Modern man can enjoy the many benefits of civilization. Most of them appeared only thanks to the efforts of many generations of inventors who made the desires of future consumers of technical innovations come true. But can we say that natural human laziness has become the engine of human progress?
The engine of progress - human laziness?
People in many countries were brought up on folk tales, in the plots of which there are many magical objects and devices capable of fulfilling the most cherished desires. Walking boots and a wonderful flying carpet could transfer their owner hundreds of kilometers in a matter of minutes. The self-assembled tablecloth was able to feed the hungry, one had only to spread it on the table.
It is very tempting to gain access to earthly goods without much difficulty, without tedious efforts. It is possible that this motive was the main incentive for the first inventors, whose technical findings helped man to reduce his dependence on nature. This is how a wheel, a boat with a sail, a mechanical carriage, a plow, and much later a vacuum cleaner, a washing machine and a multicooker appeared.
It is difficult to list all the numerous inventions that have made everyday human life easier.
One might get the impression that a person began to tackle the creation of technical devices, trying to save himself from unnecessary work. Simply put, natural laziness forced the craftsmen to develop and introduce new products that could do the hard and hard work for a person. But this is an oversimplified answer to the question of the driving forces of technological progress. What is actually driving progress in technology?
What drives technical progress
Researchers in the field of technology and technical progress are inclined to think that the development of technical systems does not depend on the whims of individuals, but obeys strict laws. Often, of course, eccentric inventors came up with original devices, guided by their ideas about the direction of technological progress, but such novelties almost never took root and were not accepted by civilization.
The technique appeared when a person began to realize that in order to overcome the unfriendly influence of the environment, he needed artificial devices. At the heart of any true invention, which is destined to be recognized by a grateful humanity, there is a certain need. And not every need, but only one that cannot be satisfied by conventional means.
For a success-oriented inventor, it may be enough to identify a need that is not satisfied in society and find an original and convenient way to satisfy it.
The activity of all living beings is based on the principle of economy of effort. This means that a person strives to get maximum results and efficiency with minimum effort. Mankind successfully solves this problem with the help of technical devices, which become helpers in everyday life and at work, intermediaries between nature and man.
Human needs are not something frozen, they are constantly evolving and filled with new content. As long as there is an improvement in the system of needs, technical progress will inexorably eliminate the contradiction between the growing desires of people and the lagging ability to quickly and fully fulfill these desires.
