Western Science and Technology

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Western Science and Technology
The history of western science and technology is one that is of great interest. Magnificent inventions and discoveries have taken place in the western world. Over the centuries, there have vivid changes in the ways humans understand and manipulate the natural world. The West has always been a leader in pioneering such changes. The findings then spread to other non-western regions. These inventions often present solutions to problems that have been persisting at the time. The ideas are either new or a modification of the existing ones (Aikenhead 338). The most remarkable developments in science and technology have been witnessed in the last three centuries. Several factors have played a part including political, social and economic. Close analysis of the changes will indicate that times are not the same.
The 19th century can be regarded as the period of growth since most projects started at this time. The developments at this period include electricity, the internal combustion engines, steel production, and chemicals among others (Aikenhead 340). Scientists from different countries pioneered the work on electricity. In the middle of this century, both the motors and generators developed in major ways. Engineers particularly in France, Swiss, Belgian and German developed armature and dynamo that proved most satisfactory. The problem with this came in finding a suitable power, especially in Britain since other forms of energy like coal and steam power were already in existence.

The internal combustion engine emerged since scientists were looking for something to substitute steam power. These engineers had also understood the concepts of thermodynamics.
The 20th century also came with remarkable exploitations such as the diesel engine. This century focused on improvements from the previous developments. Most revolutions had already taken place throughout the 19th century. Therefore there was a need to make the products competitive by assigning them quality. There was a lot of competition within the western countries for markets and raw materials (Haraway 119). Therefore unless a certain product was of good quality, people often went for the substitute. Some other innovations were already being displaced for instance the sailing ships were replaced by the steamships. Inventions that did not meet the standards suffered outcompeting. Scientists, engineers, businesspeople, and researchers were always looking for the next big thing.
With the rapid growth in the human population, there was the need for entertainment. Devices such as the radios, televisions were developed. These devices have undergone various transformation throughout the 21st century. New models and versions are being developed every now and then. This paints a clear picture of how tireless and hardworking human beings can be (Haraway 125). People are continuously researching and carrying out experiments to make better use of the available resources. Nowadays, it is impractical to stay with the same device for a long time as one can easily be overtaken by others. The internet continues to be the greatest invention of this century as lives are being made simpler every day.
Technology has been instrumental in narrowing the gap between the poor and the rich as far as healthcare is concerned. Looking at situations such as access to information over the internet, we notice that it is readily available to everyone. One can access tips regarding health and even perform self-diagnosis when they experience certain health conditions. The gap between the poor and the rich has hence become shorter due to the various technological development in the western world. Most of the time, it is information that separates people with others knowing some things while others not knowing, (“World Urbanization Prospects,” 81). Printing technology and certain news agencies such as newspapers and books are now available to all. This helps in reporting health issues among other news all over the world. At least people are well educated due to technology. Since the poor were suffering due to access to social amenities such as clean drinking water and drainage systems, the development of a sewage system assisted in promoting urbanization. Hygiene and health are important to the wellbeing of a society. Having an efficient drainage such as the sewage system is useful in developing a society.
In conclusion, western science and technology represent the standard for all kinds of developments. The developments in these areas have been continuous in nature. Most of the inventions have been influenced by several factors. The main factor is the desire to satisfy human needs at the time. Such needs have been recurrent and so are the inventions. Other factors like colonialism, trade, and wars also greatly contributed to the revolutionary developments in science and technology. Due to the changing nature of human needs, this development will continue so as to meet such needs. In my opinion, technologies such as water infrastructure and sewage systems have been instrumental in promoting health. Common communicable diseases such as cholera and typhoid have been reduced greatly. Essentially, over the years, health inequality has reduced.
Works cited
Aikenhead, Glen. “Integrating Western and Aboriginal sciences: Cross-cultural science teaching.” Research in Science Education 31.3 (2001): 337-355.
Haraway, Donna. “A cyborg manifesto: Science, technology, and socialist-feminism in the late 20th century.” The international handbook of virtual learning environments (2006): 117-158.
World Urbanization Prospects: The 2001 Revision. New York: United Nations, 2002. Print.