Photo by Tyler Quiring on Unsplash

A couple of years ago I watched a news report that described the findings of a study about crows; researchers had found that crows could put sticks and straws together to solve some kind of puzzle contraption to obtain food. This was a memorable report because apparently outside of humans and “great apes”, no other animal had been observed using “compound tools”, or tools that are made from multiple components. It piqued my interest in understanding the origin of human tools, and my exploration eventually led me to articles that philosophically questioned whether our hands and our bodies are merely “tools” for our brains. This argument can be made and debated in another post, but what is interesting and relevant to the topic in this post, is the evolution of humans’ tool use — whether this includes the development of appendages and opposable thumbs, or not.

Technology in this context, refers to the development of a capability (usually positive in nature) as a result of the use of a tool, whether that capability is realized or not. For example, if we examine early hominid life there are many examples of how tools were used to enhance living conditions, improve food gathering capabilities, or increase weapon effectiveness. Later, the development of the wheel made it possible for civilizations to move great quantities of materials and people, thereby increasing the efficiency of travel and the yield of harvest. Jump forward in time even further and consider the capabilities conferred by nuclear technology. Although only experienced twice, the atomic bomb shapes our existence even today because humanity collectively understands its destructive capabilities, and so those who possess this technology are conferred tactical latitude that is paired with increased vigilance. Tools (the objects themselves) and their use (and eventual mastery), together create a “technology” that affords newfound capabilities that can be communicated and shared for a common benefit or concealed and wielded as a power.

Text, as a specific form of literacy involving communicating ideas through written modalities, is a technology that helps persist communication beyond a synchronous experience. It forces the reader to conceptualize, internalize, and imagine the thoughts of the writer because it lacks the ability to convey meaning other than through the definitions of the words that are chosen and the sentences that are crafted. It has no ability to adjust pitch or intonation like aural artifacts; it cannot wave its arms in the air or sign meaning through movement like theatre; and it must take about one thousand words to capture the essence of a photograph. Despite this seeming constraint at one might call the “presentation layer”, humanity’s written history has proven that the depth and richness of the text’s language can bring the reader to tears or have them burst out in laughter. But it is text’s ability to outlast other forms of communication over time – with relative ease – that is its most celebrated affordance.