STS 1010 Final Exam Study Guide
By the early 20th century, the influence of science made technology increasingly ____________ to the masses.
incomprehensible
Technological autonomy and dependence set up the dilemma known as
the "Master-Slave dynamic"
The philosopher G.W.F Hegel articulates
the "Master-Slave" dynamic
Upon its "discovery" (or shortly thereafter), America was understood -- at least philosophically -- by Europeans in what two ways?
- A new Eden, untouched by problems of vastly expanding urban life. - A "clean slate" for civilization, which has seen so much turmoil and violence.
Oberdan's misconceptions about STS
- Scientific advancement leads to technological development - Technology solves social problems - Technological advancement benefits society
What does a scientific "worldview" include?
- Standards of the field, including methodology for experimentation. -Theories on the subject held by the majority of scientists in the field at the time. - Outstanding puzzles it should work on and solve.
Technology matters because of
- Sustenance: Survival, shelter - Security: Law and order - Communication - Convenience - Entertainment
How has the "progress story" been used (at least in the United States)?
- To control populations - To judge others - To promote a version of "a better life" - To sell things
According to Gould, science is
A fruitful mode of inquiry
The final consequence of contemporary notions of comfort and convenience, especially pertaining to the body, is?
A perpetual state of dissatisfaction
In the sciences, it is much easier to get ___________ than an ___________.
A result, answer
Which of the following does the text use to illustrate the ability of technology to stimulate scientific development?
Air pump, Bessemer Process, and the Telescope
Pessimistic Meta Induction
All scientific statements made in the past where made or will be false. Therefore science is a failed because current and future developments will be false.
Who's Hypothesis?: A large comet (or possibly an asteroid) struck the Earth, resulting in a dust cloud that blocked sunlight and suppressed photosynthesis and eventually dinosaur extinction.
Alvarez
The most important substantiating aspect of the currently accepted ______________ hypothesis is the presence of ____________
Alvarez, Iridium
Human psychology privileges ____________ over ____________.
Answers, results
Familiarity Trap
Appears their but dissipates over time.
Fluency Illusion
Because you can understand something means you can apply and remember it.
Determinism
Belief that all current events are affects of prior causes and all future affects will come from current events. Everything is causal.
What exemplifies "techno-science"?
Bio-medicine, nanotechnology and semiconductor electronics
According to Langdon Winner, the "lesson" of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is that we
CANNOT disown the things we create
In assessing the technology and related effects in daily life, many people alternate between technological and cultural determinism in a mental state called __________, which is best characterized as __________.
Cognitive dissonance, incoherent
What examples does the text note for so-called "revolutionary" technologies?
Computers, Industrial technology, Printing press, and Social media
Who's value?: Overcoming the limits of the body.
Contemporary value
How do we tend to exert technological control?
Control of society, control of nature and the environment
Who's Hypothesis?: Rising temperatures caused dinosaurs testes to stop functioning, leading to eventual extinction.
Cowles
Classifying effects of technology into various categories - intended effects, primary effects, secondary effects, etc. is a characteristic of?
Cultural determinism
Technological Determinism or Cultural Determinism?: Changes in culture result in changes in technology.
Cultural determinism
Technological Determinism or Cultural Determinism?: The values, feelings, beliefs, and practices of the culture cause particular technologies to be developed and used.
Cultural determinism
Picturesque
Desirable human position in nature, purposeful manipulation or control of nature to convey dominance (above Niagara falls)
Aim of Science
Develop a body of knowledge which describes reality
Sex Hypothesis (False)
Dinosaurs went extinct because their testes could function under higher temperatures.
Alvarez Hypothesis (True)
Dinosaurs went extinct through comet impact that created dust clouds which damaged plants and all life forms. Supported through discovery of Iridium.
Drug Hypothesis (False)
Dinosaurs went extinct through overdose on angiosperms found in plants.
Learning should be
Effortful, delayed, repeated, spaced, interleaved, and varied
Aim of Technology
Employ justified beliefs for achieving practical solutions to concrete problems
Three stages of learning
Encoding, Consolidation, Retrieval
Naive Realism
Essential aspect of society, assume that the way the world is, the way the world is. Tricks us to knowing more about the world than we actually do.
True or False: A hypothesis is really good if no arguments can be devised against it.
False
True or False: A single anomaly for a scientific theory will cause a scientific revolution.
False
True or False: A trademark of highly successful societies, such as the ancient Greeks and Romans, is that they always use science to their advantage.
False
True or False: Historical evidence suggests that we have complete mastery of our tools.
False
True or False: Progress is ultimately inevitable
False
True or False: Retractions are frequent in scientific work and publication.
False
True or False: Scientific law is the strongest form of scientific statement.
False
True or False: Scientific revolutions happen very quickly due to empirical evidence stacked in favor of the newer theoretical viewpoint.
False
True or False: Technological innovation is always preceded by scientific advancement.
