Technology has been used throughout human history to provide people with the things they want / need. In the 30 & 31st chapters of Genesis for example, Jacob uses breeding technology to produce large, strong herds of sheep & goats for himself and his family.
| Technology: ... ... 5. the system by which a society provides its members with those things needed or desired. (Webster's New World Dictionary) |
There are 3 main elements in the adoption of technology, all of which are constantly changing. First) the technology itself. Second) how much it costs to develop and use the technology (economics). Third) the value that society places on the technology.
Technology: In many cases the technology is available long before it becomes widely used. For example: In 1843 Alexander Bain invented the FAX Machine. Many advances were made, but fax machines were cumbersome and expensive until Xerox introduced the Magnafax Telecopier in 1966.
Value: The value part of the equation is quite subjective and often depends upon the viewpoint of the people who are the most vocal (The people who are the most effective in framing the issue to favor their interests.). In the case of the fax machine, some newspaper people and lawyers saw that pictures, etc. could be transmitted relatively quickly and easily via fax. This meant that they no longer had to send couriers (people) to deliver these materials. Thus a fax machine represented great value to them!
Economics: Thus it was economical for these people to spend $50,000 to $100,000 in the later 1940's and early 1950's for a FAX machine! Then in the later 1970's Japanese companies entered the market with smaller, less expensive machines. "Between 1973 and 1983, the number of fax machines in the United States increased from 30,000 to 300,000, but by 1989 the number had jumped to four million." By the late 1980's, fax machines had revolutionized communications around the world! (More than 140 years after the fax machine was invented.)
This brings us back to value. A fax machine becomes invaluable, when everyone with whom you wish to communicate has a fax machine. It becomes a "must have" device, even as the price to own one comes down. That is until other technologies come along to replace it, such as: email, instant messaging, blackberry, iPhone, etc. Today some people consider the fax machine to be dead--basically worthless! So the value part of the equation goes from 5 or 6 figures to worthless in a little over 50 years. It goes from a "must have" device to a nuisance in a little over a decade!!
Note: See this article online, with hyperlinked references,
at: http://www.friendlyinnovators.com/mn/20080100.htm
Next time: A technology that has been around
for over 2500 years, has been successfully used at different times in
several different locations, and is being used to a limited extent today, but it
is not widely used--mainly because of economics.
Al Leedahl
Engineering Design Concepts
www.leedahl.com/engineering/design/concepts.htm