Tools Definition and 113 Threads

A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates back hundreds of millennia, have been observed using tools to make other tools. Early tools, made of such materials as stone, bone, and wood, were used for preparation of food, hunting, manufacture of weapons, and working of materials to produce clothing and useful artifacts. The development of metalworking made additional types of tools possible. Harnessing energy sources such as animal power, wind, or steam, allowed increasingly complex tools to produce an even larger range of items, with the Industrial Revolution marking an marked inflection point in the use of tools. The introduction of automation allowed tools to operate with minimal human supervision, further increasing the productivity of human labor.

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  1. Astronuc

    Stone Tools Reveal Humans Lived in Britain 700,000 Years Ago

    http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/12/1216_051216_humans_britain.html James Owen for National Geographic News, December 16, 2005 Thanks to Orstio (everything-science) for discovering this article.
  2. Y

    Solving limit with algebraic tools

    Hello! \lim_{x\rightarrow 0} \frac{-x(1 -\cos x)}{\sin x - x} I solved this limit using L'Hopital and expanding trigonometric functions to series. But i have to solve it using algebraic tools (without series). I don't know how to do it. \sin x - x looks difficult to deal with.
  3. Q_Goest

    Tools for Consciousness, Control Volumes

    This thread contains section 2 and part of section 1 of a 5 section paper I'm writing regarding consciousness. Section 2 is intended to create a more general theory around something used in engineering called "control volumes". I've also included part of section 1, the abstract, to provide a...
  4. Ivan Seeking

    Medical Betty the Bird Brain: Toolmaking Crows

    This story is a few years old but it came up on a PBS NOVA and seemed worth revisiting. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/08/0808_020808_crow.html
  5. exequor

    How does the Metcal base unit convert RF energy into heat at the iron tip?

    Does anyone know an online store that sells ECE tools for soldering/desoldering and other electronic components?... other than RadioShack.
  6. J

    Solving the mass of the Earth using 17th and 18th Century tools

    Solving the mass of the Earth using 17th and 18th Century tools... Good afternoon, morning, evening everyone... I am looking for a little guidance on how to solve for the mass of the Earth utilizing only tools and theories available to people in the 17th and 18th Century. I have Newton's...
  7. F

    There are so many tools for parents these days.

    There are so many tools for parents these days. The cable boxes have parental controls. The satellite boxes have parental controls. There are v-chips built into the T.Vs. There is an excellent rating system. Why then must EVERYBODY suffer. I'm not a kid and I have no kids. I lOVE hip-hop but I...
  8. S

    Search Tools for Gene Sequences

    Search tools for ... Where and how to get the gDNA, mRNA and cDNA sequences of a gene? Any search tools? Thanks!
  9. Z

    Applying for a Job as an Online Physics Instructor: Qualifications and Tools

    Hello every one, I have a Ph.D degree in Physics. spent one year on post doc studies. Have some teaching experiece. I am very confident about my teaching abilites. After couple of years break I am starting to apply for physics jobs. :biggrin: Currently I am working on the application...
  10. M

    What web tools are in demand in 2004?

    What web tools are in demand in 2004?? Hey everyone, I am a skillfull, and sexy computer programmer who has nothing to do this summer, and I am wondering what to code? I hear message boards can make money, but there seems to be many of these in existence. Chat rooms seem to be out of date...
  11. marcus

    Basic tools for quantized differential geometry

    One of selfAdjoint's posts in a loop gravity thread pointed out that many of the tools needed belonged in differential geometry. This is his 22 October 8:33 pm post: ----------------------- "Since Greg the magician got us a reprieve on the bandwidth thing, I'll add a little. I just read...
  12. S

    Are Our Minds Just a Collection of Learned Tools?

    The tools of the mind, Some time ago I was thinking and I realized I was thinking. This is no big deal you may suggest but I started on the line of thought about thinking. I came to a simplistic way of approaching the nature of our minds. I thought if we think of ourselves as a centre...
  13. B

    Favorite toolsWhat are your favorite tools and why do you like them?

    [SOLVED] Favorite tools Many people like to do things with their hands. Call it a hobby (that could make a good topic itself) or a craft of some kind. You might even like working on old junk automobiles, it probably doesn't matter. Those who like to do things often need implements (defined here...
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