Is this technology?

When we hear the word technology, images of new mobiles, computers, drones... electronic devices automatically come to mind.

It is common for us to associate these devices with technology because we perceive them as something new, something that improves our daily life.  These two conceps are the two fundamental keys for defining technology as designing something new to facilitate, improve or transform our lives.

Human beings use a multitude of objects and devices on a daily basis: the alarm clock to help us wake up, the microwave to heat up our breakfast, the toothbrush to clean ourselves, the clothes we wear, the chair we sit on, the bus, buildings, computers, etc.

All these objects that make our daily lives easier have arisen from human ingenuity and inventiveness. The science of devising and constructing objects that solve human needs or problems is called technology.

To this point has been reached by asking how can our needs be satisfied? or by how can solve a problem found?

Technology is not an object. It is a process, a capacity to transform, invent, or to design a technological product in order to solve a problem or satisfy a human need.

Instinctively, from the beginning of history, people have been seeking to develop technology (techniques to improve their quality of life). The inventions that man has made over the years have changed the world as we know it today.

Made nearly two million years ago, stone tools such as this are the first known technological invention.

This chopping tool and others like it are the oldest objects in the British Museum. It comes from an early human campsite in the bottom layer of deposits in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Potassium-argon dating indicates that this bed is between 1.6 and 2.2 million years old from top to bottom. This and other tools are dated to about 1.8 million years.

Technology is directly related to the evolution and development of human beings. All new inventions or innovations that changed in some way our lifes is thanks to technology. 

Difference between inventions and innoovations. People that invent new products, processes, or ideas are inventors. An innovation is an improvement on something that existed previously.

Throughout history, human beings have had to find solutions to the different problems that have arisen in order to satisfy their needs and desires (such as health, clothing, food, housing, communication, transport, etc.). The result is the multitude of products created, from a toothbrush or a pencil to a computer or a space station.

Technology is the set of skills and techniques used to meet human needs and solve problems, and therefore  improving their living conditions.

A technologist invents, designs and buid technological products, or modifies products already invented, in order to meet a need.

Basic needs: These are the essential needs that human beings need in order to survive. These are food, clothing, housing and health.

• Food: the need for food made development of tools for eating, hunting, fishing, agriculture and animal husbandry.

• Clothing:  need clothes to confort, protect and cover ourselves and protect us from dust, rain, insects, sunlight, etc. 

• Housing: it is the place of refuge that people need for protection, shelter from the weather and other threats.

• Health: to prevent and cure illnesses, technological products have been developed to diagnose illnesses, perform operations, treat ailments, etc.

Secondary needs: These are needs other than basic needs, the satisfaction of which increases the well-being of the individual and vary from one society to another or from one era to another. Examples: driving a car, communicating with a mobile phone, leisure such as playing games, watching TV, listening to music, sightseeing, etc.

• Safety: to ensure safety in vehicles, at work, at home, etc.

• Communication: the communication of information has used solutions such as bells, smoke signals, mail, telegraph, etc. Nowadays communication has undergone a major revolution thanks to radio, TV, Internet, mobile phones, etc.

• Transport: commerce and tourism require the need to transport people and goods. For this purpose, technology developed the wheel, the cart, ships, automobiles, roads, bridges, etc.

• Work: Human beings have developed a multitude of tools and machines that have made work easier. These devices have made certain tasks that would otherwise be slow, hard and difficult to carry out easier.

• Leisure: the need for rest, distraction and entertainment has always been present. Toys, games, musical instruments, cinema, amusements parks, etc.

Technology is extremely useful and necessary nowadays. Thanks to it, human beings have thousands of comforts and experiences that were unimaginable in the past, such as exploring space or studying the depths of the ocean. At the same time, it allows us to store thousands of bits of information, to shorten travel time between distances thanks to means of transport or communication networks, to keep in touch at all times. Without going any further, technology aims to facilitate and improve people's lives. But at what cost? 

• Do you think there is a dependence on technology?

• Would you be able to go without internet for more than a week?

• What would happen if there was a shutdown and you couldn't use any electronic devices?

• Can you see any downside to the technology and the way is used?

Thechonological knowledge: refers to the all scientific knowledge (physics, mathematics, drawing, etc.) joined to the technical knowledge (working techniques, tools, machines etc.)

Thanks to the techonogy scientific knowledge improves and vice versa, the scientific knowledge is necesary to develop new technological products.