technology

(idea) by dscotese (6.6 mon) (print) ? I like it! Thu Feb 13 2003 at 0:27:27

The Greek root technos means "art" and "skill", and the Greek root logos means "word" and "meaning". English usage of the root logos as -logy generally indicates the study of a subject, which one could in turn perceive as attaching meaning to the subject and developing a nomenclature for it. One exception to this usage is "technology" which is not so much the study of art and skill, but the practical application of knowledge, or a method of accomplishing a task (source: www.merriam-webster.com).

Someone suggested that a narrower definition "technology" is more appropriate, so I started weighing the matter myself. Since a direct translation of "technos logos" could be the "art of words", I figured that my thoughts on how to use words in a writeup would fit well under the term technology.

There are many arguments that ensue from an assumption that the meaning behind a phrase or word is wholly contained by the word or words themselves. This line of argumentation leads away from understanding what a person meant when they used the word or phrase. Instead, the argument will be about the imaginary "real" definition of a word in the phrase.

However, part of the greatness of E2 is the personal spin put in the writeups by their authors, so words that may be inappropriate can be used to suggest a new way of looking at some information, for example, calling Name signs a technology rather than part of speech as etoile suggested could lead a reader to a new appreciation of sign language, or someone researching technology to incorporate forms of it that have nothing to do with machines.

Voting is also a technology, a method of accomplishing the task of aggregating the opinions of a multitude of voters. A prudent application of such a technology could change everything.

(definition) by Webster 1913 (print) I like it! Wed Dec 22 1999 at 3:42:41

Tech*nol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. an art + -logy; cf. Gr. systematic treatment: cf. F. technologie.]

Industrial science; the science of systematic knowledge of the industrial arts, especially of the more important manufactures, as spinning, weaving, metallurgy, etc.

⇒ Technology is not an independent science, having a set of doctrines of its own, but consists of applications of the principles established in the various physical sciences (chemistry, mechanics, mineralogy, etc.) to manufacturing processes.

Internat. Cyc.

printable version
chaos

Alan Turing	The Matrix	I can never ride the bleeding edge of technology!	Language
Homo Sapiens Technologicus	Jon Katz	2600	mathematics
Noam Chomsky on Private Tyrannies -- Corporations	Artifice	I know when the world will end	Fire
mind control	Luddite	Indiglo	cultural literacy
Nine Billion Names of God	cutting edge	Perhaps God is our future, not our past	Holodeck
humanity is continuously going through unprecedented changes	electrotectural	The Culture	bionics

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