Technology results from invention and the ability of people to innovate and find new and better ways of carrying out a task
It increases the ability of people to satisfy their needs, for example by developing:
New tools, machines and systems of production in areas such as manufacturing and farming
New ways of moving and communicating
New ways of modifying the environment, by
building, irrigation and flood control technologies
New means of prolonging and shortening life
in the form of medical technology and weaponry
Solving Problems
Many people believe that for every problem there is a technological fix - an innovation waiting to be discovered that will solve it
A solution or cure to problems such as global warming, HIV/AIDS or oil shortages is sought through science and engineering.
Problems can also be solved by an attitudinal fix, which involves changing human behaviour
Technological fix
Global Warming
Geo-engineering to reduce incoming solar radiation
HIV/AIDS
Pharmaceutical research to find a vaccine or curative medicine
Oil shortages
A hydrogen economy or similar alternative energy future
Attitudinal fix
Oil shortages
Energy efficiency, public transport and energy-efficient cars
Global warming
Education and tax incentives to reduce personal carbon footprints
HIV/AIDS
Public health education to prevent the spread of the disease
Development of technology
The process of technological development is widely
perceived to be one of unending progress with new
and better technologies replacing older, obsolete ones
New technologies have a life cycle
Decline begins when better technologies become mainstream
Life cycles have become
shorter over time
The speed
of growth has
increased
Some 2.4 million years ago in the Palaeolithic
period, early humans such as homo habilis
discovered the use of stone tools
This revolutionised life and led to the development of stone axes, knives and
arrowheads - this is the earliest know example of technological innovation
In Mesopotamia 10,000 years ago - the development of
agricultural technology created a system of food supply
that was no longer reliant on hunting and gathering.
For much of human history, the development of technology has been gradual,
punctuated by 'technological breakthroughs' such as the invention of metal tools,
the use of antibiotics to treat infections, amore recently the creation of the internet
Controlling nature
Over time, people have used technology to control nature, so that their lives are less determined by environmental factors
Using an umbrella when it's raining
Taking antibiotics to fight infection
Irrigating deserts to grow food crops
In the twenty-first
century, in the developed
world at least, technology
has pervaded every
aspect of life to the extent
that we are entirely
dependent on it in one
way or another
In rural sub-Saharan Africa, for
example, 90% of people would be
out gathering wood for fuel. Many
would walk long distances to
collect unterated water. In some
places technologies such as
refrigeration are virtually unknown
Attitudes to technology
In general,
people tend
to accept
new
technology if
they think it
will improve
their quality
of life
At one end of the spectrum
of adoption are the 'techies'
who positively seek out and
embrace developments:
these are the 'early adopters'
of new technnologies
The majority of people - what might be called
the mainstream - are more likely to adopt a
new technology when its benefits are clear
and its costs have fallen to an affordable level
At the other end of the spectrum are the 'luddites' - people who are opposed
to technological change. This name derives from Ned Ludd, who in 1811
organised opposition to the introduction of new textile looms in Nottingham
In the 1830s, luddism spread to
the rural workforce, and gangs of
men destroyed threshing
machines in England
In the USA there are some 200,000 Amish Christians
who in general technology. Their objection is a
religious one and reflects their wish to live separately
In the UK there is a growing concern
over privacy due to CCTV - in 2008,
the met reported that only 3% of street
crime was solved by CCTV