“What is the biggest illusion about technology?”

Today in my work as a CTO most people think of technology as digital websites, social media, CRM’s, mobile phones, wifi, internet, e-commerce, modems, car engines.

​This is the case because they are explicit. People can see them, interact with them each day, therefore have some understand of what it can do for them. However, they only make up about 5% of technologies.

Around 95% of technologies are implicit - can't be seen and requires specialist science based skills that take years of learning and experience to be able to understand, to apply the technologies effectively, within legislation, safely, and ethically.   

In reality technology is actually scientific knowledge applied to overcome a practical problem. So technologies can be anything where science is applied to achieve an outcome. 

For example, unique service delivery, management styles, business model innovation, computer programming, engineering, identifying and creating competitive advantage in business, managing complex situations systemically.
So the biggest illusion about technology is that most people today understand technology as the 5% they can see, touch and, therefore, understand rather than the 95% science.

Applying a common analogy for better understanding - knowing about the 5% and understanding it as technology is like  knowing our body and thinking we are doctors.

Published on Quora.