Resource

resource

1. n. Anything that can be used to create value.
2. n. Matter, energy, or information that can be transformed into more valued forms.
3. n. Knowledge, skills, or implements that can be used to transform other resources into more valued forms.

These definitions are strongly related to my definitions of technology. If I were feeling silly, I could plug these definitions of resource into my definition of technology to yield: Technology is the application of resources to transform other resources into more valued forms. Silly.

It feels to me as if the second and third definitions above omit something important: relationships. Relationships are resources for the people involved. I could add "relationships" to one or both lists, but they're already somewhat unwieldy.

What else is left out of this definition?

I'd like to find an evocative category to summarize the lists in the definitions. What category summarizes matter, energy, and information? What category summarizes knowledge, skills, and implements? For now, I can't think of concise, evocative categories. The word anything in the first definition certainly summarizes all of the other terms, but it's too general to be evocative.

Any adjustments I make here would likely ripple into my definition of technology.