In your opinion what is tech?

[stipuledfatcat]

As the title implies what do you consider tech in your everyday life?

 

 

Computers, laptops, smartphone, and gaming consoles seem pretty straight forward but how far do you go before its no longer tech. Do peripherals fit the definition or only certain ones. Does a mouse pad count since it can be fairly useful for proper mouse operation and protecting your desk. What about non computery related things like 3D printers, or CNC machines count. Is it being some sort of electronic device a requirement and if so does that make anything with a current a tech item. Does cost, functionality, or age of the item make it more or less tech. Does being tech inspired, like a water bottle with great motherboard artwork (lttstore.com ), make it tech.

 

It would be great to see how peoples opinions vary on a word that may be nearing being slapped on every new product as a marketing buzz word or as some keyword to increase its position in amazon or aliexpress search results.

[da na]

Things that electrons go into

[Roswell]

It’s already a defined word, no need to bring subjective opinion into it. 
 

technology

[tekˈnäləjē]

 

NOUN

technology (noun) · technologies (plural noun)

1. the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry.

 

 

[jec6613]

12 minutes ago, Roswell said:

It’s already a defined word, no need to bring subjective opinion into it. 
 

technology

[tekˈnäləjē]

 

NOUN

technology (noun) · technologies (plural noun)

1. the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry.

MW is even more clear https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technology

 

But let's use the example of a mouse pad - it itself is not technology, nor is a computer, they're just things.  A CPU is a rock we tricked into thinking by putting lightning in it, but the mechanisms by which all of these things are created are all technology.  When something is, "High tech," that simply means that many technologies were used to create them.

 

To make a mouse pad, you need many technologies: rubber extraction, rubber vulcanization, petroleum extraction, petroleum refining, chemical plastics making, a cotton picker, cotton gin, road networks, trucking, ocean shipping, textile making ... the list goes on.  And if you don't think these are all individually extremely high tech, you've never seen a John Deere CP770 Cotton Picker.

[markwoll]

The stuff people I work with call me about All.The.Time. when they can't figure it out.

[Cool Dude 101]

Anything with electronics inside = technology.

[stipuledfatcat]

1 hour ago, Roswell said:

It’s already a defined word, no need to bring subjective opinion into it. 
 

technology

[tekˈnäləjē]

 

NOUN

technology (noun) · technologies (plural noun)

1. the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry.

 

 

That may be the dictionary definition but not necessarily how people actually use the word. Which is what I am more interested in. As an example how news organizations use the word tech as a category to encompass computers, cellphones, social media, and websites like google and twitter.

 

50 minutes ago, jec6613 said:

MW is even more clear https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technology

 

But let's use the example of a mouse pad - it itself is not technology, nor is a computer, they're just things.  A CPU is a rock we tricked into thinking by putting lightning in it, but the mechanisms by which all of these things are created are all technology.  When something is, "High tech," that simply means that many technologies were used to create them.

 

To make a mouse pad, you need many technologies: rubber extraction, rubber vulcanization, petroleum extraction, petroleum refining, chemical plastics making, a cotton picker, cotton gin, road networks, trucking, ocean shipping, textile making ... the list goes on.  And if you don't think these are all individually extremely high tech, you've never seen a John Deere CP770 Cotton Picker.

So tech is not a thing but instead a process? Or an application of a process? (rhetorical questions) If my understanding is correct on that then currently there are 2 definitions in this thread already, the dictionary definition and one based on something with electronics involved:

1 hour ago, Mel0nMan said:

Things that electrons go into

And maybe an additional idea to consider, what does the Tech represent in Linus Tech Tips.

Edited December 5, 2021 by stipuledfatcat
Woops, forgot to include the last sentence.

[Roswell]

1 hour ago, stipuledfatcat said:

That may be the dictionary definition but not necessarily how people actually use the word. Which is what I am more interested in. As an example how news organizations use the word tech as a category to encompass computers, cellphones, social media, and websites like google and twitter.

Every example you gave falls under the definition of the word.

