Task 1 Flashcards
Preliterate society
- knowledge transferred by speaking
- fluidity: knowledge dies out after a few generations and local differences, unreliable
- myths and animism to explain phenomena
- mainly practical know how
Knowledge in preliterate society is limited by:
- perception: observe with 5 senses directly only (speed+resolution)
- storage capacity: what is remembered?
- habitat
What is the first invention, first example of instrumentality? When? What is instrumentality? How did it help?
The mastery of fire, 100.000 BCE
Means-end knowledge
Helped with cooking, heat, guarding from predators. Survival, gathering in groups. Fire transforms: one sees one can influence the environment
3 issues related to the mastery of fire
- ignition (how to start use at the time where/when you want it)
- efficiency
- extending range of use
How did fire form the basis for further technological advances?
- fire
- pottery: containers (by means of ovens, 5000BCE, Middle East) and agriculture
- ore melting into metals: new materials (alloys) and new properties
- chemistry: is reactive and crystalline
- conduction of electricity and heat
- manipulation of many materials
When was writing invented?
First forms: 3000 BCE, Irak
Orthographic system
Orthography = norms for spelling
An orthographic writing system is one that uses graphemes (smallest writing unit) that correspond only to spelling, so that anyone can use it regardless of language.
Things the brain developed to do:
- master and influence environment
- create new tools and instruments
- write and communicate
- reasoning to find out about truth
- use logic to find new knowledge
When did the Latin alphabet emerge
1000 BCE, Byzantium
How does written language aid science
- accumulation of knowledge
- diffusion of knowledge to others
- development: less errors, colloboration with identical copies
What was the earliest way of education and who did it
Scholastic method: memorizing unquestionable facts
by the Church
What was Socrates view on writing
Thought it would make students forgetful, bad.
When were Arabic numerals created and what is special
500 CE
place coding
Why were the first counting systems created, characteristics, why did it evolve to better systems
Tallying to count possessions
Then, perception limits (tally of 5)
-> Roman system, not optimal
-> discovered place coding
Establishment of measurement units
- scale problem (minute or days?)
- local differences, need for standardization
- > metric system around 1800