MATH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

INTRODUCTION TO TECHNOLOGY

I. DEFINING TECHNOLOGY

Before we go much further, we should be sure that we have a clear understanding of what
we mean by technology. Technology is one of those words that means very different things to
different people, depending on their context and their experience.

For example, the statement, “all students in junior secondary school should learn about
technology” may mean that students should learn about computers to someone who uses
computers every day.

For someone who operates a vehicle repair shop, it may mean that all students should
learn something about mechanics.

For a government official who is concerned with building up the national economy, it
may mean that all students should know enough about technology so that they are prepared to
learn how to use the technology specific to any of the economic sectors; agriculture,
manufacturing, education, health care and so on.

So, what is technology?

Here are some definition of technology:

Technology is . . .

• the machinery and equipment developed from the application of scientific knowledge.

• the branch of knowledge dealing with engineering or applied sciences.

• science or knowledge put into practical use to solve problems or invent useful tools.

• the application of scientific knowledge to the practical aims of human life or, as it is sometimes
phrased, to the change and manipulation of the human environment.

• the way we apply scientific knowledge for practical purposes. It includes machines (like
computers) but also techniques and processes (like the way we produce computer chips). ... In
fact, a hammer and the wheel are two examples of early human technology.

• a systematic approach to using procedures and tools to accomplish a particular goal.

 We tend to think of technology as based on science, since many of the technologies of the
19th and 20th centuries were based on newly discovered scientific principles.

However, some of the most familiar technologies, for example, weaving cloth or baking
bread, were developed without necessarily understanding the underlying scientific principles of
tension and elasticity in yarns, or the effect of heat on carbon dioxide molecules trapped by the
gluten in flour.

In other words, technology may be based on scientific principles, but the initiative for
developing a particular technology comes from an identified human need.

Another important factor in describing technology is how the technological process is

initiated: what makes it happen in the first place?

There are examples of scientific developments being applied to technology fairly rapidly.

For example, the discovery of the effect of air pressure and steam in the 18th century
(Boyle’s law, Charles’ law, etc.), was applied almost immediately to the development of the
steam engine that was used for transport and industry. This in turn made the industrial revolution
possible by mechanising repetitive work and reducing the cost of transporting raw materials and
finished goods.

There are other examples in which scientific knowledge was not applied to a practical
situation for a long time after its discovery. For example, the wheel was developed in the fourth
century BC, but was not routinely used for transport until many centuries later.

We tend to use the term technology to describe what is really the product of a
technological process.

For example, the bicycle is an example of the application of some well-known principles
of balance, propulsion, gears and levers to provide a machine for human-powered transport. Is
the bicycle a technology?

Certainly the car has generated a widespread technology to serve its need for roads,
parking, fuel, and so on. If we look back at each of the definitions, technology is described as a
system. When we refer to the car as a technology, we are in fact using the car as a symbol to
represent all the rest of the system that goes with vehicular transport.

In general, technologies tend to be developed when there are the following: the basic know-how,
a clear need, and some “spark” that initiates it, that comes from the social context and its
priorities.
 TECHNOLOGIES AND THE NEEDS THEY ADDRESS

The following examples show how some products of technology meet particular needs.

Technology Product Meets the need for

bicycle - moving between places more quickly than walking

weaving loom - making cloth

windmill - generating power from the wind to operate machinery

However, technology is not as simple as just solving a problem, because the solution in
turn creates a different situation that brings its own potential problems.

To illustrate, let’s look at examples of the effects of the next generation of the technology
products listed above:

Technology Product Meets the need for Effects of this technology

(positive and negative)

motorised vehicles rapid transport of - easier access to markets, services

(cars, boats) people and goods - pollution, noise, traffic accidents

mechanised looms rapid production of - much higher demand for wool

large quantities of cloth
from their
causing urban
electrical power plants production of electrical
power for domestic,
industrial and commercial
applications
- expansion of sheep production,
displacing small farmers
lands
- expansion of cloth exporting
- cloth making is moved from home
to factory
- unhealthy factory conditions
- cloth makers move to cities where
factories are located,
crowding
- more mechanisation of
industrial, commercial
and domestic work
- increased production capacity in
the economy
- increased dependence on electricity
- those without electrical power are
at a disadvantage
Activity 9

List some technologies and their effects.

1. Describe three different examples of technologies, the needs they meet, and their
effects, both positive and negative. You can use the chart below to record some of your ideas.

Technology Meets the need for Effects

(positive and negative)

1.

2.

3.