What is Technology?

Atiyaomar · December 26, 2021, 11:19am

What is Technology? The word technology is a word formed by two other words of Greek origin. The first is technique, which assumes the meaning of art or the way to carry out an action or a set of them.

In a more basic approach, they are the procedures for doing something. The second is logia, which derives from logos, which is the study of something.

Origin and evolution of technology

The discovery of the use of fire was one of the first technological advances. Instinctively, from the beginning of history, [people sought to develop technology (techniques to improve their quality of life).

The discoveries that man has made over the years have been shaping the world as it is known today, therefore, the technology has existed since the beginning of the species, although it has not been called as such until the eighteenth century.

Formally speaking, technology has its origin when technique (initially empirical) began to be linked with science and in this way production methods were structured.

Throughout the different periods of humanity there have been discoveries that modified the way in which the human being relates to himself and to the environment that surrounds him:

Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic). It was characterized by the use of stone for the manufacture of utensils and the development of agriculture with rudimentary tools for land management. The discovery of fire was one of the first technologies that brought remarkable benefits to humans.
**Metal Age ** It was characterized by the development of agriculture, animal domestication, and the transition from nomadism to a sedentary lifestyle. The smelting of copper, bronze, and iron were developed.

The Egyptian civilization is credited with the discovery of papyrus and pottery; the Romans developed sophisticated agriculture, improved the technology of working with iron, and developed civil and military engineering; Chinese civilization is credited with the discovery of paper, the iron plow, the compass, the propeller, the crossbow, and gunpowder.

Middle Ages. The emergence of the modern printing press was one of the most important milestones within this period.
Industrial Revolution. It was a period of social, economic, technological, and cultural transformations characterized by the development of an urban and industrialized economy.
One of the most prominent inventions of this time was the steam engine. During the 19th century, the telegraph, the light bulb, the telephone, and the automobile emerged.
Twentieth century. There was a great technological development with discoveries such as the airplane, radio, television, the computer, as well as important advances in nuclear technology, technology applied to medicine and space technology.
Within this century there was the Information and Telecommunication Revolution or the Information Age (1985-2000).
XXI century. Technological progress (also called the scientific-technological revolution or intelligence revolution) evolved rapidly.
Technology and communications transform the industry. New technologies are those that emerge after the Second World War. Its rapid growth and insertion in society brought important consequences. The risk is fundamentally given that the human being is able to control and dominate them.

Technology etymology

The word technology is a word formed by two other words of Greek origin. The first is technique, which assumes the meaning of art or the way to carry out an action or a set of them. In a more basic approach, they are the procedures for doing something. The second is logia, which derives from logos, which is the study of something.

Thus, the technique is the domain of the set of knowledge that is necessary to produce something. It is often said that the violinist or guitarist has technique when both have mastered or had the necessary set of skills to play their instruments well.

There are techniques for many things, ranging from good performance in preparing a dish in gastronomy to the carpenter who builds a piece of furniture and culminating in the plastic artist who knows how to combine paints, brushes, and other instruments to produce a work of art.

Complementarily, logy refers to the study of techniques when we refer to the word technology. Similarly, whenever it is used as a suffix, it refers to the study of what the prefix means, as in the case of biology, which is the study of life since bio is the word for life.

What is technology?

The etymology of the word already gives good enough clues to what technology is, but let’s expand the concept so that we can extend its reach and the benefits it can provide in people’s lives.

It’s not wrong to say that the smartphone you carry in your pocket or purse is a technological device. It is also not wrong to think of the notebook, the smart TV, the server that hosts your website, or even a series of electronic gadgets that populate our homes, offices, stores, and technology fairs, as legitimate representatives of technology.

The question is the limitation to which the term has been associated. Invariably, the word technology has been used when thinking about advances in the electronics and computing segment, where in fact there is a lot of technology embedded in each component that is part of devices and often programs.

This is more evident when we access an Internet portal and click on the technology section and all we find is news related to electronic devices, games, and eventually some program or system.

But technology is not just that! Technology is not synonymous with advances in electronic devices and games or computer programs.

