Is Technology Natural?

I chose the title of my e-portfolio (hmm… if this goes beyond this course, I wonder if I should change it) with “witty humour” in mind. The title ended up inspiring the blog’s header. Then, as I’ve been spinning my wheels trying to work on this holiday (thanks, Vicky), I wondered about the possible parallels between technologies and life forms.

I read a great article during my last course which compared new technologies in schools to the introduction of zebra mussels into the Great Lakes. Having a biological background (not just being alive, but education-wise), I found it a very interesting and useful comparison. Now I find myself thinking about the similarities to the lifespan or path of technologies and living things in an environment. Do technologies get “naturally selected” based on their best features? Does their initial choice / survival allow them to improve and evolve? Do poorly adapted technologies or ones ill-suited for a task / environment get selected out of the tech-genetic pool, never to be used or seen again?

I think there are some interesting comparisons to be made, and perhaps they may even help to answer the questions found in my flight path. I’m interested in learning how to select “the right tool for the job”. I hope I make some headway on this, whether or not it’s a natural process.