achievement d) failure

13. a) proper b) peculiar c) correct d) unsuitable

14. a) explained b) defined c) named d) designated

15. a) usual b) typical c) natural d) normal

16. a) dawn b) sunrise c) daybreak d) end

Read the whole text carefully to fulfill the tasks given in Comprehension check.

Comprehension check

Complete the sentences with the best ending a, b, or c.

Science is

a) knowledge of structure, laws and operation.

b) systemized knowledge of artificially created phenomena and processes.

c) the study of the nature and behaviour of natural things and the knowledge obtained about them.

There exist a lot of regularities

a) in accordance with which the world of nature develops.

b) that humanity has recognized since Homo sapiens as a species appeared.

c) that are mere constructs of the human mind.

Humans create regularities

a) even when none objectively exist.

b) to explain natural processes.

c) to establish relationships between phenomena.

True regularities

a) can be revealed by establishing relationships between phenomena.

b) can be found out by studying natural processes and phenomena.

c) must be formed by impartial study of findings.

Science and philosophy

a) are opposed to religion which is based on faith and moral sentiments.

b) have nothing in common.

c) deal with the phenomena of physical nature.

Fundamental science

a) studies basic objects, forces and relations between them and describes laws governing them.

b) is divided into hard sciences and soft sciences.

c) includes physical sciences and biology.

Physics

a) deals with the most general properties of matter.

b) is concerned with the structure and behaviour of atoms and their components.

c) is the study of matter, energy and motion.

There

a) is a clear-cut distinction between physics and chemistry.

b) are some natural phenomena that can be studied by both physics and chemistry.

c) exists close relationship between physics and chemistry.

2. Find the answers to the questions in the text.

1. What is science, in your opinion?

2. Why do regularities exist?

3. Why does mankind have to recognize these regularities?

4. Can you give an example of any regularity and explain how it acts?

5. How can one establish true regularities?

6. Why does genuine understanding of the world of nature demand explanations of causes of laws?

7. Why don’t all modern sciences search for causation?

8. What are the main parts of human knowledge?

9. What is the difference between science and philosophy?

10. What do the physical sciences study?

3. Prove or disprove the following sentences. Give arguments to support your viewpoint.

1. Science is knowledge of the world of nature.

2. Regularities existing in nature have been recognized by mankind since the first days of its existence.

3. People construct regularities as they can’t bear chaos.

4. To prevent premature generalization scientists must be optimists.

5. Modern science seeks for causation.

6. Scientists admit causation and explanation as a basis of genuine understanding of natural phenomena.

7. Knowledge obtained through experimentation, observation and study is called scientific.

8. Human knowledge is based on faith.

9. Modern science formulates general laws that govern natural phenomena.

10. The physical sciences are concerned with the phenomena of the inorganic world.

4. Arrange the jumbled sentences given below in the right order to sum up the problems described in the text “Science”.

1. Genuine understanding of natural phenomena requires explanations of laws causes.

2. Science and philosophy are opposed to religion.

3. Modern physics is a synthesis of several older disciplines: mechanics, optics, acoustics, electricity and some others.

4. Science is knowledge of the world of nature.

5. Science itself doesn’t come to the recognition of regularities.

6. Not all modern sciences search for causal relationships existing between natural phenomena and processes.

7. The boundary between physics and chemistry is somewhat arbitrary.

8. Mankind had to admit regularities existing in nature.

9. Astronomy studies the entire universe beyond the Earth.

10. All human knowledge can be divided into science, philosophy and religion.

11. Science can be defined as knowledge of natural processes.

12. The physical sciences are generally divided into four broad areas: physics, chemistry, astronomy and the Earth sciences.

Vocabulary work

1. A). Find antonyms

emergence	achievement
to survive	mistrust, disbelief
universal	considerable
dawn	to renew
failure	local
mere	to allow
to exhaust	subordinate
to prevent	disappearance
basic	rude, coarse
refined	conclusion
faith	to die, to fail

(B). Choose from the box appropriate words and use them in suitable forms in the sentences to follow.

