The word technology refers to the making,
modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines,
techniques, crafts,
systems, and
methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a preexisting
solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an applied input/output relation
or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such
tools, including 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 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment