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History of technology
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== Measuring technological progress == Many [[sociologists]] and [[anthropologists]] have created [[social theories]] dealing with [[Sociocultural evolution|social]] and [[cultural evolution]]. Some, like [[Lewis H. Morgan]], [[Leslie White]], and [[Gerhard Lenski]] have declared technological progress to be the primary factor driving the development of human civilization. Morgan's concept of three major stages of social evolution (savagery, [[Primitive culture|barbarism]], and [[civilization]]) can be divided by technological milestones, such as fire. White argued the measure by which to judge the evolution of culture is energy.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Knight|first1=Elliot|last2=Smith|first2=Karen|title=American Materialism|url=http://anthropology.ua.edu/cultures/cultures.php?culture=American%20Materialism|website=The University of Alabama β Department of Anthropology|access-date=9 April 2015|archive-date=2 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002120827/http://anthropology.ua.edu/cultures/cultures.php?culture=American%20Materialism|url-status=dead}}</ref> For White, "the primary function of culture" is to "harness and control energy." White differentiates between five stages of [[Human development (humanity)|human development]]: In the first, people use the energy of their own muscles. In the second, they use the energy of [[domestication of animals|domesticated animals]]. In the third, they use the energy of plants ([[Neolithic Revolution|agricultural revolution]]). In the fourth, they learn to use the energy of [[natural resource]]s: coal, oil, gas. In the fifth, they harness [[Nuclear power|nuclear energy]]. White introduced the formula P=E/T, where P is the development index, E is a measure of energy consumed, and T is the measure of the efficiency of technical factors using the energy. In his own words, "culture evolves as the amount of energy harnessed per capita per year is increased, or as the efficiency of the instrumental means of putting the energy to work is increased". [[Nikolai Kardashev]] extrapolated his theory, creating the [[Kardashev scale]], which categorizes the energy use of advanced civilizations. Lenski's approach focuses on information. The more information and knowledge (especially allowing the shaping of [[natural environment]]) a given society has, the more advanced it is. He identifies four stages of human development, based on advances in the [[history of communication]]. In the first stage, information is passed by [[gene]]s. In the second, when humans gain [[sentience]], they can learn and pass information through experience. In the third, the humans start using signs and develop [[logic]]. In the fourth, they can create symbols, develop language and writing. Advancements in [[communications technology]] translate into advancements in the [[economic system]] and [[political system]], [[distribution of wealth]], [[social inequality]] and other spheres of social life. He also differentiates societies based on their level of technology, communication, and economy:[[File:Farming-on-Indonesia.jpg|thumb|Agriculture preceded writing in the history of technology.]] * [[hunter-gatherer]], * simple agricultural, * advanced agricultural, * [[Industrial society|industrial]], * special (such as fishing societies). In economics, productivity is a measure of technological progress. Productivity increases when fewer inputs (classically labor and capital but some measures include energy and materials) are used in the production of a unit of output. Another indicator of technological progress is the development of new products and services, which is necessary to offset unemployment that would otherwise result as labor inputs are reduced. In developed countries productivity growth has been slowing since the late 1970s; however, productivity growth was higher in some economic sectors, such as manufacturing.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Way It Worked and Why It Won't: Structural Change and the Slowdown of U.S. Economic Growth |last=Bjork |first=Gordon J. |year=1999 |publisher=Praeger |location=Westport, CT; London |isbn=978-0-275-96532-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/wayitworkedwhyit0000bjor/page/2 2, 67] |url=https://archive.org/details/wayitworkedwhyit0000bjor/page/2 }}</ref> For example, employment in manufacturing in the United States declined from over 30% in the 1940s to just over 10% 70 years later. Similar changes occurred in other developed countries. This stage is referred to as ''post-industrial''. In the late 1970s sociologists and anthropologists like [[Alvin Toffler]] (author of ''[[Future Shock]]''), [[Daniel Bell]] and [[John Naisbitt]] have approached the theories of [[post-industrial society|post-industrial societies]], arguing that the current era of [[industrial society]] is coming to an end, and [[Service (economics)|services]] and information are becoming more important than industry and goods. Some extreme visions of the post-industrial society, especially in [[Fictional technology|fiction]], are strikingly similar to the visions of near and post-[[Technological singularity|singularity]] societies.<ref>Daniele Archibugi, and Mario Planta. "Measuring technological change through patents and innovation surveys." ''Technovation'' 16.9 (1996): 451β519.</ref>
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