The 21st century: an age of science and progress

Science (ilm) is a system of knowledge about the world; the word “fan” has the same meaning. Technology is machines and instruments that make human labour easier. Once a person dug a canal with a hoe, then the excavator appeared. Thanks to scientific achievements aeroplanes, computers, the internet and mobile phones appeared. On 12 April 1961 Yuri Gagarin was the first person to fly into space, and on 20 July 1969 humans first stepped onto the Moon. In medicine organs can be transplanted and many illnesses cured without a surgeon’s knife. These changes are called the scientific-technical revolution. Nanotechnology is technology working at extremely tiny scales; it allows devices to be made smaller, so that, for example, hundreds of books fit on a small flash drive. Today new fields such as artificial intelligence and clean energy are growing too. Scientists are awarded the Nobel Prize for their discoveries: the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel invented dynamite and, by his will, the prize has been given since 1901. The progress of science determines a country’s future. In the years of independence Uzbekistan has supported young talent: in 1997 the “Umid” foundation was set up and young people studied abroad; the “Iste’dod” foundation and the President’s, “Navoiy”, “Beruniy” and “Kamolot” scholarships were created. But natural riches alone are not enough: what matters most is knowledge and thinking. Your own good study is a contribution to the country’s future.