1. They did not do enough to investigate … taking place over the past few years.

2. All our attempts ….

3. Overpopulation is a … problem.

4. In … I’d like to point out the advantages and drawbacks of the technique used.

5. The inventor was rewarded by the government for his scientific ….

6. I have given … thought to the matter.

7. They … all possible combinations.

8. A sense of delicacy … him from speaking his mind.

2. (A). Choose from two columns words having similar meanings.

to recognize	to create
to provide	impartial
to depend	admissible
detached	to allow
to invent	to rest on
dawn	untimely
to determine	to require
to tolerate	to acknowledge
premature	to furnish
satisfactory	reason
to insist	to prosper
cause	to cease
to give up	beginning
to thrive	sufficient
permissible	to establish

(B). Fill in the blanks using the proper words from the box above in suitable forms.

1. He … being ignorant of the facts.

2. He … his house tastefully.

3. This theory is … from life.

4. He is always … about nothing.

5. A good … is half the battle.

6. This theory is not yet scientifically ….

7. One should … differences of opinion.

8. The result is far from…..

9. He … on the importance of taking a decision on this question.

10. Don’t … so soon, try again.

3. (A). Match the adjectives on the left with suitable nouns on the right to form word combinations. You can use the text above to fulfill the task.

human	understanding
genuine	examination
premature	existence
detached	boundary
evolutionary	properties
physical	mind
general	cause
specific	knowledge
permissible	process
arbitrary	generalization

(B). Use some of the word combinations from the previous exercise to complete the following sentences.

1. He failed to name the main branches of … ….

2. One shouldn’t make … ….

3. We can understand physiological and … … while studying different processes taking place in molecules, cells and organisms.

4. They studied … … of matter.

5. … … of data led to conclusive evidence of his hypothesis

6. We don’t consider it to be a … … of this effect.

7. The … between these two fields of physics is ….

4. (A). Name nouns that can be formed using the verbs given below. Some of the nouns are mentioned in the text “Science”. Form some more nouns if possible.

To recognize, to regulate, to exist, to fail, to cause, to permit, to speculate, to distinguish.

(B). Complete the sentences using some of the nouns derived from the verbs mentioned above.

1. He did not see any … between these phenomena.

2. She has altered beyond ….

3. Her … was impossible to verify.

4. The newspaper had a very short-lived ….

5. All his efforts ended in ….

6. The … of this disease is unknown.

7. It was done with his ….

8. People seek out … and rules in acquiring a language.

5. Fill in the blanks using the words from the box.

detached	causes	regularities	premature	exist
properties	knowledge	genuine	science

1. Science is systemized … derived through observation and experimentation.

2. There exist a lot of … in nature that have to be taken into consideration.

3. The definition of … as knowledge of natural processes is generally accepted.

4. People formulate regularities even when they do not … objectively.

5. True regularities must be established by … study of information.

6. To prevent … generalization one has to be skeptical.

7. … understanding of laws governing natural phenomena demand explanation of the … of these laws.

8. Physics deals with the most general … of matter,

6. Replace the word(s) in italics in each sentence with the word(s) from the box. Use each word once only.

established	comprehend	relationships	deals	relies
admissible	studies	beginning	recognized

1. Modern science investigates the phenomena of physical nature.

2. Theories establish connections between cause and effect.

3. Chemistry is concerned with the properties and reactions of molecules.

4. Physics, in its modern sense, was founded in the middle of the 19^th century.

5. Science has existed since the dawn of civilization.

6. Modern quantum mechanics rests only on mathematical description.

7. There is little agreement on kinds of causes that are permissible or possible in science.

8. Scientific theories simplify reality to permit us to understand basic forces and laws of nature and society.

9. Causation and explanation are admitted as necessary in science.

7. Fill in the crossword puzzle.

5↓

9→

Down

1. Power of taking notice; collected and recorded information.

2. The search for knowledge, esp. the nature and meaning of existence; system of thought resulting from such a search for knowledge.

3. Statement of equality between two expressions by the sign =.

4. The whole universe and every created thing; force(s) controlling the phenomena of the physical world.

5. Person expert in one or more of the natural or physical sciences.

6. To know, (be able to) identify again (smb or smth) that one has seen, heard, etc before; to be prepared to admit; to be aware.

