The word Technology arose in the seventeenth century to differentiate these traditional techniques (inherited from generation to generation) from the new techniques in which scientific research is already taken into account to justify the steps to follow before experimenting, that is, in the At first the question was how to do something? (art or Technique) and later, it was incorporated into it; why do it like this? (previously understand how it works) this resulted in the “Technological Revolution.”
Then we can deduce that the main difference between Technology and Technique is the previous scientific study, although of course this is only one of the most important differences, and in order not to want to invent the black thread and be more apparent, let’s see what the definition of Technique is. And the definitions of several authors on Technology: “Technique (tekné or Techné) Sanskrit and then Greek, a word that means “Manual; do with the hands,” both referring to art and practical and rigorous knowledge. It is defined as the set of procedures of the art, science or work, ability to use those procedures, which aims to control certain selected sectors of reality with the help of knowledge of all kinds, including scientific knowledge”. Carlos A. Martínez Vidal, 1993 (1).
Technology “is the ordered set of all knowledge used in the production, distribution (through trade or any other method), and use of goods and services. Therefore, it covers not only scientific and technological knowledge obtained through research and development but also that derived from empirical experiences, tradition, manual skills, intuitions, copying, adaptation, etc.”. Jorge A. Sabato & Michael Mackenzie, 1982 .
what is technology ?
“Technology is understood as a set of scientifically-based knowledge that allows describing, explaining, designing and applying technical solutions to practical problems systematically and rationally.” Miguel Angel Quintanilla, 1998 (5).
“Technology means the systematic application of scientific knowledge (or other organized knowledge) to practical tasks. Its most important consequence is a function of the division and subdivision of each of these tasks into parts or phases”. J.K. Galbraith, 1984 (4) “Technology is a branch of knowledge, constituted by the set of knowledge and skills necessary in the use, improvement, and creation of techniques. And a Technique is composed of the set of operations that must be effectively carried out for the manufacture of a given good”. Bertrand Nezeys, 1985.
In this last definition, Nezeys makes a differentiation between Technology and Technique. Continuing with the same author, we can emphasize some relevant aspects:
The Technique is the result of the application of good technological knowledge.
Technology creates and improves what exists, while Technique repeats without providing improvements to what has been developed.
Technology requires deep and mature knowledge about the nature of resources and explains the importance of science as a source of technological knowledge.
Technology makes use of knowledge and skills. It gives importance to informal knowledge from daily work (skills) and knowledge that is part of the organizational or social culture.
Through these concepts, I think that the definition of what Technology is, as well as its difference with Technique, is a little clearer and, perhaps, each of us will return to the definition of the author that seems correct, now well for To complement the intention of this article a little more, let’s see some of the main properties that Technology has.
Mobility is the ability of technologies to migrate to areas other than the area for which they were created; The clearest example of this capacity is the computers that, at first, were developed to solve the administrative and accounting problems of the companies, and quickly moved to carry out tasks in almost all the functional areas of the companies.
Technologies are also combinatorial since they work better when different technologies emerge with which they can be complemented to achieve better results for the activities for which they were initially created; Continuing with the example of computers now applied for example in design, which is benefited when this Technology is combined with the development of the laser for file printing; the development of the compact disc for the management of images and video and the development of the Internet for everything related to communication and file transfer. Together they form a “technological block” that makes this activity a more “efficient” system. Finally, technologies are contagious because the success of using technology has led companies to have greater confidence to invest in other technologies for different areas. Some theorists call this the “experience effect.”
Soft Technology
It is all the knowledge or methodology that has been created to improve social dynamics. It is so-called because it is generated from the soft sciences, such as psychology, economics, letters, statistics, social sciences, etc.
Their function is to generate knowledge to streamline processes; they have multiple business and resource management applications.
Soft Technology is essential for other types of Technology to be generated. Software, for example, is considered soft Technology and is essential in the development of hardware, which is complex Technology.
Technology Advances
Technology has been vital in the technical progress of humanity; in this sense it has been possible to evidence specific and critical technological advances at different times such as:
Primitive or classical technologies: they led to the discovery of fire, the invention of the wheel, or writing.
Medieval technologies include such vital inventions as the printing press, navigation technologies, or the improvement of military Technology.
Manufacturing technology: more recently, in the 18th century, the technological development of manufacturing processes was decisive for the Industrial Revolution.
Information and communication technology: in the 20th century, Technology evolved in the area of information and communication, as well as towards advanced technologies, which include the use of nuclear energy, nanotechnology, biotechnology, etc.