A Word from the Wise

For my first source in this search to define technology, I called up an old friend, someone who has been around to see technology change. He was my mentor in high school, and his name is Don Powers. Don Powers grew up during the depression, graduated as an electrical engineer from Texas A&M, and went on to work at Honeywell for many years, building gyros for NASA. I asked Mr. Powers what technology was to him, and this is what he told me. "When I started knowing the world was more than just Minnesota, technology was radio, and starting to automate things in cars." He went on to tell me that although that is what he first knew technology to be, that it constantly changes, from the "basic stuff" like electricity and gas engines, to space travel. "Technology is an evolutionary thing," he told me, "To you it is computer related, but it can pertain to astronomy or space travel." He then told me that technology is a super broad field like education. "Try to define education," he said, "and you will find that it's very difficult because it depends on the time in history you are defining it in." He then said that technology to him, today, is space travel, astronomy, and as far as computers are concerned, the World Wide Web and WiFi. He finished by saying this, "They tame the beast, but taming the beast releases another beast that is bigger, stronger, and different."
What a good opinion. Don Powers is a man I have utmost respect for, and he again gave me a superior answer to my question. He described technology mostly as an evolutionary thing, but he struggled with a tangible definition because he said that it is constantly changes. He described technology as something that is current with the time. I did not go this far, but perhaps these things that were once technology no longer are, they are just artifacts, history, but none the less, things that were technology at one point. He made a great point about "the beast", that it is the invention of technology that paves the way for new technology to make the old obsolete. As someone who has seen it all happen, and has been around for the change, I believe his opinion helps me to decide that technology is something that is current, and perhaps something that makes technology obsolete.

Exploring My Own

Technology. It has become a household word, generally associated with the modern world. Technology has come to refer to electronics, machines, and anything that makes our life easier. But what about 200 years ago? Did they have technology? They most certainly had new inventions, new ways to do things, creations to make their lives easier. Was that technology? I don't really know. Is technology something that IS current, or something that WAS current? Is technology limited to those alive today, or should we consider ancient inventions technology. The wheel had no circuit boards, but it certainly revolutionized the way the world saw transportation. What about fire? Perhaps some dictionary definitions can aid my pursuit. Answers.com gives us 4 different definitions. The first 3 are very specific in what they address, the application of science, the scientific method, and electronics. These give us a pretty good idea about technology today. The 4th, however, addresses technology as a more abstract, intangible thing. "The body of knowledge available to a society that is of use in fashioning implements, practicing manual arts and skills, and extracting or collecting materials." Is technology simply that, an idea? Is it knowledge that we have gained? We have gained the knowledge of electronics, of wireless internet, of cell phones. We at one point gained the knowledge of fire, so does that make it technology, or is its status as technology limited to when it was discovered? I think that we could still call fire technology. It is still knowledge that we possess. I think that if anything I am closer to understanding technology, perhaps more as an idea than a thing.

What Are You?

The purpose of this blog is to flesh out what the word "technology" means, to me, and to everyone. Each post will address a different source, which, cobbled together, should provide some answers to this question, "What is technology?"