10 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - SCIENCE - 2024

Some of the main differences between science and technology have to do with the methods they use, their durability, their origin and the mission that defines them. These two words are related but they do not mean the same thing.

The first is a general method of accessing knowledge, and the second is the practical application of scientific knowledge. As can be seen, these are essentially totally different procedures.

Despite being related concepts, science and technology have essential differences in terms of their missions and methods used. Source: pixabay.com

Science encompasses all the knowledge derived from the investigation of reality, understood as the set of phenomena that can be analyzed and verified in the light of the scientific method.

Technology implies a much more restricted field of knowledge; This consists of the elaboration of products that benefit or facilitate the actions of the human being. Technology increases the possibilities that man has to do things, to fulfill desires and satisfy needs.

Top 10 differences between science and technology

Etymological origin

The Spanish word "science" came from the Latin scientia, which is translated as "knowledge". From the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment period, this word was synonymous with "philosophy", a term that etymologically means "love of wisdom."

However, today we understand science in a more limited way, such as knowledge derived from empirical studies.

For its part, the word "technology" comes from two Greek words: tekhné (τέχνη), which translates as "technique"; and logos (λóγος), which means “word”. Their union could be understood as "the discourse of technique"; that is, an organized set of practical knowledge.

Theories and applied knowledge

According to the Royal Spanish Academy, science is defined as a group of knowledge that has been obtained through reasoning and observation, structured in a systematic way and from which general laws and principles are deduced that can be predicted and verified in the experimental field.

For its part, technology is defined as a group of techniques and theories that favor the practical use of scientific knowledge.

So, we understand that technology uses the knowledge obtained by science by applying it for pragmatic purposes. For example, automobile companies take a body of physico-chemical knowledge from science to create machines that we can qualify as transportation technology.

Emergence

It can be said that technology is much older than science, since since the first Homo sapiens existed, artifacts have been created to facilitate human tasks. A spear, a leather dress, a campfire and a wheel are technologies discovered empirically thanks to intuition or chance, and not by the systematic application of a method.

Science came much later. From a western point of view, we can think that the origin of science dates back to the 7th century BC. C. with the pre-Socratic philosophers, who were the first to reason from the phenomena they observed in nature.

Missions

The mission of science is the expansion of knowledge, the understanding of reality. For this reason, the scientific method seeks to create and test theories about the causes of phenomena in order to formulate laws that explain the operation of the universe.

On the other hand, technology makes use of these discoveries to achieve its true mission, which is not knowledge itself, but the mechanical and utilitarian ends for which a project of technological development is undertaken. Ultimately, it is about generating solutions and not explanations to life's problems.

For example, medical technology is intended to preserve human life through technical procedures that protect the health of patients.

Economic relevance

The importance of science is not related to the search for financial remuneration per se.

For example, scientific research such as the cataloging of primate species that inhabit the Amazon does not directly generate a marketable product, although researchers may be paid by an institution to carry out such work.

On the other hand, technology represents one of the main axes of the world economy, since it is essential for the operation of industries and the production of items that are sold in the market.

Methods

The scientific method, essential even to define the concept of science itself, is based on several steps that allow access to knowledge and its verification.

This method is rigid. It must begin with an analytical, observation and reasoning process that allows establishing relationships between the facts of reality, and then begins the process of testing the hypotheses through experimentation. All this should aim to formulate some defining conclusions, some laws.

In technology, the formulation of laws matters little, since this branch of science called "applied science" tends to dynamism, aspires to constant improvement.

The technological research and production process includes a high degree of creativity. Technology is also a matter of engineering and design: it is not produced with abstract laws in mind, but with the varied and changing needs of consumers and how to make a product fit each need in the most optimal way.

Relationship with nature

Science, since its purpose is knowledge, behaves as a discipline of observation and analysis of natural phenomena. Your job is to understand nature, not affect or modify it.

On the contrary, technology always seeks to manipulate and use the laws of nature in its favor, intervening in its processes and even modifying them to achieve stipulated ends.

Science is a contemplative and cognitive discipline: it perceives phenomena and reflects on their characteristics. Instead, technology is creative. His activity is not interested in principles, but in ends.

Technology can even become invasive and destructive of nature, which is why it is susceptible to being subjected to ethical judgments, because just as man is capable of providing benefits, it can also generate problems.

With technology, one must be attentive to the perspective under which the benefit of inventions is considered, as these can create sequelae and collateral damage.

Evaluation of results

It is complex to evaluate the results of a scientific investigation. The scientific method can allow a hypothesis to be tested, a theory to be tested and thus reach conclusions that have an acceptable degree of certainty.

However, in science you can never be 100% sure of the results of an investigation. The duty of science is to constantly question its own conclusions.

For this reason, scientific theories are constantly subjected to revision processes, resulting in ideas that were accepted as true end up being refuted and set aside by others that obtain higher degrees of probability.

Unexpected scientific results

There are also cases in which scientific investigations yield unexpected results, discoveries that have nothing to do with the initial search for the hypothesis that was being tested. However, these results are especially relevant to science, as they represent the discovery of a hidden truth.

Columbus's trip to America resulted from a scientific investigation that was wrong from its conception, and yet it yielded extremely important results.

Based on his cartographic studies, the navigator undertook the experiment of the trip to see if it was possible to reach the island of Cipango (present-day Japan) through a route taken by the West.

As we already know, Columbus's calculations were imprecise; However, thanks to that mistake, he was able to achieve a much more important discovery: the American continent. In this case, from the scientific point of view, one cannot speak of a failed investigation.

On the contrary, in the case of technology, defining the evaluation criteria of a project is much simpler. The product created may or may not fulfill the function for which it was conceived; if it doesn't, you need to change the layout.

Durability

Scientific knowledge is valid for a longer period than technological applications. This is so because the objective of science is the search for truth and the conclusions it reaches are difficult to contrast, verify and refute because they are based on probabilities and abstract knowledge.

The main purpose of science is to discover the laws of nature. When we speak of a law we refer to an unappealable knowledge, since it is a natural and immutable reality. Therefore, if a scientific proposition is defined as law, its knowledge will be perpetually relevant to humanity.

Instead, technology follows a constant process of perfectibility. Technologies expire quickly to make way for new, more efficient ones. Every invention is capable of being improved or completely discarded at the moment in which a more efficient method is designed to fulfill its function.

This is clearly seen in the vertiginous way in which telecommunication technologies advance. Cell phone models become obsolete in a few years, because society demands more effective devices that are in line with the evolutionary rhythm of a hyper-connected civilization.

Paradoxes

The natures of science and technology are paradoxical, but in different senses. The paradox of science is that every process of scientific research arises from a doubt, the lack of a certainty, a question. However, at the end of any research process, each knowledge acquired raises new questions.

For its part, in technology we can see that each invention solves a problem and at the same time generates another, which in turn will require a new technological solution.

References

1. "What is the difference between science and technology?" (no date) of Difiere. Retrieved on June 4, 2019 from Difiere: difiere.com
2. Dictionary of the Spanish language (2018) of the Royal Spanish Academy. Retrieved on June 4, 2019 from the Royal Spanish Academy: rae.es.
3. Bybee, R. "Bridging Science & Technology" (no date) from The Science Teacher. Retrieved on June 4, 2019 from University of North Carolina Wilmington: uncw.edu
4. Coronado, M. "Origins of science" (June 2012) from the Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo. Retrieved on June 4, 2019 from the Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo: uaeh.edu.mx.
5. Triglia, A. "The 5 differences between science and technology" (no date) from Psychology and Mind. Retrieved on June 4, 2019 from Psychology and Mind: psicologiaymente.com