South Florida Museum (A Photo Diary)

The South Florida Museum is situated in the heart of Bradenton, Florida. It contains a rather large collection of natural and cultural history displays and artifacts. The facility also includes an aquarium and a planetarium. (Unfortunately, the latter was closed the day I visited.)

The museum's entrance...

Apparently mastodons used to live in Florida thousands of years ago. This huge skeleton of one greets visitors as they enter the museum's foyer.

The jaw bones of a prehistoric shark that used to swim the waters near Florida. (That is me standing there to give it some perspective. I'm an average size man at 5' 11".)

This picture is a close-up shot of prehistoric shark teeth.

A mural depicting Native American life in Florida before the arrival of the Europeans.

A statue of Spanish conquistador, Hernando de Soto, stands in the museum's central interior plaza.

Manatees are the main attraction for the museum's aquarium.

Can Technology Exist Without Science?

I believe it’s possible, but only on a singularly and fleetingly rare occasion. In many instances throughout history, people have discovered a new technology by accident and its first use came about without any prior scientific research.


I believe prehistoric cave dwellers may have discovered the benefits of cooking in such a way. Tens of thousands of years ago, perhaps, some cave people were sitting around a fire eating raw meat from a fresh kill. Suddenly, one of the hunters accidentally dropped their slab into the fire. After fishing the food painstakingly and cautiously out of the blaze, the cave person soon discovered that the meat was easier to chew and tasted better.


The above example is a one-time example where people used a technology without science. From then on, the cave dwellers relied on the observed knowledge or ‘research’ that fire makes food tastier and easier to eat and purposely began using the fire to cook their meat.


Yes, I believe technology can exist without science, but only by accident!