Technology is the making, modification, usage, and knowledge
of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, methods of organization, in
order to solve a problem, improve a preexisting solution to a problem, achieve
a goal or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of
such tools, machinery, modifications, arrangements and procedures. Technologies
significantly affect human as well as other animal species' ability to control
and adapt to their natural environments. The word technology comes from Greek
τεχνολογία (technología); from τέχνη (téchnē), meaning "art, skill,
craft", and -λογία (-logía), meaning "study of-".[1] The term
can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples include
construction technology, medical technology, and information technology. The human
species' use of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into
simple tools. The prehistorical discovery of the ability to control fire
increased the available sources of food and the invention of the wheel helped
humans in travelling in and controlling their environment. Recent technological
developments, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet,
have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact
freely on a global scale. However, not all technology has been used for
peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of ever-increasing destructive
power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons. Technology
has affected society and its surroundings in a number of ways. In many
societies, technology has helped develop more advanced economies (including
today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many
technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known as pollution, and
deplete natural resources, to the detriment of the Earth and its environment.
Various implementations of technology influence the values of a society and new
technology often raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the
notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied
only to machines, and the challenge of traditional norms. Philosophical debates
have arisen over the present and future use of technology in society, with
disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition or worsens
it. Neo-Luddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar movements criticise the
pervasiveness of technology in the modern world, opining that it harms the
environment and alienates people; proponents of ideologies such as
transhumanism and techno-progressivism view continued technological progress as
beneficial to society and the human condition. Indeed, until recently, it was
believed that the development of technology was restricted only to human
beings, but recent scientific studies indicate that other primates and certain
dolphin communities have developed simple tools and learned to pass their
knowledge to other generations.
The use of the term technology has changed significantly over the last 200 years. Before the 20th century, the term was uncommon in English, and usually referred to the description or study of the useful arts.[2] The term was often connected to technical education, as in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (chartered in 1861).[3] "Technology" rose to prominence in the 20th century in connection with the Second Industrial Revolution. The meanings of technology changed in the early 20th century when American social scientists, beginning with Thorstein Veblen, translated ideas from the German concept of Technik into "technology." In German and other European languages, a distinction exists between Technik and Technologie that is absent in English, as both terms are usually translated as "technology." By the 1930s, "technology" referred not to the study of the industrial arts, but to the industrial arts themselves.[4] In 1937, the American sociologist Read Bain wrote that "technology includes all tools, machines, utensils, weapons, instruments, housing, clothing, communicating and transporting devices and the skills by which we produce and use them."[5] Bain's definition remains common among scholars today, especially social scientists. But equally prominent is the definition of technology as applied science, especially among scientists and engineers, although most social scientists who study technology reject this definition.[6] More recently, scholars have borrowed from European philosophers of "technique" to extend the meaning of technology to various forms of instrumental reason, as in Foucault's work on technologies of the self ("techniques de soi"). Dictionaries and scholars have offered a variety of definitions. The Merriam-Webster dictionary offers a definition of the term: "the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area" and "a capability given by the practical application of knowledge".[1] Ursula Franklin, in her 1989 "Real World of Technology" lecture, gave another definition of the concept; it is "practice, the way we do things around here".[7] The term is often used to imply a specific field of technology, or to refer to high technology or just consumer electronics, rather than technology as a whole.[8] Bernard Stiegler, in Technics and Time, 1, defines technology in two ways: as "the pursuit of life by means other than life", and as "organized inorganic matter."[9] Technology can be most broadly defined as the entities, both material and immaterial, created by the application of mental and physical effort in order to achieve some value. In this usage, technology refers to tools and machines that may be used to solve real-world problems. It is a far-reaching term that may include simple tools, such as a crowbar or wooden spoon, or more complex machines, such as a space station or particle accelerator. Tools and machines need not be material; virtual technology, such as computer software and business methods, fall under this definition of technology.[10] The word "technology" can also be used to refer to a collection of techniques. In this context, it is the current state of humanity's knowledge of how to combine resources to produce desired products, to solve problems, fulfill needs, or satisfy wants; it includes technical methods, skills, processes, techniques, tools and raw materials. When combined with another term, such as "medical technology" or "space technology", it refers to the state of the respective field's knowledge and tools. "State-of-the-art technology" refers to the high technology available to humanity in any field. Technology can be viewed as an activity that forms or changes culture.[11] Additionally, technology is the application of math, science, and the arts for the benefit of life as it is known. A modern example is the rise of communication technology, which has lessened barriers to human interaction and, as a result, has helped spawn new subcultures; the rise of cyberculture has, at its basis, the development of the Internet and the computer.[12] Not all technology enhances culture in a creative way; technology can also help facilitate political oppression and war via tools such as guns. As a cultural activity, technology predates both science and engineering, each of which formalize some aspects of technological endeavor.
