Technology 101

Technology 101 Technology has been with us since people first banged two rocks together. It was versatile then - you could make fire, kill an animal, grind grain, make art or even just have fun. Homo Sapiens are not the only species to have technologies, most hominids have forms of technology, and the more we understand of how many things live, the more we discover that many 'simple' animals also manipulate their environment using tools.

Today people assume technology means ‘micro-electronics. This is but one form.

The word technology is a noun (taken from the Oxford English Dictionary)

Meaning:

The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry:
“advances in computer technology” · “recycling technologies”

machinery and equipment developed from the application of scientific knowledge:
“it will reduce the industry’s ability to spend money on new technology”
Synonyms:
equipment · apparatus · hardware · plant · mechanism · gear · tackle · instruments · tools · gadgetry · enginery
the branch of knowledge dealing with engineering or applied sciences.
ORIGIN
early 17th century: from Greek tekhnologia ‘systematic treatment’, from tekhnē ‘art, craft’ + -logia (see -logy).

Over the recent years we have seen an increase in technologies that have been called ‘smart’. At the same time, we have seen a marked decrease in usable instructions. Back last Century new devices of all forms from Cars to Modems, to Software, to Household appliances like Refrigerators and Toasters all came with a thing called a ‘Manual’. Basic instructions usually printed on paper. Now paper is a technology that’s been around for a few millennia and printing has been around for a few hundred years. Both have continually evolved and like handwriting have declined since the advent of Smart Technologies.

Much of todays ‘Smart’ technologies rely on a touch interface. What they have deliberately chosen to ignore (in Favour of marketing hype – pronounced “crap”) is this.

• There are no basic instructions available – unless you already know how to use the technologies,
• Touch interfaces often rely on electrical properties of the skin such as resistivity that varies as we age and changes with things like skin thickening and dryness.
• Fine motor skills and a degree of dexterity that declines as we all age.
• A short working/marketing life that leads people to believe that any problems they have will be addressed with the next release of the product (usually within two years).

This has built a social expectation that everyone has access to and is competent and confident using these technologies! This belief is built on the shallow thought and hype of marketing not on feedback of the general public.

Click on the following link to see this short video Technology 101 provides a quick overview of the place of a lot of smart technologies in people’s lives.