Technology
= "Technology is how we act on the world. It's the structuring of materials, energy, information to fulfill a purpose." [1]
Definition
Andrea Farias has collected various definitions of technology:
(Sublinks via [2])
"*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)
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."
(https://diome.xyz/2+%F0%9F%8C%BF+Leaves/Technology+Definitions)
Source: Adapted from [3]