Q1.
Have you noticed how old technology gets replaced by a new, better one?
Answer
Yes — and the chapter’s point is that this happens because the new one makes the same job easier, faster or cheaper, not because the old one stopped working.
| Old technology | What replaced it | What actually improved |
|---|---|---|
| Sending letters by post | The chapter’s own example — we communicate quickly and at a lower cost | |
| Carrying cash, standing in a queue to pay a bill | UPI (Unified Payments Interface) | Payment at the click of a button |
| Asking for directions, using a paper map | GPS | It can discover the shortest routes for transporting goods — so the same truck delivers more in a day |
| Judging the weather by experience | Advance weather updates on a phone | A farmer can decide when to sow, spray or harvest |
| Spraying fertiliser by hand | Drones (Fig. 7.18) | Faster coverage, less exposure of the worker to chemicals |
But the chapter immediately adds a caution, and it is the more interesting half: technological progress does not always mean replacing old technologies. Some, like pulleys and wheelbarrows, are still in use — you can see them in Fig. 7.20 on a construction site and Fig. 7.21 on a boat. Some early forms of technology that have existed since ancient times are still in use today.
Why some old technologies survive: they are cheap, simple, need no electricity or network, can be repaired by the person using them, and work exactly where a modern substitute is awkward — on a boat, up a scaffold, in a village during a power cut. A wheelbarrow is not a failed machine waiting to be replaced; for its job it is still the best answer. The test is never “is it old?” but “does anything else do this job better here, at this cost?”
Tip for the exam: if you are asked whether new technology always replaces old, the correct answer is no, and the two examples the book gives you — pulleys and wheelbarrows — are the ones to quote.