# How technology works Technology (techno-logos, or "technique knowledge") is applying [shared](groups-small.md) [understanding](understanding.md) into [creating](creations.md) tools, and technological progress involves magnifying [purposes](purpose.md) and removing increasingly more portions of the [unknown](unknown.md) from our [daily activities](habits.md). Most modern use of the word is referring to "high-tech" things or, more specifically, [computers](computers.md). But, "technology" can apply to *many* tools. Most of these tools can layer onto other tools: - Sticks to make fire, a fire, a lantern, and an oven's pilot light. - A toothbrush, a bristle maker, plastic molds, and a packing machine. - Engine design software, machining tools, a forge, coal mining equipment, and a lever. The layers of tools create a "chain" that can't be easily broken. For example, a [computer's hardware](computers-hardware.md) requires *many* prerequisite technologies that work their way into many [specializations](jobs-specialization.md): 1. Mining sand 2. Mining copper 3. Mining aluminum 4. Refining silicon 5. Refining copper 6. Refining aluminum 7. Making copper wiring of various sizes and durability 8. *Everything* behind generating 2.5 volts of consistent, continuous electricity 9. *Everything* behind making semiconductors 10. Soldering, with the technologies behind making all its tools APPLICATION: Even archaic technology, such as vinyl records or horse-drawn carriages, is *always* useful in an unusual niche that can't be matched by anything more advanced. Barring the [destruction of knowledge](morality-evil.md), we only add technology, but never remove it. By using technology, we can do less work to achieve more [results](results.md): - Writing words requires tapping a finger instead of chiseling a rock or mixing paint by hand and rubbing it on a wall. - Moving boulders requires operating controls with our hands instead of lifting with our whole body. - Transporting ourselves requires operating controls with our hands and feet instead of running or using a trained animal. - We can gain *much* quicker [understanding](understanding.md) by using [media](creations.md) to [create](mind-creativity.md) and [share](people-conversation.md) things. - By storing [media](information.md), we can use technology to remember things so we don't have to. Or, more often, send a [good story](stories.md) to others. From one development to the next, these magnifications give an [exponential](math.md) yield. One person with today's technology has more [power](power.md) for some [purposes](purpose.md) than an entire village 500 years ago, and someone 500 years from now will appear to us as if they were magicians. APPLICATION: The [power](power.md) to make things is more important than the things themselves. Technology [empowers](power.md) civilization: - 90% of society were farmers, but now everyone can [specialize](jobs-specialization.md) in what they [want](purpose.md) to do. - The averaged-out food supply and quality of life for every person keep increasing. - Fossil fuels replaced coal, and something else will replace it when it becomes more useful. Technology makes our world cleaner, more productive, and wealthier. It allows us to fix "unfixable [problems](purpose.md)", assuming [political systems](politics-systems.md) permit those technologies to flourish. Technological development is fueled the most by [capitalism](economics.md) (because people want to benefit from what they [make](creations.md)) and [science](science.md). Most societies who don't embrace both of these will often [steal those ideas](mgmt-badsystems.md) from other societies who do. Of course, while technology adds wealth, it creates more inequality. A few people with a complex tool that can perform the work of hundreds is guaranteed to have more power than a hundred people without that tool. Contrary to the mindsets of [leftism](politics-leftism.md) or [libertarian paternalism](mgmt-badsystems.md), technological progress can only be nurtured, and can't be rushed. ## Odd behavior Frequently, when we operate technology, we do things we normally wouldn't for that specific purpose. We may use a specific computer [language](language.md) to process [logic](logic.md) instead of pondering, swap out components on a compressor to preserve our food, or attach cables together to cut holes in a wall. Most people become so [habituated](habits.md) to those odd behaviors that they lose track of what the original task required. In that sense, [cultures](people-culture.md) with more technology often have *less* [understanding](understanding.md) of how to directly do things. People born into a technologically advanced culture will naturally pick up skills tied to it from early [childhood](maturity.md) onward, and advanced technological leaps can *will* create generational [culture](people-culture.md) differences. APPLICATION: Whatever someone does for a living profoundly changes how they [think](logic.md). People in dangerous jobs are familiar with [death](mind-feelings-fear.md). Professional drivers think sequentially. Computer