Technology is the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools,
machines, techniques, crafts, systems, methods of organization, in order
to solve a problem, improve a preexisting solution to a problem,
achieve a goal or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the
collection of such tools, machinery, modifications, arrangements and
procedures. Technologies significantly affect human as well as other
animal species' ability to control and adapt to their natural
environments. The word technology comes from Greek τεχνολογία
(technología); from τέχνη (téchnē), meaning "art, skill, craft", and
-λογία (-logía), meaning "study of-".[1] The term can either be applied
generally or to specific areas: examples include construction
technology, medical technology, and information technology.
The human species' use of technology began with the conversion of
natural resources into simple tools. The prehistorical discovery of the
ability to control fire increased the available sources of food and the
invention of the wheel helped humans in travelling in and controlling
their environment. Recent technological developments, including the
printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical
barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a
global scale. However, not all technology has been used for peaceful
purposes; the development of weapons of ever-increasing destructive
power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons.
Technology has affected society and its surroundings in a number of
ways. In many societies, technology has helped develop more advanced
economies (including today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of
a leisure class. Many technological processes produce unwanted
by-products, known as pollution, and deplete natural resources, to the
detriment of the Earth and its environment. Various implementations of
technology influence the values of a society and new technology often
raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of
efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied
only to machines, and the challenge of traditional norms.
Philosophical debates have arisen over the present and future use of
technology in society, with disagreements over whether technology
improves the human condition or worsens it. Neo-Luddism,
anarcho-primitivism, and similar movements criticise the pervasiveness
of technology in the modern world, opining that it harms the environment
and alienates people; proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism
and techno-progressivism view continued technological progress as
beneficial to society and the human condition. Indeed, until recently,
it was believed that the development of technology was restricted only
to human beings, but recent scientific studies indicate that other
primates and certain dolphin communities have developed simple tools and
learned to pass their knowledge to other generations.
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