False
True or False: The advancement of science is strictly a matter of empirical evidence and careful methodology.
False
Sublime
Fear and awe of nature or universe (Below Niagara Falls, Sky diving, etc.)
Who's value?: Meeting the demands of the body.
Greek Value
While not a matter of misconduct, questionable behaviors in scientific work include
HARKing, P-hacking
Post-Science Characterized by
Heterogeneity, Move to cities, impersonality
Handlin notes that in contrast to the traditional way of life, modern life was quickly characterized by
Heterogeneity, individualism, impersonality
___________'s choice is the term for a choice between options whose difference is _____________.
Hobson, Superficial
Pre-Science Characterized by
Homogeneity, pastoral/ village lifestyle, communal, personality
Progress
Implies an endpoint of betterment, depicted through the good life or eudaimonia or the effort to make life better through material betterment and moral betterment.
What is the term for the supposed impossibility of comparing two differing (scientific) worldviews?
Incommensurability
Which of the following led to the collapse of the traditional community?
Industrialization, migration of vast populations, urbanization
From the mid-19th century on, which of the following isolated science from the masses?
Institutionalization, specialization, professionalization, industrialization, commodification
To be counted as knowledge, a belief must be
Justified and True
The two primary forms of the desire to overcome limits are?
Limits of time and Limits of space
Justification consists of what two basic components
Logic and Observation
Culture
Made of - Tradition: stuff, media, sports, material content - Selection: Action, activity I do by choosing materials/tradition Flavors of Culture - Dominant: Current - Residual: Old - Emergent: New aiming to become dominant
"The good life" is broadly characterized by
Material and moral betterment
The success of what field lead to a massive effort ensued to make all areas of human study "scientific"?
Medicine
What is the notion that society can be viewed as a vast, well-integrated machine?
Megatechnics
Knowledge
Must be justified and true, justified through observation and logic and true through unchallenged consensus of concerned practitioners.
Which version of determinism is correct?
Neither is acceptable
Problems that plague scientific publication
Not self-corrective, flawed peer review process, no strong mechanism for enforcement of retractions, and volume of material.
Carl Sagan (and Gould, by extension) compares the impact of a massive extraterrestrial object to what?
Nuclear war
Narrowing or expanding data to lend a hypothesis credibility is called ___________.
P-hacking
What do we call it when the prevailing scientific worldview changes?
Paradigm-shift or scientific revolution
Types of misconduct in scientific works include
Plagiarism, image manipulation, outright fabrication
Contemporary notions of convenience have lead to a switch from thinking of technology in terms of _________ to _________.
Progress talk, change talk
Science's corrigibility is best characterized as
Science's ability to change
Optimistic Meta Induction
Scientific statements will be proven false however, we will gradually get more right.
Who's Hypothesis?: Dinosaurs overdosed on substances they could not taste in angiosperms.
Siegel
What is the term for attempted scientific management of the organization and division of labor (along with the observation and training of workers)?
Taylorism
Technological Sublime
Technological control of humanity, mechanization, incomprehensible machines, technology is no longer understood by common man.
Technological Determinism or Cultural Determinism?: Changes in technology are the single most important source of change in society.
Technological determinism
Technological Determinism or Cultural Determinism?: The technical base of a society is the fundamental condition affecting all patterns of social existence.
Technological determinism
Between science and technology, which is concerned with application?
Technology
Tragedy of the Commons
Technology cant solve social problems. solution is a fundamental extension of morality.
Technological Picturesque
Technology is covered up so it seem submissive to humanity, smart phones, machines put in boxes.
In the modern era, traditional "ways of doing" become _________ while "ways of knowing" became ___________.
Technology, Science
What characteristics does Gould identify with good scientific hypotheses?
Testable, Generous, Expansive
What is the term for Jeremy Bentham's conception of a new prison model?
The panapticon
What are the two essential components of the "progress story"
The sublime and evolution
What is the term for the argument that current and future scientific belief is likely false from the record of past scientific failures?
Theory
Cultural Determinism
To reassure our control, "Guns dont kill people, people do", "wearing masks saves lives"
Technological Determinism
To remove from responsibility, "social media", "masks save lives", "we wont be safe until a vaccine is created."
True or False: Early in the post-traditional world, the masses were much more trusting of new technological innovations than they were of scientific developments
True
True or False: Scientific revolutions are ultimately resolved by the majority opinion of those within a given scientific community.
True
True or False: Scientists are often hesitant to criticize their peers in publication.
True
True or False: Tissue does not fossilize, so any commentary on it regarding dinosaurs is conjecture.
True
What contemporary technology does the text compare to the fictional Mechanical Hound of Fahrenheit 451?
UAVs (drones)
_____ become _____ by the way of becoming ________ necessities.
Wants, needs, cultural
In characterizing the American viewpoint of the mid-1800s, Emerson said that "_______________ were offered to us, and we took ______________."
Works and days, works