 

Scientific knowledge (computer science/engineering, electrical engineering, etc) resulted in products and services that provide a practical use.

 

Basically, is it a product or service that works because of science? Then it’s technology. 
 

Is it something that doesn’t require scientific knowledge to make it function? Then it isn’t technology. 

[jec6613]

9 hours ago, stipuledfatcat said:

what does the Tech represent in Linus Tech Tips.

Have you considered asking him?  It's corporate owned but Linus still runs the corporation.

 

“I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history – true or feigned– with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse applicability with allegory, but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author.”

[YoungBlade]

8 hours ago, Roswell said:

Every example you gave falls under the definition of the word.

 

Scientific knowledge (computer science/engineering, electrical engineering, etc) resulted in products and services that provide a practical use.

 

Basically, is it a product or service that works because of science? Then it’s technology. 
 

Is it something that doesn’t require scientific knowledge to make it function? Then it isn’t technology. 

That's a rather boring and incomplete understanding of technology. And tons of technology existed before science was even conceived of. I'd argue science itself is a type of technology, not a prerequisite for it.

 

To me, technology is any concept invented by humans to solve a problem.

 

This would include all the usual suspects, as well as stereotypical stone age techs like control of fire and basic tools, and also the majority of ideas derived from philosophy. Ethics, for example, I would argue is a form of technology, and it even evolves over time just like physical forms of technology.

[Heliian]

What is tech? 

 

Baby compute me.

Baby compute me, no more.

 

 

 

[Frugivore8894]

As my middle school shop teacher said “technology is anything that humans made to allow you to do something better”. That’s my opinion too. 

[Roswell]

9 hours ago, YoungBlade said:

That's a rather boring and incomplete understanding of technology. And tons of technology existed before science was even conceived of. I'd argue science itself is a type of technology, not a prerequisite for it.

 

To me, technology is any concept invented by humans to solve a problem.

 

This would include all the usual suspects, as well as stereotypical stone age techs like control of fire and basic tools, and also the majority of ideas derived from philosophy. Ethics, for example, I would argue is a form of technology, and it even evolves over time just like physical forms of technology.

Science is a construct, not a tangible item or rule of nature. Therefore… of course people were participating in science before it was “conceived” just like single cell organisms were moving through the construct of time billions of years ago before time was “conceived”.

 

Technology is also not a “concept” whatsoever. It is a very tangible, real thing that exists. Sounds like you’re trying to describe the scientific method with all the concept talk which is kind of ironic.

 

Ethics are not technology… They’re a mode of expected behavior. You’re again conflating human constructs with tangibles.

 

 

[YoungBlade]

3 minutes ago, Roswell said:

Science is a construct, not a tangible item or rule of nature. Therefore… of course people were participating in science before it was “conceived” just like single cell organisms were moving through the construct of time a billions of years ago before time was “conceived”.

 

Technology is also not a “concept” whatsoever. It is a very tangible, real thing that exists. Sounds like you’re trying to describe the scientific method with all the concept talk which is kind of ironic.

 

 

The scientific method is science. That is the core of the field. And the scientific method was not being readily practiced back when agriculture, roads, cities, and the like were invented.

 

And note that all of those examples are concepts, not physical things. A city is not a tangible item. It is an agreed upon region wherein a large number of people live, but that boundary can move or change at any time. It's just a concept.

 

This should not be a surprise. Of course technology is about concepts. What do you think patents are for? You can patent something without even having a prototype. You're patenting the idea, the concept, not some physical thing.

[Roswell]

5 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

The scientific method is science. That is the core of the field. And the scientific method was not being readily practiced back when agriculture, roads, cities, and the like were invented.

 

And note that all of those examples are concepts, not physical things. A city is not a tangible item. It is an agreed upon region wherein a large number of people live, but that boundary can move or change at any time. It's just a concept.

 

This should not be a surprise. Of course technology is about concepts. What do you think patents are for? You can patent something without even having a prototype. You're patenting the idea, the concept, not some physical thing.

I’m not participating in the amount of mental gymnastics you’re spitting out.

