Difference between science and technology (with examples)

In the contemporary world it is common to refer to the science and the technology as almost synonymous, given that the relationship between the two is extremely close and that their combined effect has allowed us to modify the world as we please, especially since the so-called Technological Revolution of the late twentieth century.

However, it is about separate disciplines, with numerous points of similarity and also numerous differences, which have to do with their approach, their objectives and their procedures.

The scienceOn its own, it is an ordered system of knowledge and knowledge that uses the method of observation, experimentation and controlled reproduction to understand the laws that govern the surrounding reality.

Although science dates from ancient times, it began to be called as such and to have a central place in the thought of humanity at the end of medieval Europe, when the religious and theological order, whose maximum expression was faith, gave way to the order of the rational and the doubt.

The technologyInstead, it is a set of technical knowledge, that is, of procedures or protocols that allow obtaining a specific result from a set of premises and experiences. This technical knowledge is scientifically ordered based on creating and designing objects, tools and services that make life easier for man.

“Technology” is a recent term, which comes from the union of technique (tecnë: art, procedure, trade) and knowledge (lodge: study, know), since it is born as a result of the scientific thought of man, applied to the resolution of specific problems or the satisfaction of specific desires.

Differences between science and technology

1. They differ in their fundamental objective. Although both collaborate closely, science pursues the objective of enlarging or expanding man’s knowledge, without paying attention to the applications or links of said knowledge with immediate reality or the problems that can be solved with it. All this, on the other hand, is the direct objective of technology: how to use organized scientific knowledge to face concrete human needs.
2. They differ in their fundamental question. While science asks the because of things, technology is more concerned with the excuse me. For example, if science asks why the sun shines and emits heat, technology worries about how we could take advantage of these properties.
3. They differ in their level of autonomy. As disciplines, science is autonomous, pursues its own paths and does not initially require technology to continue on its way. Technology, on the other hand, is dependent on science to obtain.
4. They differ in their age. Science as a method of observing the world can be traced back to ancient times, when under the name of Philosophy it provided humanity with more or less objective explanations and reasoning about the nature of reality. Technology, on the other hand, has its origin from the development of scientific techniques and knowledge of man, being therefore subsequent to its appearance.
5. They differ in their methodology. Science is normally handled in an elucubrative plane, that is to say, theoretical, hypothetical, of analysis and deduction. Technology, on the other hand, is much more practical: it makes use of whatever is necessary in order to achieve specific objectives linked to the world of fact.
6. They differ in their academic organization. While the sciences are usually considered autonomous fields of knowledge, more or less applied to everyday life (Sciences applied), technologies constitute interdisciplinary and multiple approaches to the problems to be solved, which is why they use more than one scientific field for this.

Scientific-technological feedback

It should be clarified, once the differences between science and technology are understood, that both approaches they usually collaborate and feedback, that is, science serves to create new technology and it serves to better study the different fields of scientific interest.

For example, the observation of the stars gave us astronomy, which together with optics inspired the development of telescopes, which in turn allowed a more complete study of astrological phenomena.