Melvin Kranzberg

Science‐technology‐society: It's as simple as XYZ!

We live in a scientific and technological age. It is called that, not because all of us are scientists and engineers, and certainly not because everyone can understand the intricacies of science or the workings of the technological devices that are an integral part of our daily living, but rather because we are aware that science, technology, and society (STS) are intermeshed with one another, affecting our lives in many different ways. Yet we have become so accustomed to

Interdependence of Scientific and Technological Information and Its Relation to Public Decision Making

Recent breakthroughs in superconducting materials reveal the interdisciplinary thrust of modern science and technology. The past fragmentation and specialization of scientific and technical fields is countered by the need for joint research, occurring in several institutional contexts—university, governmental, and industrial—and on an international scale, all affecting the nature of science and technology communication. Recognition that the nations security and economy depend upon its scientific and technological base means that government is increasingly concerned with its direction; at the same time, the internal dynamism of science and technology requires complex and costly endeavors, making them increasingly dependent upon governmental support and hence public approval. Informing the general public and policymakers adds external dimensions to communication needs. Furthermore, the complex nature of innovation requires greater and speedier communication within the science-technology community, met by more publications and advances in electronic communications, but not to the exclusion of the human element.

The Scientific and Technological Age: Acceptance of the Award to Honorary Membership in NASTS

Answering that historical question requires not only knowledge of the scientific and technical theories, devices, and practices themselves, but, equally important, the interactions of these scientific and technological elements with the economic, political, and sociocultural context. The contextual approach, which has been my &dquo;trademark,&dquo; has also been embraced by leading scholars in the field. Thus Stephen H. Cutcliffe, our distinguished NASTS President, has said that science and technology &dquo;are complex enterprises taking place in specific social contexts shaped by, and in turn shaping, human values as reflected and refracted in cultural, political, and economic institutions.&dquo;

By the sweat of thy brow : work in the Western world

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The Uses of History in Studies of Science, Technology & Society

Man as we know him probably could not have evolved or survived without tools; he is too weak and puny a creature to fight nature with only his hands and teeth. The lion is stronger, the horse is faster, the giraffe can reach higher; but tools served as extensions of man’s hands and amplifiers of human muscle power, enabling him to adjust his hereditary organic equipment to an almost infinite number of operations in virtually any environment. It is not surprising, therefore, that some anthropologists define our species on the basis of tool-using and tool-making or, to be more exact, tool-dependency. Modern physiology, psychology, evolutionary biology, and anthropology all combine to demonstrate that homo sapiens (Man the Thinker) cannot be distinguished from homo faber (Man the Maker). Indeed, we now realize that man could not have become a thinker had he not at the same time been a maker. And our anthropologists find evidence that as soon as man began

A Tribute to Carl W. Condit

Carl Condit and I go back a long way. From my vantage point of historian and colleague, I am well situated to document Carls development as a scholar and teacher. His studies in the history of technology have assured his eminence in this discipline, but, perhaps more important, he helped shape the field itself as one of the founders of the Society for the History of Technology more than thirty years ago. Condit, with others, also ensured SHOTs influence on the scholarly world through its publication, Technology and Culture. His earliest writings have aged well, in part because he remained an active scholar, teacher, and participant in professional causes. We are proud to recognize him in our midst, by means of this special issue of Technology and Culture.

Confrontation or Complementarity?: Perspectives on Technology and the Arts

HE TITLE of this paper implies that there are fundamental differences T between man’s technological expertise and his artistic expression. I am not certain that such a dichotomy really exists, and if it does, whether it was always thus in history. Historically speaking, art and technology have never opposed one another; rather, they are different yet complementary facets of human identitybasic human cultural activities as revealed in their roles in the evolution of our species. Anthropological-archaeological excavations provide incontrovertible evidence of the linkage between man’s physical and cultural evolution with a growing level of technology. Hence, many anthropologists continue to define the human species on the basis of tool-using and tool-making, or, to be more exact, tool-dependency. Modern physiology, psychology, evolutionary biology, and anthropology all combine to demonstrate that Homo sapiens (man the thinker) cannot be distinguished from Homo faber (man the maker). Indeed, we now realize that man could not have become a thinker had he not at the same time been a maker. Technology is thus one of the most basic of human cultural characteristics. So is art. During most of man‘s time on this earth, art and technology were virtually identical. Archaeological artifacts provide subject matter for both historians of art and historians of technology, for the crafts of early man were both his artistic expression and his technical activity. As Arnold Hauser has said, “The prehistory of art begins with the inseparable unity of practical and aesthetic interests.”l The cultivation of the graphic arts as displayed in Paleolithic cave paintings, such as those at Lascaux in France, has been explained in different ways. One explanation is that these paintings had utilitarian, talismanic origins; primitive man perhaps believed that he would be more successful in food gathering if he could draw pictures of the objects for which he hunted. Another explanation stresses the aesthetic element the instinct to adorn or beautify-as lying deep within the human spirit. These explana-

Can technological progress continue to provide for the future

As an historian, I am obligated to point out that technology did not progress very rapidly for most of man’s history. Until the last two centuries, technology developed irregularly and at so slow a pace that, for most of human history, the mass of mankind lived in a world of scarcity and deprivation. The Industrial Revolution ushered in an era of rapid technological advance. In accelerating measure since then, technological developments have increased man’s control over his environment, ministered to his animal needs and creature comforts, rescued him from the ever-present fear of starvation, increased his mobility, lengthened his lifespan, and, in general, made work easier and life more comfortable for most of the population in the industrialized nations of the world.

Software for Human Hardware

Because we live in a “Scientific and Technical Age, we like to think that our decisions and actions are based on scientific findings and technological rationality. But the human mind does not always obey the dictates of science and reason; instead, ”human hardware“ — engrained emotions, likes and dislikes, fears and hopes — sometimes lead people to disregard the scientific evidence, thereby creating difficulties.

Prospects for Change

There will be change — no question about that. But there are questions about the direction and rate of change, whether or not the change can be controlled, and if so, who will direct it and how.