Phenomenon is an observable event or occurrence in the natural world. It is something that happens and can be perceived.
Gravitational Lensing
Gravitational lensing is the bending of light from a distant object, such as a star or galaxy, caused by the gravitational field of a massive object between the light source and the observer. This bending can result in magnified, distorted, or multiple images of the distant object.
a phenomenon is an observable event, a scientific theory provides an explanation of why it occurs, and a scientific law describes what happens, often in a precise mathematical form, without necessarily explaining the underlying cause.
- “A technology is always based on some phenomenon or truism of nature that can be exploited and used to a purpose”
- “Nature possesses many sets of phenomena and over centuries we have mined into these for our purposes”
- Phenomenon has no use attached to them.
- A technology is a collection of phenomenon captured and put to use
- A technology is a programming of phenomena to our purposes.
- “Phenomena, I propose, are the “genes” of technology.
- Phenomena purely in themselves have nothing to do with technology. They simply exist in our world (the physical ones at least) and we have no control whatever over their form and existence. All we can do is use them where usable.
Capturing phenomena:
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I like to think of phenomena as hidden underground, not available until discovered and mined into. Of course they are not scattered about randomly underground, they cluster into related families, each forming a seam or vein of useable effects” and the members of these groups are unearthed piece by piece, slowly and haphazardly, over a lengthy period
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The whole system underground is connected.”
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Science uncovers effects by picking up intimations of something that operates differently than expected. An investigator notices something here, a lab ignores something there but picks up the trace later. “Sometimes the spoor is picked up by theoretical reasoning.”
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effects are captured and devices using these effects are built and uncover further effects.”
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Collectives of technology and of known phenomena advance in tandem