What is the difference between science and technology

Science and technology are two fundamental instruments in the transformation and development of any society. In order to differentiate them, it is important to know the definition of both disciplines, their objectives and the fields of action of each of these areas, since we tend to confuse them.

What is science

Science is in charge of rigorously studying all those natural, social or artificial phenomena that happen in our day to day, basing its analysis on the observation, experimentation and measurement.

Its main objective is to respond to the unknown, understand how the universe works and clarify, explain and establish processes, rules and systems. Science is a descriptive area because it aims to help improve our understanding, betting on theories that allow us to improve and increase our knowledge in any subject.

What is technology

Technology is a set of knowledge and techniques that, if applied with order and logic, allow us to modify our environment, either physically or virtually, to satisfy our needs. The purpose of the technology is generate useful solutions and practices to improve our day to day.

Through technology it is not intended to know the world, but to modify and adapt it to satisfy human needs. That is, its objective is not knowledge but application, therefore we consider that technology always serves “for” some specific thing: from any manufacture of objects, to the cure of diseases, commercial or financial utility or our own communication, between many other areas of application.

Therefore, the main difference between science and technology is its objective: while science helps us to know the world, to describe it and to improve our knowledge, technology has the objective of modifying it and adapting it to our needs. However, the relationship between both disciplines is close and intimate, so much so that we tend to confuse them.

But what is really the relationship between science and technology? It is simple: both use the advances of the other to reach your goal. Technology uses the knowledge generated by science to improve its technique. For its part, science uses advanced technology to carry out more precise, concrete and effective research.

In addition, on many occasions, scientific research itself is addressed in a specific direction or a specific field aimed at solve technology issues, as can happen with cell biology. On the other hand, other times new technologies appear after scientific advances, sometimes even unexpected, such as genetic engineering.

For all these reasons, the relationship between science and technology is such that, as we have mentioned, they tend to be confused to such an extent that expressions such as “applied science“which is nothing more than an activity that mixes both activities and that is halfway between the two disciplines.

Now that we know what the difference is between science and technology, we are going to look at different types and examples from both disciplines to help you differentiate them better. Let’s start with science. Since there is no single type of science, the discipline has diversified into three types according to the ability to obtain knowledge:

Formal sciences

They are those that do not need concrete or tangible content. Through analysis ideal structures are observed that go beyond the power of intervention. This branch usually studies formal systems and its theories are validated based on propositions, axioms, definitions and inference rules.

Some examples of formal science are mathematics, geometry, statistics, arithmetic, logic, or computer science.

Natural Sciences

It is about those sciences that try to analyze the world and what inhabits it, from a physical point of view. Its conclusions are acquired thanks to the objective method, but the instruments of experimentation or even the context are also present, which allows to refute some apparent truths of later times.

The natural sciences include physics, chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy, medicine, and other health sciences.

Social Sciences

They are the ones who deal with study human activity, in particular social relations, putting the human being as a social subject at the center. These sciences do not pretend to achieve objective results, since, since it is the human who studies the subject, it is considered that there is always a certain subjectivity.

Among the social sciences are psychology, sociology, anthropology, law, economics, history, communication, politics or geography.

Science examples

Now we are going to see examples to better understand the difference between science and technology. These are examples from science:

• Chemistry: science that studies the composition, structure and properties of matter and the changes it undergoes in the face of chemical reactions.
• Astronomy: study of the celestial bodies of the universe (stars, planets, satellites, comets, asteroids, interstellar matter, nebula …).
• Politic science: studies the theory and practice of politics, systems and political behavior in society.
• biology: science that studies the structure of living beings and their vital processes. In this other article we will tell you which are the main branches of biology.
• Sociology: its objective is to analyze human society, its behavior and collective phenomena.
• Medicine: is the science focused on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases and health problems.
• Geometry: branch of mathematics that studies the properties of figures in plane or space.
• Logic: science that studies the ways of thinking of the human being, allowing to establish valid laws or principles to obtain criteria that bring us closer to the truth.
• Physical: science that studies energy, matter, time and space.
• Psychology: study and analyze the mind of human beings and their behaviors.

Technology is the product of science. Through the innovation of techniques, procedures, instruments or tools, it seeks to improve our day-to-day life and satisfy our needs. For this, the application of scientific knowledge is essential to diversify technologies, according to their purposes. Thus we can distinguish technology according to the type of product, according to the level of innovation and according to its application.

Technology by product

Within this category it is necessary to differentiate between:

• Hard technologies: they use the knowledge of hard sciences such as physics, chemistry or mathematics. In this way tangible and visible products are obtained. Hard technologies are used to produce material goods.
• Soft technologies: they are supported by humanistic sciences such as psychology, sociology or economics. This type of technology is used to achieve greater efficiency and improve processes in companies and institutions. Therefore, the products they obtain are neither material nor tangible, but rather try to develop services, strategies and theories.

Technologies according to innovation

Depending on the degree of innovation of the technology, we can discern between:

• Cutting edge technology: high technology, latest technology or cutting edge technology is the one that encompasses the most advanced technologies, available at a given time and place. They are state-of-the-art technologies.
• Appropriate technologies: are those that are designed taking into account the impact on a social, economic and environmental level that it can represent in a given society.

Technology according to your application

Within this category we find:

• Operating technologies: are those that are obtained after a long time of study, observation and experience.
• Computer technologies: are those that are developed by manufacturers of a specific and determined product.
• Product Technologies: are those that combine tools and knowledge to generate a specific product.

Technology examples

We have put together some examples to better understand the difference between science and technology. These are examples of technology:

• Robotics– Use tools and knowledge from disciplines such as computer science, electrical engineering, or electronic engineering to build robots.
• 3d print: it is an impression …