The two interconnected topics of Technology and Change have fascinated me for many years. Both have the potential to bring people out in a cold sweat and yet both are ubiquitous. Technology drives cultural and economic change and developments in technology are driven by cultural and economic changes.
Technology
The use of the word “technology” became more common with the advent of the Second Industrial Revolution, also known as the Technological Revolution. The relationships between science, engineering and technology have not always been clear and they are possibly even less clear when it comes to computing, as “software engineers” and “data scientists” create new technologies. When we throw “quantum computing” into the mix the divisions become less clear still.
I prefer to think of technology in the broadest terms possible and I particularly like the idea that “technology can be viewed as an activity that forms or changes culture”.
Change
“Change is the only constant in life” according to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. I like the inevitability that this implies, and I also like that there is no judgement as to whether change is good or not. Change just is. Change and “progress” are related, though the latter is more open to debate.
I will be writing about Technology and Change here in the context of the above.