

Before the 20th century, the term was uncommon in English, and it was used either to refer to the description or study of the useful arts or to allude to technical education, as in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (chartered in 1861). The use of the term "technology" has changed significantly over the last 200 years. Technology means "science of craft", from Greek τέχνη, techne, "art, skill, cunning of hand" and -λογία, -logia.

Neo-Luddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar reactionary movements criticize the pervasiveness of technology by stating that technology harms the environment and destroys human relationships. As a consequence, philosophical debates have arisen over the use of technology and whether technology improves or worsens the human condition. While technological advances have helped economies develop and create the rise of a leisure class, many technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known as pollution, and the depletion of natural resources from the Earth's environment. Humanity then progressed to the development of the printing press, the telephone, the computer, and then the Internet. The invention of the wheel led to the travelling technologies that helped humans to further increase the yield of food production, travel in less time, and exchange information and raw materials faster.
Pessimism of the intellect optimism of the will how to#
The prehistoric invention of shaped stone tools and the discovery of how to control fire increased the sources of food that were available to human beings. The earliest and simplest form of technology is the development of knowledge that leads to the application of basic tools. Systems operate by obtaining an input, altering this input through what is known as a process, and then producing an outcome that achieves the intended purpose of the system. The technologies of society consist of what is known as systems. Technology is embedded in the operation of all machines, with or without detailed knowledge of their function, for the intended purpose of an organization.

Technology is the result of accumulated knowledge and application of skills, methods, and processes used in industrial production and scientific research. Electricity consumption and living standards are highly correlated. Such turbines produce most of the electricity used today.
