In
its broadest meaning of 'knowledge', science enters the life of even the most
primitive human being, who knows the safe from the poisonous berry, who has
stored up some rudimentary ideas about building a hut, sharpening a spear, and
fishing in the river. this knowledge, or accumulation of experience,
distinguishes man from the animal which has to rely on instinct.
Yet, for most people 'science' means a number
of abstract subject such as physics, chemistry, biology and mechanics, to quote
a few, which have to be learnt as part of 'education', yet which seem to have
little bearing on everyday living. How wrong this is. Our way o life is
completely dependent on science and its fruits surround us on all sides.
The Renaissance first taught man to realize
the value of scientific progress, but it was not until the 18th century that
the Industrial Revolution in the West really showed the impact science could
have on living through developments in land-tillage, commercial production,
transportation, and the beginning of the supply of mass-produced consumer
goods. Until about 1920, progress was steady but in the last 45 years, the
process of applying of science to the needs of living has accelerated
enormously. This has been proportionate to the rate of scientific discovery
itself.
Today, there is available an enormous range of
consumer goods from the simple frying-pan to the jet plane, from the
alarm-clock to the computer. All these things serve to make life easier and
more pleasant, yet in themselves do not constitute civilization -- merely its
comfortable adjuncts. Progress in real living is achieved less through 'things'
than through education, the arts and the love of beauty. Science has nothing to
say to us in these categories, merely providing aids and short-cuts. Without
them, life would be no more than the struggle for survival; there would be no
time or incentive to pursue higher things.
Science gives us safe food, free from harmful
bacteria, in clean containers or hygienic tins. It also teaches us to eat
properly, indicating a diet balanced in protein and carbohydrate and containing
vitamins. The results is freedom from disease and prolonged life. In
pre-scientific days, food was monotonous and sometimes dangerous; today it is
safe and varied. It is varied because through improved sea, land and air
transport food can now be freely imported and exported. Science has also
improved clothing and made it more appropriate for climatic and working
conditions. Man-made fibers and versatile spinning machines, today enable us to
dress in clothes both comfortable and smart without being expensive.
Home, school and office all bear witness to
the progress and application of science. Nowadays, most homes possess electric
lighting and cooking, but many also have washing machines, vacuum cleaners and
kitchen appliances, all designed to increase comfort and cleanliness and reduce
drudgery. Science produces the fan which cools the air, the machinery which
makes the furniture and fabrics, and hundred and one other features for good
living. The books and papers are at school, and again everything from the piece
of chalk to the closed-circuit television of instruction are the direct or
indirect results of scientific progress. Learning is therefore easier. And
clerical work is made far more speedy and efficient by the office typewriter,
quite apart from the hundreds of different machines which relieve the manual
worker of so much slow and monotonous toil in the factories.
In the old days, the idea of travel or taking
a holiday was the monopoly of the privileged few. Today, science has given us
the steamer, the aircraft and the motor-car. New horizons are opened to us and
the increase of wealth brought about by science has given us the means to enjoy
the new leisure we have been given. But to enjoy life at all, we must be
healthy and it is perhaps in the sphere of medicine that some of the greatest
advances have been made. Today, because of the use of antibiotic and isotopes,
many diseases are speedily cured and man has become, on the whole, a healthier
being, set free from pain and illness.
Science has been completely beneficial to
ordinary living when properly applied. When misused, it is equally harmful.
Land can be poisoned by chemicals, workers can suffer industrial disease, war
can mobilize science to man's own destruction. Science is a good servant, but
man must remain master.
This is an essay however here are some MCQs on Everyday Science with Answers
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