programmers think of all possible scenarios for things. Accountants think and rethink things through. ## Trust We tend to [expect](imagination.md) more out of ourselves and others when we're using technology. Since we [trusted](trust.md) it more than we realized, we tend to feel lost and helpless when that technology fails. Typically, people treat a technological thing as a separate entity with a separate [essence](humanity.md). A [created](creations.md) thing, however, can only operate under the [purpose](purpose.md) of its creator or user. Even if it's taught to learn for itself (e.g., [artificial intelligence](computers-ai.md)), it'll still only learn within the scope of its instructions and never [self-determine](people-decisions.md). We also tend to separate technology from the rest of nature. Even though we're using natural resources, steel and plastic often [feel](mind-feelings.md) "fake" by comparison from how [well-crafted](values-quality.md) they are. This is only an illusion based on our interpretation of [order](unknown.md). Very frequently, if we grew up our entire lives around a specific technology, we have a difficult time [imagining](imagination.md) life without it. Someone with enough [experience](maturity.md) without a technology can understand what it's like, but everyone else in that [culture](people-culture.md) will [presume](understanding-certainty.md) the technology is always available and feel [safer](safety.md) not thinking about its absence (since it's effectively a different [culture](people-culture.md)). ## Usage Technology is the outflow of a type of "laziness". Instead of doing something in a more difficult way, we can simplify our time by doing it another way or using an [unconventional](habits.md) thing. Since technology is sophisticated, clever, and [designed](engineering.md) more around intuition than force, its "[gender](gender.md)" is female. Men and women alike use it (and its venture into [the unknown](unknown.md) makes it often a male-dominated workforce), but it always requires more finesse and intricacy than working without it. This has cultural implications that takes away from the "masculine" culture typically associated with more direct [work](purpose.md). One of the most dominant ways to manipulate a technology is through "energy", which is an abstracted [form of power](power-types.md) that makes that technology work. This is bound to whatever [physical engineering](science-physics.md) happens to be the most efficient at the time. It can include gravity, inertia, and [electricity](engineering-electrical.md). Any object, technological or non-, can be [purposed](purpose.md) by a [creative](mind-creativity.md) inventor to solve their problem. Intelligence determines how fast we discover things that make us work better and faster, but *everyone* eventually streamlines their work if they're exposed to more productive tools for long enough. Advanced tools usually function as a more refined [purpose](purpose.md) of something already in [nature](reality.md): - Whips recreate the motion of throwing a ball. - Wheels recreate the motion of running, but along a circle. - Gears imitate interlocking fingers. - Cameras are elaborate recreations of eyes. - Computers are distilled recreations of the [logic](logic.md) part of our brains. Once a technology has entered the public [consciousness](understanding.md) and been [proven](understanding-certainty.md) to [work](results.md), it becomes an established "[fact](reality.md)". Even when that technology is phased out from a better one, it'll always have specific [uses](purpose.md). ## Culture The things we build are often rebuilt and improved later for a [specialization](jobs-specialization.md). Entire [communities](groups-small.md) frequently arise out of a shared purpose to [create](creations.md) and improve something, typically with specific [cultural values](people-culture.md) revolving around [working](results.md) with it. New technology [culturally](people-culture.md) disseminates as a [social trend](trends.md). Innovators adopt it first, then the majority adopts it for various reasons. There will *always* be laggards who refuse to adopt the technology, frequently on [moral](morality.md) grounds. All technology becomes progressively more [reliable](trust.md), up to a point. Afterward, the [trade-offs](people-decisions.md) to make it *more* reliable aren't worth the cost. If a specific technology is relatively new but [revolutionary](trends.md), the trend followers won't care and will use it even when it's *not* reliable. We [change](people-changes.md) to conform to our environment. If we expose ourselves frequently to a certain technology, we'll adapt to [reasoning](logic.md) that harmonizes with that technology's [design](values.md). APPLICATION: Everything in the computer industry moves so rapidly that technologies never stay around long enough to be stable. Instead, by the time they're stable, they're old and outdated. Thus, computer specialists are always working with low-[quality](values-quality.md), [useful](purpose.md) tools that will be obsolete in a few