FILAMER CHRSTIAN UNIVERSITY

College of Arts and Sciences

GEC 7

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY

Module 8: Information Society

Overview

Humans are surrounded on all sides by technology claiming to supply information:

Before the printed word, the written word was prevalent. Yet, the intent to carry
information has always been present. Words are informed with meaning given by the speaker
and intended for the listener.

Objectives

At the end of this module, the students should be able to:

1. Determine the human and social impacts of the developments in the information age;
2. Discuss the evolution of technology from the ancient times to the present; and
3. Illustrate how social media have affected their lives.
Module Contents

A. INFORMATION

A word is a combination of sounds that represents something. It is this significance which

B. THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE

In the human quest for understanding the natural world, the ability to name and classify
objects found in nature was seen as a first step in knowing. Thus, the scientific search for
truth early on recognized the usefulness of language and the ability it gave to make sense of
nature.

The idea of comprehending words as more than just combinations of sounds led the Greeks
to seek out the principles of everyday language. When talking to other people, for example, a
meaningful message is created using ordinary sounds. Its meaning is also not diminished by
multiplication – the speaker can use the same words over and over again to talk to ten, a
hundred, or even a thousand people separately or at the same time. Words, therefore, can
function across space and time without reducing, their meaning.

Plato’s principle of “One and the Many” refers to the underlying unity among diverse beings
in the natural world. For Plato, there is a common intrinsic nature shared by different objects,
which determines their real sense. Biologists devised a way to illustrate this principle using a
system differentiating between genus and species. Many species belong in one genus.

In the 21st century, we are aware more than ever that there is rich diversity in nature, which
technology has allowed us to discover (BANWA Natural Science, 2008).
 C. MATHEMATICS AS THE LANGUAGE OF NATURE

Technology in the modern world is the fruit of science. Because the scientific method
helped people discover how nature behaves, they were able to control nature with technology.
A more accurate statement is: Since people have discovered the laws and language of nature,
they can develop technology that uses these laws and language for their benefit. This
language is mathematics, the great combination of Isaac Newton. Nature can be understood
because it speaks in the language of mathematics and the human brain, to a certain extent, can
comprehend this language (Wigner, 1960).

D. TECHNOLOGICAL WORLD

The ability to think and conceptually comprehend nature and the principles it follows
eventually leads to science. Western thinkers harnessed the forces of nature after
understanding them better. Lost in antiquity is the first sailing vessel that worked through the
power of the wind. Hero of Alexandria would invent a primitive steam engine in the first
century (Paul Davies, 1990).

E. THE PRINTING PRESS AND BEYOND

The power of the eidos, or idea, would be witnessed in the succeeding centuries of
development in the West. The ancient fascination with language gave rise to the preservation
of the words of earlier people at the same time when the West weakened itself due to
internecine warfare and conflicts. Throughout this dark period, the importance of the word-
the power to be informed as a human being- led to the transmission of ideas through hand-
copying. From this manual action would arise the technology that would transform cultures-
the printing press. The development of the printing press, which may be regarded as the
beginning of a true revolution, could be dated to the 15th century.

In the age of information, the transmission of ideas has undergone changes. Meaning and
depth are no longer conveyed strictly by rhetoric but rather by its electronic replacement, the
digital signal or digit. Such a digital world is a direct offspring of the progressing world of
technology built upon the many advances in science (Toffler, 1984).
 F. THE WOLRD WIDE WEB

A more modern example of technology feeding upon itself is the 20 th-century tour of force:
the World Wide Web through the internet. Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented it as a way of
addressing data processing and information sharing needs among scientists for the European
Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). CERN’s atom smasher produces a huge amount of
scientific data every second. It thus required better data analyzers to work on the gathered
information in coordination with each other. While the telegraph and telephone had allowed
the transmission of information to transcend physical boundaries, processing a veritable ocean
and mountain of scientific data generated by the atom smasher needed a new medium.

The technology applied when a sailor rigs up a piece of cloth to catch the wind is the same
one that produces modern machines and devices, albeit less complex. Nevertheless, human
beings have always found a way to address their needs and discover new frontiers with
scientific thinking. Considering the many benefits we get from these technologies, we must
also be responsible in utilizing them to avoid harming others and ourselves.

QUESTIONS FOR RELECTION

1. Which developments in the information age brought significant changes in a way you
live your life today?

2. How did the transmission of information evolve from the ancient times up to the
present?

3. How did the printing press change the course of history? What ideas were spread
using this invention?

4. Social media is a technology which facilitates the sharing of information, ideas, and
other content in different parts of the globe. If social media was deactivated for a
month in the country, what could possibly happen?

5. Social media also poses certain risks especially in the dissemination of false information.
As a student, how will you use social media to ensure that you do not propagate
inaccurate and unreliable information?
References

Mcnamara, D.J., Valverde, V.M., and Belleno, R. III. (2018). Science, Technology and Society.
C & E Publishing House, Inc.

Video Clips/Slides