 

If you want to argue and change what defined words mean, then you need to start writing some letters to dictionary publishers. I’m not really interested.

[YoungBlade]

48 minutes ago, Roswell said:

I’m not participating in the amount of mental gymnastics you’re spitting out.

 

If you want to argue and change what defined words mean, then you need to start writing some letters to dictionary publishers. I’m not really interested.

Why would do that? The dictionaries already agree with me...

 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technology

Quote

Full Definition of technology

1a : the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area

b : a capability given by the practical application of knowledge

2 : a manner of accomplishing a task especially using technical processes, methods, or knowledge

3 : the specialized aspects of a particular field of endeavor

A "practical application of knowledge" does not have to be a physical thing. A "manner of accomplishing a task" is definitely not a physical thing. And "specialized aspects of a particular field of endeavor" is also not a physical thing.

 

All of these are conceptual ideas, not physical things. They pertain to physical things, sure, but only insofar as literally all of reality is made up of physical things, so therefore everything humans do pertains to physical things.

[martin_metal_88]

I was sure the definition of tech was any piece of hardware your relative ask you to fix at awkward moment.

[Roswell]

16 hours ago, YoungBlade said:

Why would do that? The dictionaries already agree with me...

 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technology

A "practical application of knowledge" does not have to be a physical thing. A "manner of accomplishing a task" is definitely not a physical thing. And "specialized aspects of a particular field of endeavor" is also not a physical thing.

 

All of these are conceptual ideas, not physical things. They pertain to physical things, sure, but only insofar as literally all of reality is made up of physical things, so therefore everything humans do pertains to physical things.

The parts of the definition that you conveniently edited out (lol) all point to physical applications of science.

 

Again, you’re arguing that “science is actually technology itself bro” and that’s wildly incorrect. You also argue that somehow “ethics are technology” which is even farther off the rails than the previous claim.

 

You can interpret the English language however you want, but that doesn’t make your interpretation correct for the rest of the educated population.

[YoungBlade]

3 minutes ago, Roswell said:

The parts of the definition that you conveniently edited out (lol) all point to physical applications of science.

 

Again, you’re arguing that “science is actually technology itself bro” and that’s wildly incorrect. You also argue that somehow “ethics are technology” which is even farther off the rails than the previous claim.

 

You can interpret the English language however you want, but that doesn’t make your interpretation correct for the rest of the educated population.

I didn't edit the definitions at all. You can read that directly on the site. What did I edit out of the definitions?

 

And I said "I would argue" that ethics is a form of technology. It is a manner of accomplishing a task using technical processes, methods, or knowledge. That task is allowing individuals with no prior relationship to interact successfully in a large society. That is not an easy task, and it has taken thousands of years to figure out how to accomplish this. Even now, ethics is still an evolving technology.

 

And this has nothing to do with the English language. This is a philosophical question, not a linguistic one.

[stipuledfatcat]

Well that definitely did not go as I was expecting. I was thinking people would start listing off the mental image that forms when ever some one says the word tech (not the word technology as in my mind tech is part of technology but not the other way around) or when ever they see a website or YouTube channel with the word tech as there is obviously some sort of category of topics a channel like that would cover. Quite interesting some people went straight to the definition of the word and then really went into breaking down that definition. 

 

As I wanted to avoid biasing people with my thoughts on the subject I left out my personal definition of tech. Since there have been a few replies by now I guess it wont affect anything.

 

For me tech is anything that has some connection, either direct or indirect, to computers, and is fairly modern. So things with some sort of processor or micro controller, and anything that facilitates their use including non electronic based item. The other characteristic would be that it has to still be reasonably usable in the current day, with anything too old to meet that criteria but still meeting the first being considered retro tech. While anything new that doesn't meet the second criteria being considered E-Waste.

[martin_metal_88]

In this case, for me tech is anything that haven't reach a certain sort of research maturity.

For exemple, ICE car are not really tech anymore. They pretty much reached their maximum and now evolve very slowly. Alternative energy car on their hand are tech, there is still so much to learn and make better on them, we don't even have a clear solution on the long run.

