Technology

August 4, 2004 at 2:05 am — Glossary, Process
technology
  1. n. The application of knowledge and objects to transform matter and energy into more valuable forms.
  2. n. Knowledge and objects applied to transform matter and energy into more valuable forms.

I’m tempted to add skills to the list of things that can be applied as technology: The application of knowledge, skills, and objects… But that broadens the definition too much. For example, eating would then fit the definition. When I eat an apple, I apply my considerable eating skills to transform the apple into a more valuable form.

I’m also tempted to add information to the set of things that technology transforms into more useful forms. Not tempted enough just yet, but tempted.

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2 Comments »

Comment by Ronald Thompson — August 4, 2004 at 12:44 pm

In my opinion, applying your eating skills to the apple would be a technology choice. You could choose to get the same “result” via IV.

I also wonder about the choice of “more valuable form”. I’m thinking that it may be a “more desired form” (or something like that). Technology at its best gives a more valuable form, but not always.

Comment by Dale Emery — August 17, 2004 at 11:20 pm

I was thinking about the “more valuable form” phrase this morning. I may change it to “more valued form.” Like your phrase “more desired form,” this hints that someone values the new form more than the old—or expects to.

You asked elsewhere why I hesitated to include “information” in the definition. My hesitation is that I think of information as a special form of energy, a pattern of energy. If we think of it that way, then it’s sort of covered by the energy part of the definition, and I wanted to keep the definition concise.

Lately I’m thinking that information is a special enough form of energy that I want to include it explicitly in the definition.

I’ll be teaching a small workshop about power in a few days. One form of power that I talk about is technical power, power through applying technology. I’m likely to include skills and information in my definition of technology.

So here’s my latest definition:

technology
  1. n. The application of knowledge, skills, and objects to transform matter, energy, and information into more valued forms.
  2. n. Knowledge, skills, and objects applied to transform matter, energy, and information into more valued forms.

Thanks for provoking me to think about this more thoroughly.

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