What is technology?

- No! Now the sun went behind the clouds. My sandwich will never get toasted. You’re right, your sandwich will never get toasted. It’s not possible to toast bread in the sun.

Open fire, maybe? Yes, but open fire can be dangerous, and it takes a long time to get the right kind of glow to toast things. It’s a problem! So instead, many homes have a device which toasts the bread, a toaster. It works like this.

When we press the lever down on the toaster, electric current flows.. ..through these thin wires. They are made of a material that does not easily conduct electric current: a material which has high resistance. The resistance in the wires makes them warm, and they start to glow. The glow heats the bread, toasting it. The solution to the problem is to use a toaster.

It’s perfect for a kitchen, where we don’t have an open fire, but we do have electric current from a socket in the wall. And the heat from the wires in the toaster warms the bread much faster than sunlight. This is an example of how to solve a problem with technology. The purpose of technology is to solve problems, simplify our everyday life, and fulfill our needs and wishes.. .. like getting a wonderfully warm and crispy toasted sandwich for breakfast.

This video you're watching, the clothes we are wearing, the busses traveling in traffic, and an umbrella we use when it’s raining.. ..all these are made using technology. The parts of an umbrella are made of materials such as plastic, fabric, and metal, and then they are assembled using various devices. ...but what’s that smell? It’s the smell of burning, and the bread is smoking. This old toaster apparently has a problem. The toaster does not know when to stop toasting the bread.

You have to keep an eye on it, and turn it off. Leon forgot about it, and the bread was burned. Can the toaster be improved with technology, so that we don’t need to keep watching it? Yes, a clock can keep track of time. If we connect a clock with the lever that turns off the power, the toaster can switch itself off after one minute.

Now Leon doesn't have to remember to turn off the toaster. The new problem is solved. The old toaster was quick to toast the sandwich without using open fire. The improved toaster can switch itself off, with the help of a clock. The new toaster is an improvement, because it is more adapted to Leon’s needs.

He does not want to sit and look down into a toaster to see when the sandwich is ready. He wants to be able to do other things. Good technology works like that. It adapts things to suit people’s behaviour. Technology is not just about devices and machines.

Technology is as much about people, about how we behave, how we use the devices, and how we recycle them. Things that technology has created, like the toaster, can be improved with more technology. And technology is constantly evolving. There is nothing that can't be done a little better. Mmmm..

except this sandwich: it’s done perfectly! - But the toaster is really ugly. We have to improve the design!