History of science and technology

The history of science and technology (HST) is a field of history which examines how humanity's understanding of science and technology has changed over the millennia, and how this understanding has allowed us to generate new technologies. This field of history also studies the cultural, economic, and political impacts of scientific innovation.

The advent of modern mathematical science is generally believed to have begun with the Hellenic Pythagoreans; although, it would probably be a mistake to believe that modern science was a "Greek invention". Rather, the Greek influence on mathematics and scientific investigation has been better documented than the contributions of other ancient civilizations.

Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Challenge to orthodoxy 2 Contribution to knowledge 3 Major areas/Sub-fields 3.1 Science 3.2 Social science 3.3 Technology 3.4 General Science and Technology 3.5 Ancient technological objects

Challenge to orthodoxy

A persistent theme in the history of science and technology has been the poor reception so often given to those who espouse ideas contrary to the prevailing orthodoxy. The story of Galileo is a case in point. Other natural philosophers and astronomers, especially those in areas closely influenced by religious orthodoxy, were reluctant to "check" their theories by looking through the newly-invented telescope as Galileo did. Even in modern times, with the near-univeral acceptance of scientific method and with huge research budgets from government, academia and industry, unpopular or offensive ideas are often given short shrift.

There is controversy over what the lesson of the Galileo story is. While some see Galileo's saga as an example of the arrogance of authority, others argue that rejection of new ideas today cannot be directly compared with examples such as Galileo. Theories developed and tested by following the currently accepted principles of scientific investigation closely, as Galileo did, are generally accepted however surprising they may be, whereas ideas that make yet unproven and seemingly unjustified assumptions are termed pseudoscience.

Contribution to knowledge

Even so, after enough time, even the most unpopular idea can become a new scientific orthodoxy, if it can survive experimental test satisfactorily. For example, the germ theory of disease has become so prevalent that pasteurization and Listerine are household words, even if Louis Pasteur and Joseph Lister are not so well remembered.

Major areas/Sub-fields

Science

• Life Sciences
  • Biology
    • History of anatomy
    • Theory of evolution
      • Charles Darwin and the Origin of Species
    • Genetics
      • DNA
  • Paleontology
  • Biochemistry
• Physical Science
  • Chemistry
  • History of physics
  • History of astronomy
  • Geology and Earth science
• Mathematics and Statistics
• Philosophy and Logic

Social science

• Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Economics, business and industry
• Industrial organization and labor
• Geography
• Language and Linguistics
• Political science
• Psychology
• Sociology

Technology

• Civil engineering
  • Architecture and building construction
  • Bridges, harbors, tunnels, dams
  • Surveying, instruments and maps, cartography, urban engineering, water supply and sewerage
• Transportation
• Energy conversion
• Materials and processing
• Library and information science
• History of computers
• Health science
• History of medicine
• Biotechnology
• Agriculture
• Family and consumer science
• Military technology
• Telegraphy- from smoke signals to the Internet

General Science and Technology

• Biography of inventors, explorers, and scientists
• List of scientists, List of engineers and List of inventors
• Timelines of Science and Technology
• Technical societies, technical education
• Economic, political, and social history
• General relationships between technology and culture; philosophy of technology

• Historiography of Science and Technology
  • Kranzberg's Laws of Technology

• Historians of Science and Technology:
  • Thomas P. Hughes
  • Arne Kaijser
  • Thomas Kuhn
  • Paul Feyerabend

• Future of science and technology (speculative)
  • Technological singularity

• Philosophy of Science
  • Thomas Kuhn
  • Karl Popper
  • Naive Empiricism

Ancient technological objects

• the Antikythera mechanism
• thw sling and catapult