The Power of Science and its Usefulness

By

Oyelami B.O.
National Mathematical Centre, Abuja.
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QUOTATION
Science is about problem solving, Gorge Polya, a Mathematician once said :"problem solving means finding a way out of a difficulty, a way around an obstacle, attending an aim which was not immediately attainable in the solving problem, he ended, it is specific achievement of intelligence, and intelligence is the specific gift of man"
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y Polya mentioned intelligence being specific

to man which is the acquisition of new knowledge and utilization of the knowledge to solve problem. The early man was confronted with hash weather; how to protect himself from dangerous animals in his environment and problems of food security and good drinking water.
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The Quest for Knowledge

yThe quest for knowledge for man to

overcome these obstacles and to understand things surrounding him had led to study of Science.

The Origin of Science

In the early days of creation, Science, Philosophy and Theology are indistinguishable, but as the body of knowledge becomes larger and larger the body of knowledge gave rise to subdisciplines and the definition of Science became restrictive.

The exact origins of modern Science are difficult to know as there was no recorded information on the achievement of Science. All we can say is that William Whewell in the 19th Century coined the word Science. The Wikipedia encyclopedia defines Science as a `body of empirical, theoretical and practical knowledge about natural world, produced by a global community of researchers making use of scientific methods, which emphasized the observation, experimentation and explanation of real world phenomena'
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Science, in short, from modern usage, it can be said to be body of organized knowledge, which has been obtained, and is being obtained, and is constantly being added to, by means of scientific methods. In simple understanding of Science, we can say it is the pursuit of new knowledge by this method which is also termed `Scientific methods'.
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Pure Science is knowledge, or quest for it, for its own sake. Reduced to the starkest term. It is nothing more or less than the frank, through disciplined, exercise of curiosity. Applied Science involves the use of knowledge so gained for practical purposes, generally in the industry.
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Technology is the application of scientific principles to technical processes and the term can also be applied the basic principles upon which such processes rest. Though technology and applied science do overlap to a considerable degree they are not quite the same thing.
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Technology implies Research and a scientific way of thinking, but in research need not necessarily be carried in a Laboratory, and knowledge is gained, not for its own sake, but as a mean to an end, it is coming to use the words `technology' and `technological' if the element of basic understanding is not present.

The glory of Science can best be justified if results drawn from it are accurate and valid. In science there is general procedure for carrying out investigation to unveil the mystery surrounding any event or phenomenon. There is a general way common to all scientific research this is called the scientific character or scientific method.
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The scientific components that made up scientific method are: Observation Experimentation Systemization Hypothesis

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Data are obtained by careful watch and record what we see. Accurate and reliable observation is required to have good results. Cohen Doyle talks about how emotional factors and perception may impose some error. Systemization is all about putting data in coherent form using some mathematical or statistically analysis in analyzing it .Hypothesis is all about generating questions and using valid method to answer the questions. The end result of hypothesis is to formulate laws that seek explaining some phenomena .

Creation of Science
y Most noble prizes in Science were won on

researches on the creation of the universe. The word universe was derived from the old French word universe, which is derived from the Latin word "Universum. But most common term for "universe" among the ancient Greek philosophers from Pythagoras onward was (the All), defined as all matter ( and all spaces, (meaning the World, the Cosmos) and Nature as derived from Physics.
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Creation of Science cont

y The creation of the universe had three

fundamental considerations vis-a-vis scientific explanation, theological and the mythological considerations. y Christianity and Islam believed that God created Heaven and Earth in six days and God rested on the seventh day. The creation of universe by God has given to rise to Science and man is occupied with the study of God's creation.
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The mythology consideration can be said to be local science peculiar to people to try to explain things surrounding them based upon some superstition or other cultural beliefs and any mystery that cannot be explained is said to be `magic'. In a particular culture in northern part of Nigeria, formation of plateau was believed to be due to falling of stones from a basket when God sent the angle on errand.
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Some believed that rainbow is caused as a result of a lioness given birth to cub; one form of myths on creation has it that the world was born from world egg.

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Modern era of cosmology

y Modern era of cosmology began in 1915

with Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity which made it possible to quantitatively predict the origin, evolution and conclusion of the universe as a whole. The most accepted scientific theory on cosmology about creation of the universe was based upon the Big-bang and general relativity theories.
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y The present understanding of the

present understanding of the universe

universe consists of three elements; space and time, collectively known as spacetime or the vacuum, matter and various forms of energy and momentum occupying space-time, and the physical laws that govern the first two
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Definition of Physics, Chemistry & Biology

y The study of space-time physical

properties of matter and energy in modern time is called, physics while the study of chemical properties of matter is Chemistry and the study of the biological (life) component of matter is Biology.
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Dictionary Definition of Science y The American heritage dictionary of Science defines Mathematics as `the Science dealing with the measurement, properties and relationship of qualities, as expressed in numbers or symbols: From the dictionary definition , Mathematics is intricately related to studying of space, time and numbers.
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The Beauty of Science

y The beauty of Science can be best be appreciated

from Thomas Jefferson who once talked about a society in which individuals having acquired a broad knowledge of topics exercise sound judgment in making personal and political decisions. He said "environmental and economic issues dominate modern life and behind them are complex matters of Science, Technology and Mathematics that call for an awareness of fundamental principles'
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The Very word Mathematics y The very word Mathematics was coined out of the motto of the school established by Pythagoras, `All is number' it reads. The word mathematics is simply means learned person, incidentally today, in our society; it is the legal people who are called learned person
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Science often provides us with fundamental principles and even platform for revealing the mysteries of the nature. Big-Bang theory was introduced by Georges Lemaitre which said the universe is expanding. The Earth was formed as result thermo nucleic reactions at the surface of sun, which led to formation of matter and life.

