Science and technology are different from each other. Whereas science has to do with discovering evidence that explains natural phenomena, technology has to do with tools, techniques, and procedures for putting the findings of science to use.

            Science and technology are human enterprises, but in different ways. In deciding what problems to work on, scientists are guided by their own tastes, what they find interesting and exciting, and also, sometimes, by a desire to help other people or to serve their nation. Most often scientists are primarily driven by curiosity, the simple urge to know. They pursue knowledge, insofar as possible, free of current fashions, beliefs, and value judgments. What scientists discover may shock or anger some people, as did Darwin’s theory of evolution. But science does not intrude on human life.

Technology does. It can hardly be ignored once developed. We do not have the option of refusing to hear the sonic boom produced by a supersonic aircraft flying overhead, we have the option of refusing to breathe polluted air, and we do not have the option of living in a nonnuclear age. Unlike science, advances in technology must be measured in terms of the human factor, with the understanding that technology is our slave and not the reverse. The legitimate purpose of technology is to serve people. Technology must be humanistic if it is to lead to a better world.