Editing Technology (section)

{{Short description|Use of knowledge for practical goals}}
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{{distinguish|Electronics}}
{{other uses}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
[[File:Dampfturbine Montage01.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A [[steam turbine]] with the case opened, an example of [[energy technology]]|alt=Photo of technicians working on a steam turbine]]
{{History of technology sidebar}}

'''Technology''' is the application of [[Conceptual model|conceptual knowledge]] to achieve practical [[goal]]s, especially in a [[reproducible]] way.<ref>{{cite book |last=Skolnikoff |first=Eugene B. |year=1993 |title=The Elusive Transformation: Science, Technology, and the Evolution of International Politics |chapter=The Setting |page=13 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=0-691-08631-1 |jstor=j.ctt7rpm1 |quote=I find the most useful conceptual definition for this study to be that given by Harvey Brooks, who has defined technology{{nbsp}}...as 'knowledge of how to fulfill certain human purposes in a specifiable and reproducible way.'}}</ref> The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts,<ref>{{harvnb|Salomon|1984|pages=117–118}}: "The first pole, that of the naturalisation of a new discipline within the university curriculum, was presented by Christian Wolff in 1728, in Chapter III of the "Preliminary discourse" to his ''{{lang|la|Philosophia rationalisis sive Logica}}'': 'Technology is the science of skills and works of skill, or, if one prefers, the science of things made by man's labour, chiefly through the use of his hands.'"</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Mitcham |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Mitcham |year=1994 |title=Thinking Through Technology: The Path Between Engineering and Philosophy |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=0-226-53196-1}}</ref> including both tangible [[tool]]s such as [[Kitchen utensil|utensils]] or [[machine]]s, and intangible ones such as [[software]]. Technology plays a critical role in [[science]], [[engineering]], and [[everyday life]].

Technological advancements have led to significant changes in society. The earliest known technology is the [[stone tool]], used during [[prehistory]], followed by the [[control of fire]]—which in turn contributed to the [[Brain size|growth]] of the [[human brain]] and the development of [[language]] during the [[Pleistocene|Ice Age]], according to the [[cooking hypothesis]]. The invention of the [[wheel]] in the [[Bronze Age]] allowed greater travel and the creation of more complex machines. More recent technological inventions, including the [[printing press]], telephone, and the [[Internet]], have lowered barriers to communication and ushered in the [[knowledge economy]].

While technology contributes to [[economic development]] and improves human [[prosperity]], it can also have negative impacts like [[pollution]] and [[resource depletion]], and can cause social harms like [[technological unemployment]] resulting from [[automation]]. As a result, philosophical and [[Politics and technology|political debates]] about the role and use of technology, the [[ethics of technology]], and ways to mitigate its downsides are ongoing.