The use of the term technology has changed significantly over the last 200 years. Before the 20th century, the term was uncommon in English, and usually referred to the description or study of the useful arts.[2] The term was often connected to technical education, as in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (chartered in 1861).[3] "Technology" rose to prominence in the 20th century in connection with the Second Industrial Revolution. The meanings of technology changed in the early 20th century when American social scientists, beginning with Thorstein Veblen, translated ideas from the German concept of Technik into "technology." In German and other European languages, a distinction exists between Technik and Technologie that is absent in English, as both terms are usually translated as "technology." By the 1930s, "technology" referred not to the study of the industrial arts, but to the industrial arts themselves.[4] In 1937, the American sociologist Read Bain wrote that "technology includes all tools, machines, utensils, weapons, instruments, housing, clothing, communicating and transporting devices and the skills by which we produce and use them."[5] Bain's definition remains common among scholars today, especially social scientists. But equally prominent is the definition of technology as applied science, especially among scientists and engineers, although most social scientists who study technology reject this definition.[6] More recently, scholars have borrowed from European philosophers of "technique" to extend the meaning of technology to various forms of instrumental reason, as in Foucault's work on technologies of the self ("techniques de soi"). Dictionaries and scholars have offered a variety of definitions. The Merriam-Webster dictionary offers a definition of the term: "the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area" and "a capability given by the practical application of knowledge".[1] Ursula Franklin, in her 1989 "Real World of Technology" lecture, gave another definition of the concept; it is "practice, the way we do things around here".[7] The term is often used to imply a specific field of technology, or to refer to high technology or just consumer electronics, rather than technology as a whole.[8] Bernard Stiegler, in Technics and Time, 1, defines technology in two ways: as "the pursuit of life by means other than life", and as "organized inorganic matter."[9] Technology can be most broadly defined as the entities, both material and immaterial, created by the application of mental and physical effort in order to achieve some value. In this usage, technology refers to tools and machines that may be used to solve real-world problems. It is a far-reaching term that may include simple tools, such as a crowbar or wooden spoon, or more complex machines, such as a space station or particle accelerator. Tools and machines need not be material; virtual technology, such as computer software and business methods, fall under this definition of technology.[10] The word "technology" can also be used to refer to a collection of techniques. In this context, it is the current state of humanity's knowledge of how to combine resources to produce desired products, to solve problems, fulfill needs, or satisfy wants; it includes technical methods, skills, processes, techniques, tools and raw materials. When combined with another term, such as "medical technology" or "space technology", it refers to the state of the respective field's knowledge and tools. "State-of-the-art technology" refers to the high technology available to humanity in any field. Technology can be viewed as an activity that forms or changes culture.[11] Additionally, technology is the application of math, science, and the arts for the benefit of life as it is known. A modern example is the rise of communication technology, which has lessened barriers to human interaction and, as a result, has helped spawn new subcultures; the rise of cyberculture has, at its basis, the development of the Internet and the computer.[12] Not all technology enhances culture in a creative way; technology can also help facilitate political oppression and war via tools such as guns. As a cultural activity, technology predates both science and engineering, each of which formalize some aspects of technological endeavor.
In 1983 a classified program was initiated in the US
intelligence community to reverse the US declining economic and military
competitiveness. The program, Project Socrates, used all source intelligence to
review competitiveness worldwide for all forms of competition to determine the
source of the US decline. What Project Socrates determined was that technology
exploitation is the foundation of all competitive advantage and that the source
of the US declining competitiveness was the fact that decision-making through
the US both in the private and public sectors had switched from decision making
that was based on technology exploitation (i.e., technology-based planning) to
decision making that was based on money exploitation (i.e., economic-based
planning) at the end of World War II. Technology is properly defined as any
application of science to accomplish a function. The science can be leading
edge or well established and the function can have high visibility or be
significantly more mundane but it is all technology, and its exploitation is
the foundation of all competitive advantage. Technology-based planning is what
was used to build the US industrial giants before WWII (e.g., Dow, DuPont, GM)
and it what was used to transform the US into a superpower. It was not
economic-based planning. Project Socrates determined that to rebuild US
competitiveness, decision making throughout the US had to readopt
technology-based planning. Project Socrates also determined that countries like
China and India had continued executing technology-based (while the US took its
detour into economic-based) planning, and as a result had considerable advanced
the process and were using it to build themselves into superpowers. To rebuild
US competitiveness the US decision-makers needed adopt a form of
technology-based planning that was far more advanced than that used by China
and India. Project Socrates determined that technology-based planning makes an
evolutionary leap forward every few hundred years and the next evolutionary
leap, the Automated Innovation Revolution, was poised to occur. In the
Automated Innovation Revolution the process for determining how to acquire and
utilize technology for a competitive advantage (which includes R&D) is
automated so that it can be executed with unprecedented speed, efficiency and
agility. Project Socrates developed the means for automated innovation so that
the US could lead the Automated Innovation Revolution in order to rebuild and
maintain the country's economic competitiveness for many generations.
