Technology
The field of Technology applies science to solve problems with an industrial, commercial, educational, persuasive or military end in mind. Engineering applies human traits such as imagination, judgement, and intellectual discipline to existing human knowledge to create or use technology safely and efficiently.The term technology often characterises new inventions and gadgets using recently-derived scientific principles and processes. However, even very old inventions such as the wheel exemplify technology.
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2 Concepts in technology 3 See also |
Very often, technology and engineering circles assume that "new" means "better". The notion of appropriate technology developed in the 20th century to describe situations where it was not desirable to use very new technologies or those that required access to some centralized infrastructure or parts or skills imported from elsewhere. The eco-village movement evolved in part due to this concern. Intermediate technology, more of an economics concern, refers to compromises between central and expensive technologies of developed nations and those which developing nations find most effective to deploy given an excess of labour and scarcity of cash. In general, an "appropriate" technology will also be "intermediate".
Those who promote transhumanism, posthumanism or technological singularity make exactly contrary assumptions. Such ideologues regard technological development as morally good.
In economics, definitions or assumptions of progress or of growth often derive from one of the above assumptions. Challenging prevailing assumptions about technology and its usefulness has led to ideas like uneconomic growth or measuring well-being. One could view these, and economics itself, as technologies, specifically, as persuasion technology - a concern covered in its own separate article.
In warfare, technological escalation is often a feature of an arms race, and may result in new military technology.
In fiction, fictional technology often plays a role in the story, especially in science fiction, which depends on such ideas.Technology in ideology
