Technology("science of craft", fromGreek,techne, "art, skill, cunning of

hand"; and-,-logia[3]) is the collection of techniques,skills, methods and

processesusedintheproductionofgoodsorservicesorintheaccomplishment
of objectives, such as scientific investigation.Technology can be theknowledge
of techniques, processes, etc. or it can be embedded in machines, computers,
devices and factories, which can be operated by individuals without detailed
knowledgeoftheworkingsofsuchthings.
The human species' use of technology began with the conversion of natural
resources into simple tools. Theprehistoricdiscovery ofhowtocontrolfireand
the laterNeolithicRevolutionincreased the available sources of food and the
inventionofthewheelhelpedhumanstotravelinandcontroltheirenvironment.
Developments in historic times, including theprintingpress, thetelephone, and
theInternet, have lessened physical barriers tocommunicationand allowed
humans to interact freely on a global scale. The steady progress of
militarytechnologyhas broughtweaponsof ever-increasing destructive power,
fromclubstonuclearweapons.

Technology has many effects. It has helped develop more advancedeconomies

(including today'sglobaleconomy) and has allowed the rise of aleisureclass. Many
technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known aspollution, and
deplete natural resources, to the detriment of Earth'senvironment. Various
implementations of technology influence thevaluesof a society and new technology
oftenraisesnewethicalquestions.Examplesincludetheriseofthenotionofefficiency
in terms of humanproductivity, a term originally applied only to machines, and the
challengeoftraditionalnorms.
Philosophical debates have arisen over the use of technology, with disagreements
over whether technology improves thehumanconditionor worsens it.Neo-Luddism,
anarcho-primitivism,andsimilarreactionarymovementscriticisethepervasivenessof
technology in the modern world, arguing thatit harms the environment andalienates
people; proponents of ideologies such astranshumanismandtechno-progressivism
view continued technological progress as beneficial to society and the human
condition.
Untilrecently,itwasbelievedthatthedevelopmentoftechnologywasrestrictedonlyto
human beings, but 21st century scientific studies indicate that otherprimatesand
certaindolphincommunitieshavedevelopedsimpletoolsandpassedtheirknowledge
toothergenerations.