Once something is not evolving anymore, we are just making it better and refining what we already have, it's not tech.

[Guest]

Tech nology. 

 

It means we are past the industrial age....

[jec6613]

4 hours ago, martin_metal_88 said:

In this case, for me tech is anything that haven't reach a certain sort of research maturity.

For exemple, ICE car are not really tech anymore. They pretty much reached their maximum and now evolve very slowly. Alternative energy car on their hand are tech, there is still so much to learn and make better on them, we don't even have a clear solution on the long run.

Once something is not evolving anymore, we are just making it better and refining what we already have, it's not tech.

If you think an ICE automobile isn't high tech, you've never worked on a new one - everything is computerized, and new engine blocks require computers or they won't run without blowing up.  Ford Kugas were even catching fire because of a software glitch in the grille louvers.  That's saying nothing of the braking systems that adjust the engine throttle and transmission gear based on how hot the brakes are.

 

All of this is specific to ICE vehicles, it doesn't include the driver assistance and convenience tech that's partly or mostly shared with EVs.

 

EVs, counter-intuitively, are seeing much less progress in their technology - there's much less room to grow with them, since A/C and D/C traction motors are very well understood and have been for many decades.  Although an automobile is relatively novel to be an EV, large transportation has been using them for a very long time.  Think trams, trains, subway cars, etc.  Because of the cost of these big ticket items, and that businesses or large organizations were running them, EVs became very efficient and computerized very early on, much sooner than ICE automobiles did.  And on top of it, an EV battery is, even today, just a really scaled up version of the IBM/Toshiba Smart Battery system from the 1990's.

[Alder Lake]

On 12/4/2021 at 9:48 PM, stipuledfatcat said:

As the title implies what do you consider tech in your everyday life?

 

 

Computers, laptops, smartphone, and gaming consoles seem pretty straight forward but how far do you go before its no longer tech. Do peripherals fit the definition or only certain ones. Does a mouse pad count since it can be fairly useful for proper mouse operation and protecting your desk. What about non computery related things like 3D printers, or CNC machines count. Is it being some sort of electronic device a requirement and if so does that make anything with a current a tech item. Does cost, functionality, or age of the item make it more or less tech. Does being tech inspired, like a water bottle with great motherboard artwork (lttstore.com ), make it tech.

 

It would be great to see how peoples opinions vary on a word that may be nearing being slapped on every new product as a marketing buzz word or as some keyword to increase its position in amazon or aliexpress search results.

Intel 12th gen

[martin_metal_88]

3 hours ago, jec6613 said:

If you think an ICE automobile isn't high tech, you've never worked on a new one - everything is computerized, and new engine blocks require computers or they won't run without blowing up.  Ford Kugas were even catching fire because of a software glitch in the grille louvers.  That's saying nothing of the braking systems that adjust the engine throttle and transmission gear based on how hot the brakes are.

 

All of this is specific to ICE vehicles, it doesn't include the driver assistance and convenience tech that's partly or mostly shared with EVs.

 

EVs, counter-intuitively, are seeing much less progress in their technology - there's much less room to grow with them, since A/C and D/C traction motors are very well understood and have been for many decades.  Although an automobile is relatively novel to be an EV, large transportation has been using them for a very long time.  Think trams, trains, subway cars, etc.  Because of the cost of these big ticket items, and that businesses or large organizations were running them, EVs became very efficient and computerized very early on, much sooner than ICE automobiles did.  And on top of it, an EV battery is, even today, just a really scaled up version of the IBM/Toshiba Smart Battery system from the 1990's.

My mistake, I should have be more specific to the engine and not the whole car.

The point is that ICE have reached a point where you can't get them a lot more efficient. The added efficiency nowadays is coming more from external factor like a better trans, smaller engine with a turbo, using lighter material, but design of the engine itself have very little room left. Sure you can add tech AROUND the ICE, but it doesn't make the motor itself a revolution. Just as an electric motor is. The big part of the EV is what will we use to power them. Fuel cell, lithium, etc.