The term technology refers to the tools and systems humans use to achieve practical goals like building, traveling, or communication. These include both tangible tools like utensils and machines, and intangible systems like computers and smartphones. Technology is a broad category that includes everything from the early inventions of stone tools to advanced space rockets.
Technological tools are designed to help people better understand and manipulate their environment, including natural resources and other people. They are used for everything from gathering food to designing complex buildings and machinery.
Some technologies are so complicated that entire industries have formed to design, make, and maintain them. Others require specialized training to use.
While the term technology is often associated with modern advancements, it actually dates back to the controlled use of fire by our hominid ancestors millions of years ago. Humans have been using technology to improve their lives ever since.
When a technology prioritizes some paths to an end, it necessarily neglects other pathways. For example, when digital cameras became prevalent, analog photography was deprioritized along with the inefficient (but gratifying) culture of physically retouching photos for hours on end.
Technology is an essential tool for scientific research, allowing us to observe and study weather systems, demographic patterns, and gene structures that would not be possible without it. Modern technologies also give scientists the ability to communicate their discoveries with one another and the rest of the world through print media, television, and online platforms.