You stop your car at the gas station for gas and what makes it possible to fill the tank is the result of the technology to extract oil from the depths of the ocean or from several layers underground.

The use of other technology to refine it, resulting in a series of by-products, of which gasoline is only one, and yet a third that makes the fuel go from the reservoir to the tank through the pump.

When you start to leave the station, there is a lot of technology in the engine that makes the vehicle move, in the brakes that make it stop, in the tires that roll on the asphalt, which is also the result of technology and another petroleum by-product.

And behold, when you get home and take the elevator to your apartment, technology allows you to not have to use the stairs.

Once inside, and when he turned on the faucet to quench his thirst, another set of technologies allowed drinking water to flow out of it.
When you sit at the table, the rice and beans dish is full of technologies for the production of grains and their preparation.

And even when you finish your day, you wear technology, lie on technology, and cover yourself with technology. There is technology in the production of fabrics for pajamas, mattresses, and blankets.

Finally, we are surrounded by technologies that allow us to create a good part of everything we consume, whether durable or not.

Types of technology

According to the type of product:

Hard technologies. They use elements of the hard sciences such as engineering, mechanics, mathematics, physics, chemistry. The product that is obtained is visible and tangible, that is, it is the production of material goods. For example the development of a mobile device.
Soft technologies. They are based on the humanistic or soft sciences, such as sociology, psychology, economics. In general, they are used to improve processes and achieve greater efficiency in institutions or companies.
The product obtained is neither visible nor tangible since it consists of the development of services, strategies, theories. For example the development of software.

According to the American sociologist James David Thompson:

Flexible technologies. They are used in different areas, that is, they have several uses. For example, the microchip that is used in telephones and computers.
Fixed technologies. They are used for the production of a certain product, or in a certain area. They are technologies designed and produced for a single purpose. For example, rat poison is used only for the elimination of the rat animal.

According to the level of innovation:

State-of-the-art technologies. Also called “high technologies” or “latest technology”, they are more advanced technologies, available in a certain place and time.
Appropriate technologies. They are technologies that are designed taking into account the environmental, social, and economic impact in a given society.

According to your application:

Operating technologies. They are obtained after a long period of time of the study, observation, and experience.
Computer Technologies. They are developed by the manufacturers of a certain product.
Product technologies. They combine tools and knowledge to produce a certain product.

Advantages and disadvantages of technology

Below are listed both the benefits and the consequences of technology in society:

Advantage:

Increased productivity. The advancement of technology has made it possible to create tools that have increased productivity in recent years. It has been achieved thanks to the automation of infinite processes.
Communications improvements. The transport of people and the methods of communication between individuals have improved a lot thanks to technology, providing greater ease in communications.
Reduction of costs. The creation of more efficient systems or automation has made production processes cheaper.
Access to information. Today, we have access to virtually unlimited information thanks to technology.
Appearance of new business models. Technology has undoubtedly brought a revolution in business. The advance of this has given rise to a large number of alternatives in the entrepreneurial world.
Advances in science. The creation of new machines, intended for researchers, has brought great advances and discoveries in areas as important as medicine.

Disadvantages:

Isolation from people. The emergence of social networks or streaming content platforms has led to a greater degree of loneliness in most of the citizens.
Loss of privacy. The use of technological devices collects user information and distributes it among a multitude of companies.
Psychological problems. The constant exposure and visualization of “prototypes of people” has psychologically destabilized a part of society. Generating depressions or other negative disorders.
Sedentary lifestyle. Society has very high rates of sedentary lifestyle due to the appearance of products such as electric scooters.
Environment. The technology allows to carry out a higher production than the environment can support. This situation brings with it an increase in, for example, natural disasters.

Technology features

It is present in all areas of personal life and in society, such as work, education, medicine, communication.
It allows the manufacture of new objects: through it, the human being modifies the environment that surrounds him.
It is responsible for most of the discoveries of man.
If it is used well it improves the quality of life of the human being, if it is used badly it can cause serious damages to the individuals and to the society.
It is subject to change (technological changes occur discontinuously).
Its developments involve cultural, labor, and social changes.
Uneven technological development can generate social and economic gaps within a community or between regions or nations.