The universe is very large and possibly infinite in volume, the observable matter is spread over a space at least 93 billion light years across. Astronomies believed that the diameter of a galaxy is about 30, 000 light-years and the difference between two neighboring galaxies are only 3 million light years. The universe is about 13.7 0.2 Billion years old.
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Contribution of Science

In the ancient Egypt advances were made in astronomy, mathematics and medicine. The knowledge of geometry was used for surveying and preserving the layout and land ownership and annual flooding of the river Nile.
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In the ancient Athens (1509) important legacies were made in areas of anatomy, zoology and astronomy. In medicine, Herophilos (335-280 BC) was the first to base his conclusion on dissection of the human body and to describe the nervous system. Galen (129-200 AD) performed many operations including brain and eye surgeries. Archimedes (287 -265 BC) and Euclid (325 -285 BC) contributed significantly to geometry.
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Indian Contribution to Science

y The Indian philosopher developed atomic theory,

including in idea of atoms. The wortz, crucible and stainless steel were invented India. Aryabhata (476-550) introduced the trigonometry functions and tables. Brahmagupa explained the importance of zero, as both a placeholder and a decimal digit. Siddhanta Shiromani wrote books on longitudes, diurnal rotation and solar and lunar ellipses.
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Chinese and Arabia Contribution to science

y China has a long and rich history of technological contribution.

The four great inventions of ancient China were the compass, gun powder, paper making and printing. In Muslim world Ibn-al-Haylham (Alhazen) contributed to the development of optics. y In mathematics, the Persian mathematician Muhammad Ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi whose name was gave to the concept of the algorithm; while the term algebra was derived from al-jabr. Arabia mathematicians also developed decimal point notation.
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Modern scientific contribution cont..

y The history of modern chemistry began with the

work of Robert Boyle which distinguished the chemistry from alchemy. The father of modern chemistry Antoine Lavoisier recognized Oxygen and conservation of mass. John Dalton in 1803 formulated the law of mass relationship and Mendelev Dmitri used Dalton's atomic theory to develop the periodic table of elements. Linus Pauling used quantum mathematics to practically model DNA to probe into the secret of life.
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Some Discoveries in science

y Anton Van Leeuwenhoek accidentally

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discovered microorganisms in a drop of water. Robert Brown discovered a structure within the cells-the nucleus. y Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen; he produced it in an experiment and described its roles in combustion and respiration. Jan Ingemhousz discovers that plants react to sunlight differently then shade.

Some Discoveries in Science

y Marie and Pierre Cure discovered and isolate

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radioactive materials Gregor Mendel discovers how genetic information is passed down through generation and Thomas Hunt Morgan found that the gene is located in the chromosomes. y Alexandra Fleming discovered penicillin which was the first antibiotic. Edward Jenner performs first vaccination against smallpox. The discovery of nitrous Oxide (Laughing gas) and sulfuric ether made surgery easy without pain.

Some Discoveries in Science

y Robert Gallo and Luc Montagrier independently

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discover HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and were found to be responsible for AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Charles Babbage was named to be the father of modern computer for this contribution to development Computer science. The discovery of internet and GSM had further made Science and Technology useful to mankind.

Some Heroes of Science

y Early modern Science Isaac Newton

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initiated the classical mechanics which gave us insight to the laws of nature especially motion of heavenly bodies in Newton framework but more insights were shed in the Einstein relativity mechanics context. The work of Galileo (Father of modern Physics) on gravitational pull helps us to understand the solar system the more.

Heroes of science cont

y The work of Ptolemy (astronomy), Galen

(medicine) and Aristotle (Physics) shed more light on some natural phenomena. The 17th century was termed "Age of Reason" and the 18th century "Age of Enlightenment", the modern mathematics, physics and technology were developed in those periods by notable scientists like Newton, Pascal, Leibniz and Descartes.
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Modern Scientific Contribution

y The 19th century witnesses the period of modern

scientific revolution. Investing in science and technology was critical to ensuring property and a high quality of life. In 1687, the publication of the principal mathematical by Sir Isaac Newton led the formation of the classical mechanics. Planck, Albert Einstein and Niels Borh developed quantum theories to cater for the shortcoming of the Newtonian theory which the quantum theory explained that does not hold on small scale.
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The challenges of science in the 20th century

y The most outstanding challenges of the century

are the issues of global warming, Energy Crisis and presence of diseases and syndromes like Malaria, Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and Bird Flu. Global warning had marked degree of rise in the ocean tidal level, thereby given rise to flooding and submerging of some territories worldwide .
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Another possible life threatening problem is the nuclear weapons acquisition. We hope safety and the abuse of nuclear materials would not threaten the world peace and there would be not out brake of the third world-war. Another most serious issues in the 20th century are the provision of food and safe drinking water especially for the underdeveloped countries.
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Science in her glory had contributed to the development of technology that had improved the living conditions of people, but much is still desired to face the challenges of the 20th century and even beyond. Thank you for listening. May God bless you all.
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References
y Alan Siegel

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Understanding and misunderstanding the third international mathematics and science study: what is at stake and why k-12 education studies matter .International Congress of Mathematicians, Madrid Spain 2006,Vol iii,1599-1630. y History of Science: Wikipedia encyclopedia.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe) y Oyelami B. O. Power of Mathematics. Mathematical Centre Monthly.Vol.2.no.18/19,2006,14-16. y Oyelami B O :Ode to Mathematics. A Poem published in Sage Magazine Vol2,1991.

References Cont

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