Technology Definition

We are surrounded by it, and we think that today more than ever throughout history, but… how do we define the term technology? Analyzing and breaking down the look of the RAE, we can raise two questions. On the one hand, the understanding of devices -gadgets- that use technological advances to offer greater functionality, and on the other, understanding technology as something immaterial, but which materializes as knowledge through devices that take advantage of and extend said knowledge. .

Technology has always existed, only that over time, the way in which it is presented has changed.

Centuries ago, cutting-edge technology might have consisted of a more efficient plow than its predecessors, or a more precise mechanical watch.

It is clear that our knowledge (of humanity in general) about the world and what surrounds us has grown exponentially since the end of the 19th century, beginning of the 20th, and that it is increasing more and more rapidly. This causes us to master materials and their properties more and more, which implies that we can build more advanced devices using these properties.

As a sample, just one example will cite the exploration of outer space as a huge technological step achieved by humanity, that is, without technology it would have been impossible for man to leave the earth per se. Remember that this event occurred in the year 1960.

The passage of time has meant that technologies are not only mechanical, but are also made up of something as intangible as the software.

However, and in need of a hardware for its execution, the software it is always subject to the existence of a physical machine, and its capacities to be able to be executed.

the suffix technology It has also been used, along with various roots, to identify technological progress in various specific fields of human knowledge.

This is the case of the area of ​​biotechnology, which refers to everything that is obtained derived from natural (biological) products and generally intended for the field of medicine.

Much of humanity’s technological progress has been linked to consumer goods and, therefore, we have linked it to capitalism and consumerism, terms that have negative connotations for a part of the population.

A paradigmatic example of this is mobile telephony, a field in which every few months a significant advance is produced in one of the various areas that it currently covers (such as the camera, the screen, or the processor).

Although there are many technologies, which by the way are very different from each other, we usually use the term interchangeably to refer to one or all of them.

Technology is a very important matter at the behest of humanity since it substantially helps both the social and economic progress of a territory, however, it is key to mention that this sector has been attributed a hyper-commercial character and by the way it is that it has been mostly inclined to satisfy individual needs, leaving aside those essential ones of the most needy individuals. Obviously, and by the way, this rather individualistic situation generates an unsustainable use of our environment, to which we must pay attention!

Technology is also accused of fostering inequalities both between peoples and economic inequalities between people, and of being the cause of climate problems.

However, we must think that technology as such is neutral, and that all these problems are caused by human action, and should not be considered as a direct effect of technology itself.

In fact, technology can also be established as an aid to the environment and as a lever to overcome class differences, but it is the use that people give it that puts an end to this possibility. It is a great instrument when it comes to protecting our natural environment and therefore stopping the increasing demands indicated from depleting or degrading the resources, whether material or energetic, available on our land.

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