Discussion 1: What is Technology?

1. How did I define technology before this course?

2. Before starting this course, I had a very shallow understanding of what technology is. I would have defined technology as simply as "anything electronic". Things like computers, cell phones, ipods, would all come to mind. I had never even thought about technology being more than physical objects.

3. In the TED Talk titled"Technology's epic story", Kevin Kelly strives to help listeners understand what technology is, by asking you to imagine what the world would look like without technology. Re-phrasing the question makes it easier to define. It makes you think about how human beings operate, what we use everyday, operations we don't see, behind the scenes work, systems that are vital for proper function. In a sense, life without technology is going back to all things natural. Natural patterns and growth. Thinking about technology this way, makes it easier to visualize and form a concrete idea.

3.1. In "Food for Thought", Robert Friedel ultimately explains that "there is no widely accepted answer" to what technology is and that "we seem to manage just fine without one". His statement contributed to my conclusion about the definition of technology. I think the word technology describes elaborate, man-made systems, created to better the lives of human beings and maintain a sense of structure. Whether it's an object we use on a regular basis to communicate, a machine used to create things we need, or the a system we use to transport ourselves to work each day, we live in world filled with man-made inventions. Technology is everywhere and can have many definitions. What do you think?

4. How would I define technology now?

5. After watching the videos for this discussion and reading more, I definitely have a better and more broad understanding of what technology is. Instead of only viewing technology as popular, electronic devices, I would now define technology as a system we have created to help us communicate, live effectively and help with the function of our every day lives; a process. This new definition is primarily based on a point that was brought up in the article "Defining the word Technology". Not only did the article say technology was hardware, but it also referred to the manufacturing of the hardware, as being technology as well. That was a new idea for me. That we can consider technology to be the operations behind all the products and services we use today and not just the final result of the various processes.