I have been enjoying the philosophical discussions on this list. The
definition of technology quoted by Anders Ekholm bothers me, as do the
dictionary definitions of engineering and technology, which seem to me to
be ambiguous and, certainly in the UK, lead to some confusion as to the
role of engineering and engineers.
For myself, I like to distinguish between the words by using the following
interpretations:
Engineering: the creation of the artificial world, and the study of the
means of creation.
(this is very broad, and would include a work of art, for example, being
engineered)
Technology: the known technical means and outcomes of engineering, and
the study thereof.
Design: the planning for artificial creation.
These definitions would preclude, for example, the study of Bernoullis'
equation as part of a technology course, as is currently the case in a
Scottish Higher Still syllabus. I think it is important that children
should understand a clear distinction between engineering science and
technology.
I would be interested to hear some other views, and in particular from
anyone who would defend the usefulness of the dictionary definitions.
Tony Fairlie-Clarke
The University of Glasgow
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