years. People tend to take technology for granted, especially when they're [young](maturity.md). By comparing how lifestyles exist with various degrees of [technology](technology.md), we can often [understand](understanding.md) [the easiest way to live](goodlife.md) for various circumstances. APPLICATION: At one time in the 1800s, people perceived the mind as a [mechanical object](engineering-mechanical.md), and has lately been perceived as a computer. The [fashion](trends.md) will change once something is more advanced than a computer. Some people will always want to keep their job, even after technology takes it away. They'll often fight a [losing battle](people-boundaries.md), but are usually too [set in their ways](habits.md) to [change](people-changes.md) to the [trend](trends.md). Many [political](politics-conservativeliberal.md) [organizations](groups-large.md) like unions and politicians can benefit those people, but are only stalling the [trend](trends.md). APPLICATION: In a [fully just society](politics-perfectsociety.md), the people who replace other's roles with technology should find [creative](mind-creativity.md) solutions for what they can [do](results.md) instead. This is frequently a difficult task that requires plenty of consideration, and requires that people [have compassion](people-love.md) on the least-qualified individuals in society. Frequently, technology will replace the physical problems from our environment with a vast array of psychological problems instead. APPLICATION: Technology doesn't necessarily address our problems, and sometimes can worsen them. We must use it in its time and place to find [meaning](meaning.md) and live the [good life](goodlife.md). ## Destruction Technology's power magnifies *everything*, including [moral](morality.md) decisions. Some technology is created to destroy (e.g., explosives, guns), but people can use just about anything they want for a destructive [purpose](purpose.md). But, public discussions about the moral implications of new technology often arise *after* the [trend](trends.md) has taken hold. APPLICATION: Technology never really solves [moral](morality.md) problems. It only magnifies them as it removes physical constraints. APPLICATION: [Political](stories-storytellers.md) and [military power](people-conflicts-war.md) comes through technology. You can travel wherever you want with the correct vehicles and spread information wherever you want with the appropriate [computer systems](technology.md). APPLICATION: Don't blame technology, blame the user. This applies to guns, written publications, and any [trendy](trends.md) tech. There's a [good](morality.md) and [productive](results.md) use for every [evil](morality-evil.md) application of technology. Frequently, leaders declare certain technologies (e.g., weapons, drugs) [evil](morality-evil.md) from their capacity to destroy. They'll sometimes [control them](people-rules.md), and other times [ban them](morality-taboo.md). But, if someone is [creative](mind-creativity.md) enough with *other* technology, they can usually get around the [rules](people-rules.md) (e.g., [3D-printed](engineering-printers.md) guns). Typically, because of the way technologies develop, they create waste, though the technology is frequently *far* better than the downsides of its [pollution](politics-leftism.md). Like any other [creation](mind-creativity.md), refining the technology can remove that waste, but most of the creators aren't concerned with the [damage](results.md) they inflict while creating. There's no reliable way to [regulate](people-rules.md) this without stifling the [creative process](mind-creativity-how.md) until the technology has reached [full maturity](trends.md). Further, technologies make us weak. We sacrifice the opportunity cost of [lifting weights](body-3_exercise.md), [working hard](success-4_routine.md), and finding [creative solutions](mind-creativity.md) to mechanical limits when our lives are easier. Technology itself, since it's a form of [understanding](understanding.md), is *also* fragile. Every great inventor's [death](legacy.md) robs the rest of the world of a small portion of that collective body of knowledge. While we can encode that information into a media for others to consume, people must [re-learn](education.md) that information, or it will be lost until someone else re-invents it someday. When a technology is [purposed](purpose.md) as a [weapon](people-conflicts-war.md), the only reliable way to prevent that technology from destroying a large number of people is with other technology owned by the potential victims, either through the same weapon (e.g., nuclear missiles against nuclear missiles) or through a defense technology (e.g., body armor against guns). ## Limits When people become aware of the fragility of technology, they tend to become [terrified](mind-feelings-fear.md). This resonates in popular [culture](people-culture.md), usually in the broad genre of "[apocalypse](hardship-disaster-2_long-stay.md)" [stories](stories.md). What they don't see is that various [specializations](jobs-specialization.md) can converge