Examples of technologies

3D printers create three-dimensional objects by overlaying layers of materials.

Robotics. It uses tools and knowledge from various disciplines (electronic engineering, electrical engineering, computer science) for the design and manufacture of robots.

It is expected that these robots can perform automated tasks and jobs that are routine and tedious for humans or lower production costs in industries.

Cryptocurrencies. They are a type of digital currency that uses distributed ledger technology (allows you to record and synchronize transactions between multiple users in different locations).
3d print. It is a type of addition printing that efficiently creates unique parts and complex geometries on a wide variety of materials. Through 3D printing, a three-dimensional object is created by superimposing layers of materials, and it is used in many industries for different uses.
Artificial intelligence. It involves the creation of machines that mimic the cognitive functions of human beings.
This technology is used in various disciplines such as economics, medicine, transportation, video game software, control systems, handwriting recognition, speech recognition, and pattern recognition in online assistants.
Autonomous vehicles. Technology is used to create driverless cars that are programmed to mimic human driving and control capabilities. This type of vehicle perceives the environment through laser systems, radars, computerized vision.
There are several programs that are testing this new technology to see if it can be used extensively.
Biotechnology. It is the discipline that uses technology to create products from biological systems and living organisms.
Biotechnology has been responsible for the creation of vaccines and antibodies and is used in medicine, agriculture, industry, and care of the environment.

Relationship between science and technology

The technology uses the knowledge of science to develop goods or services.
The concept of technology is often confused with that of science. On the one hand, science is an ordered set of knowledge that is obtained through observation and experimentation.
On the contrary, technology takes the knowledge and techniques from the different sciences and uses them to develop tangible and intangible goods or services that contribute to human development.
While science allows knowing certain phenomena, technology deals with combining and modifying them efficiently to solve a problem or satisfy a need.
Therefore, technology depends entirely on the existence of science. Scientific advances also imply new opportunities for technological development.
In the last decades, the concept I + D + I (Research, development, and innovation) gained notoriety, which combines scientific study with technology.

Difference between technology and science

Technology and science are not exactly the same, although they are related concepts. Science aims to obtain knowledge, while technology is knowledge applied in a rational and orderly way to solve a problem. In addition, science seeks the truth while technology, efficiency.

Both science and technology tend to support each other. The first uses the second for research, while the second uses the first to solve a problem.

Comparison Table Between Science and Technology

Parameters of Comparison	Science	Technology
Definition	Science is a systematic process of obtaining knowledge on a specific subject through research, observation, and experiments.	Technology is the practical implication of scientific knowledge for multiple objectives.
Effect	The effect of science is useful for humankind.	The effect of technology can be either useful or harmful.
Alteration or change	It does not change. It remains the same.	It changes with every passing day.
Focuses on	Discovery	Invention
Method	Theory Development, analysis, and deduction.	Review and integration of design.

Technology and its roles

After all this, there is no doubt that technology goes well beyond the electronics industry the supermarket or shop. But it does not only have the role of studying the means to produce objects with good results and that are part of our daily lives.
Technology also has a social, scientific, educational, cultural, and health role. She is present or enables a wide range of situations and extends her arms across multiple areas.
Through scientific study and research, conducted at universities such as USP, institutes such as Butantan, foundations such as Fiocruz, and even in the industry, there is the development of medicines, vaccines, and other products of the pharmaceutical industry, which are full of technologies.
It is by applying technology that it is possible to give a new economic and social perspective to the semiarid region of Northeast Brazil, through irrigation by artesian wells, allowing family, subsistence, or even commercial agriculture, using technology developed in one of the many Embrapa units.
Also thanks to technology, which makes it possible to safely transport Van Gogh’s works from another continent for exhibition at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo, or go to the Planetarium and discover how our solar system is constituted or even go to the Museum of Image and Sound and take a tour of the decades-old history of man-made sights and sounds.
And if you want to get away from all that and just want to go back to the past when technology was not yet so intricate in our lives and you decide to just read a book printed on paper, as was so common not so long ago, know that on paper, In the ink, printing, and binding of this book, there’s a lot of technology!