7. Concerned with speculation.

Across

8. (Process of) explaining; statement, fact, circumstances, etc that explains.

9. Statement of a rule, fact, etc esp. one in signs or numbers, as in mathematics; (chem.) expression in symbols of the constituent parts of a substance.

10. Evidence (in general), or a particular piece of evidence, that is sufficient to show, or helps to show, that smth is a fact.

11. Combination of separate parts, elements, substances, etc into a whole or into a system; that which results from this process.

8. Translate the sentences.

1. Слово наука происходит от латинского слова scientia.

2. Наука – это совокупность знаний, получаемых из экспериментов, наблюдений и исследований.

3. В природе существует много закономерностей, знание которых помогло выжить человечеству.

4. Человек создавал закономерности, даже если они не существовали объективно.

5. Закономерности могут быть выражены математически как законы природы.

6. Истинное понимание природных процессов и явлений требует установления причинно-следственных связей.

7. Наука не является единственной областью знания, накопленного человечеством.

8. Современная наука исследует процессы и явления, происходящие в природе, и формулирует общие законы.

9. Фундаментальная наука подразделяется на несколько областей.

10. Физические науки включают физику, химию, астрономию и науки о земле.

11. Помимо фундаментальной науки существуют гуманитарные науки: языкознание, литература, психология и т.д.

12. Для понимания природных процессов и явлений нужны особые теории, которые устанавливают причинно-следственные связи между явлениями и помогают объяснить их.

Follow-up activities

1. Interview your partner about the most significant achievements in his field of knowledge.

2. Think of a famous scientist and prepare a report about his life and contributions to science. Don’t give his/her name. Let your group-mates guess who you mean.

3. Prepare a report about further advances in science.

UNIT 2

TECHNOLOGY

Pre-reading tasks

1. The texts you are going to read are headlined “The history of technology” and “Social involvement in technological advances”. Think of as many questions as possible the answers to which you hope to find in these texts.

2. In pairs, ask and answer these questions.

3. Match the words given in bold type in the texts below with their definitions.

a. (of a plan, etc) to fail;

b. expert in, student of technology;

c. (thing) required as a condition for smth else;

d. to encircle, to surround; to envelop; to comprise;

e. process of opening out or developing;

f. innovating; instance of this; smth new that is introduced;

g. that reduces the amount of labour needed;

h. smth that stimulates;

i. to make changes; to introduce new things;

j. method, process, by which a result may be obtained;

k. instruments held in the hand(s) and used by workmen.

4. Form word combinations using a verb from the column A and a noun from the column B. Use each word once only. The texts below contain these word combinations.

A	B
to manipulate	circumstances
to suit	instinctive reactions
to inherit	one’s environment
to encompass	inventors
to possess	needs
to meet	a stock of techniques
to encourage	man’s evolution

Reading

Read the text “The history of technology” and fill in the blanks using appropriate words.

TEXT A

THE HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY

1) …. may be defined as the systematic 2) … of techniques for making 3) ….. The term itself, a 4) … of the Greek techne, “art, craft,” with logos, “word, speech,” meant in Greece a discourse on the arts, both fine and applied. When it first 5) … in English in the 17th century, it was used to mean a 6) … of the applied arts only, and gradually these “arts” themselves came to be the object of the designation. By the early 20th century, the term 7) … a growing range of means, processes, and ideas 8) … to tools and machines. By mid-century technology was defined as “the means or activity by which man 9) … to change or manipulate his environment.”

Essentially, 10) … are methods of 11) … new tools, and the 12) … for constructing tools is a 13) … characteristic of manlike species. Other species can also 14) … things: bees build 15) … hives to deposit their honey, birds make nests, and beavers build dams. But these attributes are patterns of instinctive behaviour and cannot vary to suit rapidly changing circumstances. Man, in contrast with other species, does not possess highly developed instinctive reactions but does have the capacity to think systematically and creatively about techniques. He can thus innovate and consciously modify his environment in a way no other species has achieved. By virtue of his nature as a toolmaker, man is therefore a technologist from the beginning, and the history of technology encompasses the whole evolution of man.

