What is Technology?
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New technology is developed every day, and its inception always sparks a feeling of excitement and joy in us. It is like a gift that never stops appearing, always finding ways to fascinate us. The ways that they are applied and integrated with our daily lives are always impressive. They open dimensions of our society that were not apparent before, and it is not necessarily in the form of just a better way of doing a task. Technologies shape our thoughts and how we perceive the world around us. A term that is defined as “the practical, especially industrial, use of scientific discoveries” illustrates a lot more than just a word. Technology is the combination of creativity and technical knowledge to provide solutions that solve problems in the contemporary world more efficiently and effectively while minimizing harm.
Any tool or object that we categorize as technology is a solution to a hidden or apparent problem that humans experienced before. For instance, the original iPhone released in 2007 was a better solution for communication and virtual connection compared to phones with built-in keyboards. We, the users, are always looking to use the tools that are most helpful, efficient and pleasant, and the iPhone is an example of that. Not only is it easier to learn to use the device, but its larger screen and use of the fingers as the form of input provided a more straightforward experience. Additionally, in the past people would be able to connect only through a phone call if they did not want to use a desktop computer. With the iPhone, Apple brought the power of communication using the internet to phone users. The combination of factors above and many more is classified as a technology because it solved not only one, but several problems at the same time, by providing more efficient and effective alternatives.
An effective and efficient solution is the appropriate combination of creativity and technical knowledge, depending on the problem that the solution aims to solve. For instance, SpaceX, Blue Origin and companies as such are exploring the use of reusable rockets to transport payloads to low earth orbit (LEO) and then presumably beyond. Reusable rockets were not their original idea. The United States (US) Air Force and McDonnell Douglas first explored this option in 1991 with DC-X, however, although creative, the lack of new technological breakthroughs prevented them from producing meaningful progress, which led to the program being discontinued after the last test flight in 1996. Around two decades later, with new advancements in launch vehicle systems, first, Blue Origin landed New Shepherd after reaching LEO and then SpaceX landed Falcon 9 after sending a payload to space in 2015. Although the US Air Force and McDonnell Douglas had also explored this idea, Blue Origin and SpaceX had the advantage of new technologies. For that reason, they were able to balance creativity with technical abilities, leading them to build a more cost-effective solution for space exploration. In many instances, the creative potential of a solution is bound by the advancement of technologies.
There are also scenarios where new technical breakthroughs are not needed for technological solution. For example, Nintendo Switch is an alternative to PlayStation and Xbox, with the advantage of being small and portable. The Nintendo Switch did not require a new advanced GPU or CPU, however, it solved their intended problem. The designers and developers concluded that some users enjoy playing video games in different locations. This led to them recognizing that by lowering performance, they can still deliver fairly fast and responsive video games in a smaller form factor. In this case, the designers and developers just had to think differently, out of the box and approach the problem from a different perspective. Many solutions exist that address the same problem, however, each will require a different amount of creative and technical resources, and the best combination would be the one that delivers the most efficient and effective method for completing a task for the user.
All ideas carry some form of bias, and when the idea is developed into a solution, the bias is also developed into the solution, indicating that in different scenarios, some solutions might be actually helpful and in others, truly destructive. For instance, when nylon plastics arrived, they were cost-effective, allowing humans to carry groceries and other goods from location A to location B as fast as possible, however, as time passed , they proved to be one of the most harmful technologies ever. The bias that humans carried towards themselves, valuing money and their own lives over nature and wildlife led them to take a giant leap backwards. Although the use of plastic was a solution to our daily problems, they were another problem generated for nature and wildlife. It is truly sad and in some sense frustrating to witness humans prioritizing their own lives over the natural environment, even though we are greatly dependent on them. If the natural environment ceases to exist, humans will drown themselves in a cloud of carbon dioxide. With that, we can see that the solution to our daily lives eventually became a huge problem for our own future. When solutions are being developed, it is necessary to approach the problem from different angles to minimize the negative impact of the solution.
To conclude, technology is the combination of creativity and technical knowledge to provide solutions that solve problems in the contemporary world more efficiently and effectively while minimizing harm. Solving problems has been mankind’s primary task from the beginning. Although the problems and environments around us have evolved, the principles stay the same, which is to solve a problem in the greatest method possible while lowering its negative impacts. If humans focus on these principles instead of materialistic resources, then all the problems of society will eventually disappear. Undoubtedly, more problems will arise, however, those could be dealt with in the same manner. We can never expect there to be no problems. Problems are challenges that encourage us to reflect and improve as humans therefore without their existence, there are going to be no new technologies innovated and no progress is ever going to be achieved.