The nature of technology

Technology results from invention and the ability of people to innovate and find new and better ways of carrying out a task
1. It increases the ability of people to satisfy their needs, for example by developing:
  1. New tools, machines and systems of production in areas such as manufacturing and farming
  2. New ways of moving and communicating
  3. New ways of modifying the environment, by building, irrigation and flood control technologies
  4. New means of prolonging and shortening life in the form of medical technology and weaponry
Solving Problems
1. Many people believe that for every problem there is a technological fix - an innovation waiting to be discovered that will solve it
2. A solution or cure to problems such as global warming, HIV/AIDS or oil shortages is sought through science and engineering.
3. Problems can also be solved by an attitudinal fix, which involves changing human behaviour
4. Technological fix
  1. Global Warming
    1. Geo-engineering to reduce incoming solar radiation
  2. HIV/AIDS
    1. Pharmaceutical research to find a vaccine or curative medicine
  3. Oil shortages
    1. A hydrogen economy or similar alternative energy future
5. Attitudinal fix
  1. Oil shortages
    1. Energy efficiency, public transport and energy-efficient cars
  2. Global warming
    1. Education and tax incentives to reduce personal carbon footprints
  3. HIV/AIDS
    1. Public health education to prevent the spread of the disease
Development of technology
1. The process of technological development is widely perceived to be one of unending progress with new and better technologies replacing older, obsolete ones
2. New technologies have a life cycle
3. Decline begins when better technologies become mainstream
4. Life cycles have become shorter over time
5. The speed of growth has increased
6. Some 2.4 million years ago in the Palaeolithic period, early humans such as homo habilis discovered the use of stone tools
  1. This revolutionised life and led to the development of stone axes, knives and arrowheads - this is the earliest know example of technological innovation
7. 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.
8. 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
1. Over time, people have used technology to control nature, so that their lives are less determined by environmental factors
  1. Using an umbrella when it's raining
  2. Taking antibiotics to fight infection
  3. Irrigating deserts to grow food crops
2. 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
3. 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
1. In general, people tend to accept new technology if they think it will improve their quality of life
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. In the 1830s, luddism spread to the rural workforce, and gangs of men destroyed threshing machines in England
6. 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
7. 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

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The nature of technology

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	Created by Jodie Goodacre over 10 years ago