When you think of technology, what comes to your mind? Do you think of computers? Solar energy? High-speed planes? Robots? Technology is all these things and more. Technology is the way human beings solve problems and meet their needs. It is the way they want to do and create the things they want to create.
Think for a moment of something simple, like pencil. Is this technology? Many people would say “no”. however, when you understand everything that goes into making that pencil, you can see how important technology is in our daily lives.
To make a pencil:
· Designers decide how the pencil will be shaped, how long it will be, what kind of eraser it will have, whether it will use soft or hard graphite, and how it will be packaged.
· Miners mine the graphite used for the writing portion of the pencil.
· Manufacturers mix the graphite with clay, form it into spaghetti-like strings, cut the strings to pencil length, and dry them in ovens.
· The lumber industry supplies the wood that encases the graphite.
· The chemical industry makes the paint to color the pencil.
· Pencil companies put wood. Graphite and erasers together according to the designers plan to make the pencil. They also paint the pencil.
After all this has been done, the pencils are packaged. These packages are then packed in large boxes for shipping. Then trucks, boats, trains, and / or planes ship the pencils store, where they are sold.
As you can see, when you buy a pencil, you are not buying something so simple. The company that makes the pencils has relied on many technologies to get that pencil into your hand.
“Even simple, every items, such as a pencil, require the use of many technologies.“
Rechie M. Garay
