How Science has played a significant role in shaping Human lives
How Science has played a significant role in shaping Human lives
“Science has the potential to significantly impact all three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental.” – Martin Sajdik, President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council
This World Science Day for Peace and Development, Let’s look at How Science has played a significant role in shaping Human lives.
What does peace mean on a global platform? Peace is all about different nations coming together and working towards a common goal. Development on the other hand is to bring all of humankind to better and more comfortable conditions from what it is now. So how has science contributed to these two important objectives for humankind?
The human society is continuously undergoing development through the harnessing of Information and knowledge in the form of Science. This has affected our everyday lives, value systems, our environment and even power structures.
Science affects us in every way and every day. Can you try thinking of 5 things you use in your life every day, that aren’t a product of Science? From the moment you wake up with a digital alarm clock, you plan your day’s activity according to the weather report, and the car you ride in, making the calls with your cell phone, to the lights that keep your homes bright at night are all small examples of how our life has been made easy by science. The modern world today would not be so modern after all without the understanding of Science. When we have to answer the question of how Science is a catalyst in shaping Human lives, we understand that mostly, it’s through technology, innovation, and modern medicine but we’d also like to offer some detail to this.
Electricity:
Let’s begin with something as basic as electricity. Can you imagine a world today without electricity? How long can you really be comfortable when there is a power cut? Without the discovery of electricity there would be no lights, Television, fans, refrigerator, radio, Laptops and what not. Discovery of electricity has substantially made us lives so much more comfortable and has helped us evolve over these years exceptionally.
Medicine:
During this Pandemic, it is all the more important that we talk about medicine! Good healthcare is one of the most fundamental elements for economic and social progress in any developing country. If not for the invention in the late 1700 by Edward Jenner who first proved that vaccination worked, we would’ve been still losing many lives to what are consider as not so worrisome illnesses today, like polio, smallpox, measles and mumps to name a few. In the next hundred years, many scientists and doctors established with theory that disease were caused by germs. In 1920, the first antibiotic was discovered. So from the eradication of smallpox, to the prevention of many flues and viruses, and to the successful treatment of many deadly diseases, the impact of modern medicine is manifold on Global Health.
Agriculture:
Let us now talk about how science has transformed what we eat today. Biologists began developing high yielding crop varieties in the 1940 which when paired with new fertilizers and pesticides developed by chemists, increased the amount of food that could be harvested dramatically, ushering in the Green Revolution. The science based Technologies that we used, triggered striking changes in agricultural field; massively increasing the amount of food that was available for the world and simultaneously transforming agricultural practices and economic structures.
Education:
Science is one of the most important channels of wisdom! In the field of education, when we look at the text books used by children today, we can see how far scientific knowledge has advanced. These advances have transformed education by the, deliberate and consistent addition of new scientific methodology or new scientific information to enhance education. This application of science in education is of Paramount importance because; firstly education has been recognized as a human right and secondly because the environmental, technological and medical applications of science require qualified professionals who have had formal science education. We at Sherwood High are always very encouraging of our students, and help them in becoming what they aim to be one day, and we wish each and every one of our students’ dreams and ambitions come true.
Research and Development:
Scientific research led to the development and introduction of oral re-hydration therapy, this has become the cornerstone of international control for diarrheal diseases. Research also established that a certain amount of Vitamin A given to children, every six months has been able to reduce child mortality in many countries by over one third. It is with research that in agriculture, rice wheat rotation techniques has significantly enhanced food production. Scientific based natural resource management has been essential in developing the Tourist Industry. International programs based on R&D are critical components of Indian foreign policy, particularly for foreign assistance activities. Research is also important for countries in addressing traditional development issues and also in coping with increased International flows of goods and services. Research and development also supports technical education and vocational training; there are innumerable numbers of job opportunities due to scientific development every single day.
Politics:
Politics and Science cannot be seen as separate entities. Scientific reason is intimately linked to human nature. Ignorant population can be easily manipulated, as their votes depend on irrelevant detail. In a democracy, society is part of politics and politics is a part of Science, as it in forms both society and politics. As a society we should use scientific methods to minimize bias and to maximize objectivity. There are many scientific concepts that are supported by a robust body of factual data, which have now become inherently politicized; not so much because of a controversy in the science community but because they threaten a particular party’s vested interest. For example: Global Warming, Climate change, deforestation, even a pandemic and its vaccination.
Technology:
Technology! Now, can you imagine a day in your life without Technology today? Computers feel like something that is a very regular necessity and the growth of internet is spell bounding! We always need faster and faster internet connections; organizations and clients are always requesting over speedy response time. Extremely quick internet speeds has transformed so many aspects of our lives. When the internet first began, it felt like a far-fetched reality to many. Today we don’t even give a second thought to what a huge achievement the internet really is. Why because there are newer and newer Technologies that are getting developed every day.
Machine learning for example, it was only a few years ago, that machine learning and Artificial intelligence were used in business platforms largely, and this has empowered many business operations. Another example is Quantum computing which is a still rising innovation but standing out among the most intriguing technologies, many companies and government organizations have been working on this. There are many such innovations that are absolutely amazing! Like we have everything that is smart now; smart phones, smart TV, Smart homes. Increasingly our lives are getting incorporated with smart tech; demand for ever better brilliant appliances and entertainment are changing the manner in which we interact. Regardless of whether it is a good thing or bad, it is still brilliant and mind boggling. Other Technologies that we can talk about that science has given us recently, could be the “Custom cancer vaccines”, “Block chain Technology”, “Dextrous robots”, “Digital Twins”, “Microbiomes” etc.
We could go on and on about the achievements of Science, however, we do have to conclude. Let us finish by emphasizing that; Science is one of the greatest collective endeavor, which contributes to ensuring a longer- healthier life, monitors our health, provides the simplest things as access to water for the most basic needs; including food and energy. It makes life more fun and interesting by including sports, music, and entertainment.
Science generates solutions to everyday problems by helping us answer the great mysteries of the universe. This is especially true during the present pandemic situation, where the entire world would have come to halt, if not for the internet. Especially the schools, colleges, and entire educational institutions have opted to virtual classrooms; in order to make it a safer educational platform without affecting the academic curriculum.
Sherwood high encourages a scientific attitude in our students and motivates students by conducting science exhibitions, where students work on science projects and exhibit their scientific potentials.
Here is the link where some of our students can be seen participating in Science exhibitions conducted at Sherwood high: