The John Potts and Andrew Murphie reading explore the terms technology, culture and technique, and how they relate to one another and contribute on the whole to our society.
Let’s start with ‘technology’.
- Developed alongside the ‘Industrial Revolution’ – as Western society was being restructured due to the rapid advancement of industrial processes, so was the term ‘technology’
- Nowadays, technology is used to describe “the overall system of machines and processes”
- Technology is also shaped by political and economical determinants
Next, the reading went on to try and define ‘technique’.
- “The use of simple skill to achieve something”
- Technique is needed in order to use technologies
- Without technique, we don’t have the skills to produce technology
Finally (and most importantly), ‘culture’ was addressed.
- “Dynamic” and “Multiple” were key words used to describe culture. The ever-changing nature of culture is stressed by the authors
- Can refer to human activity around the world – ie. Japanese Culture
- Can also refer to the arts/entertainment
So what does this mean? Simply, technology, culture and technique create a golden triangle. Without one, you can’t have the others. Without technique to create and use technology, culture would not exist.
