This episode’s vocabulary
Ubiquitous
adj. — seeming to be everywhere.
Essential
adj. — necessary or needed.
Portable
adj. — used to describe software, a phone number, etc. that can be moved to another system without it being changed.
Justification
noun — a good reason or explanation for something.
Consumer demand
noun — demand for goods and services that comes from individual people rather than from companies.
Breakthrough
noun — an important discovery or event that helps to improve a situation or provide an answer to a problem.
Tech
adj. — abbreviation for technical.
Innovation
noun — a new idea or method, or the use of new ideas and methods.
Invention
noun — something that has never been made before, or the process of creating something that has never been made before.
Crucial
adj. — extremely important or necessary.
Indefinitely
adverb — for a period of time with no fixed end.
To adapt
verb — to change, or to change something, to suit different conditions or uses.
To miss out
phrasal verb — to fail to use an opportunity to enjoy or get an advantage from something.
Profit
noun — money that is earned in trade or business after paying the costs of producing and selling goods and services.
To generate
verb — to produce or create something such as a profits, sales, or jobs.
Portability
adj. — the quality of being light and small enough to be easily carried or moved.
Slew
noun — a large amount or number.
Personalisation
noun — the act of making something suitable for the needs of a particular person.
To crack
verb — to break something so that it does not separate, but very thin lines appear on its surface, or to become broken in this way.
Testament
noun — proof.
Stratum
noun — one of the parts or layers into which something is separated.
At your fingertips
idiom — if you have information at your fingertips, you can get it and use it very easily.
Indispensable
adj. — too important not to have; necessary.
To blunt
verb — to make something less sharp.
To modify
verb — to make changes to something such as a vehicle, machine, or tool, so that it can be used for a different purpose or in a different way.
E-commerce
noun — the business of buying and selling goods and services on the internet. E-commerce is short for electronic commerce.
Practicality
noun — quality of being suitable for a particular occasion or use.
Precedence
noun — the fact that something is more important than other things and should be dealt with first.
Questions and answers
What technology do people currently use?
Smartphones are rather ubiquitous and pretty essential to modern living in most developed countries now, aren't they? Most of the things we use today are quite similar, actually. Portable information creation, storage and sharing devices. The only alternatives I can think of would be white goods that make certain aspects of living easier. But they've been around for a while now.
Why do big companies often upgrade their products?
Well, there are breakthroughs and developments in tech all the time. But I imagine the justification is that companies are expanding the range of things that are possible to enjoy or to be used on their goods. And of course, the consumer demand for improvement is there. Otherwise, they wouldn't expend the capital doing it.
And why do big companies often introduce new products?
I suppose, innovation and invention are crucial parts of most industries now. There aren't many products you can just sell indefinitely without any change over time. Similarly, customer demand is constant and constantly changing. So if you don't adapt to this with something new, then you could miss out on the profits that you could generate.
Why are people so keen on buying smartphones even though they haven't changed much?
Well, the human population is increasing, so the market is always expanding in this regard. But regardless, I would argue that they have actually changed. Yes, the basics of connection to the internet and portability remained the same. But each new device brings a slew of different applications and settings and opportunities for personalisation. I think that certainly counters the demand. That and it's really easy to crack the screen if you're anything like me, so you constantly need to replace them.
How does technology affect our lives?
It's completely revolutionised how people experience the world. We eat, drink, work and play an entirely different ways to humans even 100 years ago, thanks to technology. The fact that we're able to have this conversation now with almost no effort is a testament to that.
And does the development of technology affect the way we study?
Yeah. It's never been easier to access and assess different sources of information and gain access to various methods of interaction that improve how we learn. You can find whole collections of history books from the 19th century in audiobook format for free, which opens up learning to whole strata of people who might never have had the chance to experience this. And it's all at our fingertips. That's pretty cool.
What are the disadvantages of overusing technology?
I suppose, the fact that it's almost indispensable now means that we become rather dependent on it and couldn't live any other way without great difficulty. I mean, if you use ChatGPT to write all your essays, then you could really blunt your creative ability. And then you're just a machine having a conversation with itself if your marker does exactly the same thing. And there's the social cost. If we spend all our time with tech and not enough of it with real people in the real world.
How can the elderly learn to use new technologies?
I think there are videos showing how to modify and use various devices online that are pretty easily accessible. And many older people learn how to use them through their grandchildren if they have the interest.
And what's more important for learning about technology? Theoretical classes or practical applications?
Depends on the field. If people are involved with a creation of different programs and applications, then the underlying theory will be very important. So you know how to apply different concepts. However, if you just want to use a specific e-commerce platform, for example, then practicality should probably take precedence.