The application of knowledge, skills, and methods to produce useful products and processes is called technology. Technology is the result of human activity and can be broadly categorized as the creation of industrial products or scientific research. It has become a way of life, but how do we define it? What are the differences between technology and traditional practices? How do they relate to human development? And what can we do to improve it? Let’s discuss some of the main examples.
Human activity
What is human activity? Human activities include recreational pursuits, manufacturing, and war. Whether the activities are intentional or not, they involve the use of technology. These activities also include the visual, literary, and performing arts. The formal sciences, on the other hand, focus on the properties of formal systems rather than the validity of theories. While the formal sciences are often seen as the opposite of creative activities, they do have an impact on human life in a few important ways.
Artifacts created by humans
Artifacts created by humans using technology date back almost two million years. The oldest objects in the British Museum date back 1.8 million years. The earliest known human technology was stone tools. The oldest example is found in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. These tools, along with a few others, were still in use five million years ago. Over the centuries, they spread throughout Africa and the Middle East, eventually reaching Europe.
Methods used to create them
There are many types of scientific inquiry, and engineering is a branch of science that is closely associated with mathematical modeling. The basis of engineering is conceiving problems and developing solutions. The basic method of engineering is to develop a general approach and subsequently apply technical details to solve the problem. Examples of applications of this method include irrigation, product testing, and opinion polling. The following sections describe some of the main types of engineering inquiry.
Impact on culture
Technological advancements have transformed human societies and brought about modernization, industrialization and urbanization. They have also brought about communication and transportation systems, and have enhanced society’s culture, tradition, and social cohesion. The twentieth century has marked a great leap forward, but there are some negative consequences of the advances in technology. For example, some cultures have lost their traditional ways of life, while others have developed new ones. These changes have created new social norms, such as the ability to communicate with elders.
Sources of technology
Many companies, even those with significant internal R&D, make deliberate efforts to source and acquire technology from external sources. As these efforts grow more systematic and include a wider range of disciplines, a clear strategic direction is required for success. Successful sourcing efforts require long-term commitment and appropriately skilled people. The primary locus of the problems is how to nurture technology once it is acquired. Here are a few examples. Read on to learn more.