= "Technology is how we act on the world. It's the structuring of materials, energy, information to fulfill a purpose." [1]

Contextual Quote

"We have no agreement on what the word “technology” means, no overall theory of how technologies come into being, no deep understanding of what “innovation” consists of, and no theory of evolution for technology. Missing is a set of overall principles that would give the subject a logical structure, the sort of structure that would help fill these gaps. Missing, in other words, is a theory of technology—an “-ology” of technology."

- The Nature of Technology: What It Is and How It Evolves [2]

Definition

Andrea Farias has collected various definitions of technology:

(Sublinks via [3])

"*Technology is the application of conceptual knowledge for achieving practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word technology can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible tools such as utensils or machines, and intangible ones such as software."* Wikipedia

"Technology is a means to fulfill a human purpose. As a means, it is a method or procedure for accomplishing a goal by applying technical processes or knowledge." The Nature of Technology: What It Is and How It Evolves

"One (statement) says: Technology is a means to an end. The other says: Technology is a human activity. The two definitions of technology belong together. For to posit ends and procure and utilize the means to them is a human activity. The manufacture and utilization of equipment, tools, and machines, the manufactured and used things themselves, and the needs and ends that they serve, all belong to what technology is. The whole complex of these contrivances is technology." Philosophy of Technology

Technology is a term dating back to the early 17th century that meant 'systematic treatment' ... It is predated in use by the Ancient Greek word tékhnē, used to mean 'knowledge of how to make things'... Starting in the 19th century, continental Europeans started using the terms Technik (German) or technique (French) to refer to a 'way of doing', which included all technical arts, such as dancing, navigation, or printing, whether or not they required tools or instruments. Wikipedia

Technology, understood as our interface with the material world, is that human practice which most closely ties us to our context and our environment. Ways of Being - Animals, Plants, Machines."

(https://diome.xyz/2+%F0%9F%8C%BF+Leaves/Technology+Definitions)

Description

From the Wikipedia:

"Technology is the application of conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word technology can also mean the products resulting from such efforts,[2][3] including both tangible tools such as utensils or machines, and intangible ones such as software. Technology plays a critical role in science, engineering, and everyday life.

Technological advancements have led to significant changes in society. The earliest known technology is the stone tool, used during prehistoric times, followed by the control of fire, which contributed to the growth of the human brain and the development of language during the Ice Age. The invention of the wheel in the Bronze Age allowed greater travel and the creation of more complex machines. More recent technological inventions, including the printing press, telephone, and the Internet, have lowered barriers to communication and ushered in the knowledge economy.

While technology contributes to economic development and improves human prosperity, it can also have negative impacts like pollution and resource depletion, and can cause social harms like technological unemployment resulting from automation. As a result, philosophical and political debates about the role and use of technology, the ethics of technology, and ways to mitigate its downsides are ongoing."

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology)

Etymology

From the Wikipedia:

"Technology is a term dating back to the early 17th century that meant 'systematic treatment' (from Greek Τεχνολογία, from the Greek: τέχνη, romanized: tékhnē, lit. 'craft, art' and -λογία, 'study, knowledge'). It is predated in use by the Ancient Greek word tékhnē, used to mean 'knowledge of how to make things', which encompassed activities like architecture.

Starting in the 19th century, continental Europeans started using the terms Technik (German) or technique (French) to refer to a 'way of doing', which included all technical arts, such as dancing, navigation, or printing, whether or not they required tools or instruments.At the time, Technologie (German and French) referred either to the academic discipline studying the "methods of arts and crafts", or to the political discipline "intended to legislate on the functions of the arts and crafts." The distinction between Technik and Technologie is absent in English, and so both were translated as technology. The term was previously uncommon in English and mostly referred to the academic discipline, as in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In the 20th century, as a result of scientific progress and the Second Industrial Revolution, technology stopped being considered a distinct academic discipline and took on the meaning: the systemic use of knowledge to practical ends"

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology)

Typology

Andrea Farias:

Tools

"Human-scale artifacts, either found or crafted, that enhance individual and social practices. Examples include rocks, axes, forks, and writing implements.

Technologies

The application of complex (scientific) knowledge to problem-solving, embodied in intentionally designed artifacts that are sufficiently intricate to necessitate engineering. Examples include the waterwheel, steam engine, light bulb, and refrigerator.

Techniques

Applied conceptual knowledge or a 'way of doing' that may or may not require tools or instruments. Techniques encompass methods, skills, and processes used to accomplish specific tasks or solve problems.

Ecologies of technologies

Sets of technologies that are symbiotically related and co-evolving as nested functional units. For instance, a light bulb, lamp, power lines, transformers, and power station form an ecology of technologies. Similarly, a microchip, hard drive, screen, mouse, modem, broadband, and server banks constitute another ecology.

Infrastructures

Multiple different ecologies of technology embedded together to form a basic part of social coordination and material reproduction within a society. Examples include supply chains, transportation systems, markets, and communication systems.

Technological epochs

A duration of historical time characterized by a specific suite of infrastructures that are interrelated as the foundation of a social system. Examples include the pre-industrial, industrial, and post-industrial eras. Each epoch is defined by the dominant technologies and infrastructures that shape social, economic, and cultural patterns."