together again in a crisis and that humanity is *very* [resourceful](mind-creativity.md), so [the unknown](unknown.md) provides both good *and* bad [consequences](results.md). People also often [fear](mind-feelings-fear.md) that technology could create its own [purpose](purpose.md) against humanity (e.g., Terminator movies). But, no [created](creations.md) thing makes its own [decisions](people-decisions.md). Even with [machine learning](computers-ai-ml.md), the creation is following complex instructions, so its decisions are never truly independent. Technology can never fully replace human [creativity](mind-creativity.md) unless it were able to synthesize [feelings](mind-feelings.md)-based [logic](logic.md) like we do. Without it, the fastest computer can only stay confined to [conventional](habits.md) methods. Some people inclined toward technology find comfort in technology fully replacing in-person [interaction](people-conversation.md), but it's impossible without absurdly more powerful computers. We send a *lot* of information back-and-forth, with tons of context that draws from the entire interaction. This context includes a prioritized matrix of *forgetting* information proportionally to how far back it is and when it's no longer [useful](purpose.md). Even with something like a "hard" hologram, we'd always [intuitively](mind-feelings.md) [know](understanding.md) a person isn't there. APPLICATION: Without [changing human nature](politics-perfectsociety.md), the most technologically advanced society would be *very* [capitalistic](economics.md) and lean *very* heavily into [scientific values](science.md). ## Drawbacks All [social class divides](classes.md) are defined by energy scarcity. It may come in the form of electricity or oil right now, but can also be light, flowing water, atomic isotopes, hydrogen, or coal. Technology helps us dramatically to accomplish [purposes](purpose.md), but it's *awful* at helping us [define](understanding.md) them. People inundated with technology, especially [information technology](computers.md), tend to lose themselves in an existential fog until they [discover their essence](awareness.md) outside that technology again. Technology is also tremendous [power](power.md), often more than we can [safely](safety.md) handle. A public means to [communicate](people-conversation.md) across vast distances with many people immediately, for example, means some [immature](maturity.md) people should more thoroughly [consider](understanding.md) what they're saying before using it, and people can inadvertently destroy their lives by one careless gesture. APPLICATION: Technology has allowed the average college student today to have more knowledge than Socrates or Josephus. This doesn't reflect as wisdom because [understanding](understanding.md) requires things influencing our [intuition](mind-feelings.md) for our [souls](humanity.md) to recognize it. Technology requires information to [understand](understanding.md) and invent. People frequently confine information to [compete](people-conflicts.md) with others, so the capacity for innovation is always [severely limited](https://www.meltingasphalt.com/interactive/going-critical/) compared to [what it could be](imagination.md). Frequently, people will invent the same thing at the same time when they didn't have to! APPLICATION: [Large systems](groups-large.md) will often [try](purpose.md) to stall or steal technology from other groups. If they don't succeed, their [influence](power-influence.md) and [importance](trends.md) dies. If they do, they can slow the trend indefinitely. APPLICATION: In a [perfect society](politics-perfectsociety.md), technology would be freely shared. We can never live in one until *everyone* [trusts](trust.md) each other, which can only happen when people stop making [evil](morality-evil.md) [decisions](people-decisions.md). But, each person can have a publicly accessible [commonplace book](https://stucky.tech/notes/) or [technological toolbox](https://github.com/phileosopher/toolbox) until then. As technology develops, it makes some roles obsolete, especially through automation. Automation frees up people from tasks and, at the same time, there are as-of-yet unseen [purposes](purpose.md) those people can [fulfill](results.md) instead. APPLICATION: At one point, surveying land and trigonometry were the critical skills for most disciplines in the age of Rockefeller. As of right now, in the information age, it's [statistics](math-stat.md). In 100 years, it may be [game theory](math-gametheory.md) for [AI](computers-ai.md). People tend to use technology to define their [understanding](understanding.md) of the world. For this reason, the in-depth masters of a technology are subjected and relegated to the [fashions](trends.md) of their time (e.g., computer enthusiasts honor [their machine gods](https://gainedin.site/machines/)). APPLICATION: If we're not [careful](safety.md) or [wise](understanding.md), technology can rapidly break things. Be very cautious when you use its [power](power.md), *especially* when it can affect [an entire group](groups-small.md)!