1. a) science b) technology c) physics d) mathematics

2. a) study b) examination c) consideration d) exploration

3. a) substances b) materials c) subjects d) things

4. a) combination b) mixing c) compound d) composite

5. a) turned up b) appeared c) showed up d) emerged

6. a) talks b) conversations c) dialogue d) discussion

7. a) enclosed b) embraced c) consisted d) clasped

8. a) as well as b) also c) in addition d) too

9. a) searches b) looks for c) aims at d) seeks

10. a) methods b) techniques c) means d) approaches

11. a) originating b) forming c) creating d) composing

12. a) ability b) volume c) capability d) capacity

13. a) convincing b) determining c) inconclusive d) tentative

14. a) manufacture b) make c) produce d) form

15. a) ornamented b) decorative c) elaborate d) careful

Read both texts and fulfill the tasks given in Comprehension check.

TEXT B

SOCIAL INVOLVEMENT IN TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES

There are three points at which there must be some social involvement in technological innovation: social need, social resources, and a sympathetic social ethos. In default of any of these factors it is unlikely that a technological innovation will be widely adopted or be successful.

The sense of social need must be strongly felt, or people will not be prepared to devote resources to a technological innovation. The thing needed may be a more efficient cutting tool, a more powerful lifting device, a laboursaving machine, or a means of utilizing new fuels or a new source of energy. Or, because military needs have always provided a stimulus to technological innovation, it may take the form of a requirement for better weapons. In modern societies, needs have been generated by advertising. Whatever the source of social need, it is essential that enough people be conscious of it to provide a market for a product that can meet the need.

Social resources are similarly an indispensable prerequisite to a successful innovation. Many inventions have foundered because the social resources vital for their realization--the capital, materials, and skilled personnel--were not available. The notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci are full of ideas for helicopters, submarines, and airplanes, but few of these reached even the model stage because resources of one sort or another were lacking. The resource of capital involves the existence of surplus productivity and an organization capable of directing the available wealth into channels in which the inventor can use it. The resource of materials involves the availability of appropriate metallurgical, ceramic, plastic, or textile substances that can perform whatever functions a new invention requires of them. The resource of skilled personnel implies the presence of technicians capable of constructing new things and devising novel processes. A society, in short, has to be well primed with suitable resources in order to sustain technological innovations.

A sympathetic social ethos implies an environment receptive to new ideas, one in which the dominant social groups are prepared to consider innovation seriously. Such receptivity may be limited to specific fields of innovation, for example, improvements in weapons or in navigational techniques. However, there can be no doubt that the existence of socially important groups willing to encourage inventors and to use their ideas has been a crucial factor in the history of technology.

Social conditions are thus of the utmost importance in the development of new techniques. It is worthwhile mentioning another characteristic of technology – its rationality. Technology involves the application of reason to techniques, and in the 20th century technology was regarded as a rational activity stemming from the traditions of science. Nevertheless, it should be observed that technology is much older than science, and also that techniques have tended to ossify over centuries of practice or to become diverted into such para-rational exercises as alchemy. Some techniques became so complex, often depending upon processes of chemical change that were not understood even when they were widely practiced, that technology sometimes became itself a “mystery”, and it was more important to copy an ancient formula than to innovate. Thus, for most of its long existence technology has been virtually stagnant, mysterious, and even irrational.

On the other hand it is impossible to deny that there is a progressive element in technology, as the acquisition of techniques has a cumulative character, each generation inherits a stock of techniques on which it can build if it chooses and if social conditions permit. For a long period of time the history of technology has shown this cumulative quality as some societies have advanced, stage by stage, from comparatively primitive to more sophisticated techniques. But although this development has occurred and is still going on, it is not intrinsic to the nature of technology that such a process of accumulation should occur, and it has certainly not been an inevitable development. The fact that many societies have remained stagnant for long periods of time, even at quite developed stages of technological evolution, and that some have actually regressed and lost the accumulated techniques passed on to them, demonstrates the ambiguous nature of technology.

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