What Is Technology
What Is TechnologyAlanKay has dedicated much of his career to children and education, and this quote reveals some of his unique perspective on the relationship between children and technology.
One of my philosophy teachers (YosefAgassi?) defined technology as "techniques that are based on science". To give a better feel for this definition, he gave two examples of techniques that are NOT based on science:
An interesting way to think about what is technology and what is not:
From http://java.sun.com/docs/white/langenv/Simple.doc.html [BrokenLink]: "In his science-fiction novel, The Rolling Stones, Robert A. Heinlein comments: Every technology goes through three stages: first a crudely simple and quite unsatisfactory gadget; second, an enormously complicated group of gadgets designed to overcome the shortcomings of the original and achieving thereby somewhat satisfactory performance through extremely complex compromise; third, a final proper design therefrom."
From http://www.bergen.org/technology/defin.html: "Technology is the technical means people use to improve their surroundings. It is also a knowledge of using tools and machines to do tasks efficiently. We use technology to control the world in which we live. Technology is people using knowledge, tools, and systems to make their lives easier and better. People use technology to imrove their ability to do work. Through technology, people communicate better. Technology allows them to make more and better products. Our buildings are better through the use of technology. We travel in more comfort and speed as a result of technology."
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