Summary: Technology has a great impact on our everyday life right from start of our day till we sleep. It has made our life easier, fast and meaningful.

Importance of technology in modern-day lives

Technology has allowed a series of changes in daily life, because it transforms its natural and artificial state, according to its own needs and its ability to transform its environment.

The fundamental role of technology resides in the impact that this process generates in society. It is called the technological revolution. From your point of view, what is the fundamental role of technology in contemporary society?

To be honest, technology is no longer important, it is necessary. The world became dependent on her but worse than that, addicted. Everything around us is technology, from a watch, a calculator to cars, airplanes, famous computers, etc.

Technology, with its pros and cons, has developed in a wonderful way and has allowed life to be prolonged, the sanitation system to be improved and the methods of production and distribution of different things such as food harvesting have advanced, clothing, etc.

So much so that it has already become a fundamental part of the functional development of the country. We have reached the point that a society without technology is a prehistoric society.

Technology evolves by leaps and bounds, which is why we have been forced to replace some tools with others. Besides, all this has rendered us useless.

The fundamental role of technology in society today plays a very important role; since day by day we are being promoted the importance of technology in daily life,

That is to say, little by little the same society has been taking care of that humans see that we are useless if we do not have a device that is in charge of doing our tasks in a simple and fast way, as well as the communication that is easier regardless of the distance or time.

Although, we know that it is very useful and that we all use technology without exception, but without even really knowing its functions, much less its consequences, therefore we handle technology with awareness or without it, knowing how bad we cause it. to the ecosystem and to ourselves.

Technology has brought great benefits to humanity, its main role is to create the improvement of tools and accessories that have been useful to simplify the saving of time and work effort, such as means of transport as well as automobiles, airplanes, etc. They have also been of great benefit to our needs and to have a more comfortable life.

Technology has played an important role in our health, for example, thanks to the invention of vaccines, today we can have a healthier life. On the other hand, technology has also been used for purposes that harm man, such as the development of chemicals and poisons, among others, that harm our health.

Summary: Today technology has had an impact that has positively and negatively affected our society, and for us, it is essential since we are used to a way of life where technology is the main role of our social environment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are 6 most frequently asked questions:

1. What are the types of technology?

Because engineering can be so simple or so complex, there are many kinds of engineering. One kind is mechanical engineering, which includes wheels, cams, levers, gears, belts, and motors. There are industrial and manufacturing engineering, medical engineering, communications engineering, and others.

2. How is technology used in everyday life?

Technology helps us to stay in touch with people who are far away from us. We use phones and computers to talk to them and even to see them. Even our daily office life is based on technology. Even cars have become better thanks to the use of technology.

3. How does technology make our lives easier?

Technology allows you to automate tasks, create reminders, collect receipts, track investments, compare prices and much more. Thanks to technology, you no longer have to waste your time on simple financial tasks. With a few clicks, you can pay your bills instantly.

4. How has technology made communication easier?

Technology has made communication easier in many ways. Not only can you exchange information quickly and reduce the impact of language differences and distance, but you can also save time and money by using technology to communicate and reach the widest possible audience.

5. Why is technology so important?

Technology, which brings together tools to facilitate the development, use, and exchange of information, has the primary aim of facilitating tasks and solving many of humanity’s problems. The new technology that has developed has helped save lives; it improves work and makes the world a better place to live in.

6. How has technology changed our lives?

Technology has changed the way we have fun, meet each other, and consume all kinds of media. It has not only provided entertainment, but also important advances in safety when it comes to home security and medical equipment. It opens up new possibilities in terms of security, mobility, and connectivity.

Conclusion:
Technology, which is the study of knowledge and/or skills needed to do something, is more than a simple synonym for advances in a particular area, such as electronics. The technology consists of the knowledge acquired to do things and produce results in different areas, such as scientific, cultural, and even social, improving people’s lives and society as a whole.