the.com/tools
the difference between a hand and a civilization is a sharpened rock.
means a tool is anything an agent uses to extend what its body alone could never do.
from from old english tol, likely rooted in a proto-germanic word for making or preparing; the concept is older than the word, older than language itself, older than us as a species.
oldest knownstone flakes dated 3.3 million years, before homo sapiens existed
not just humanchimps, crows, and octopuses all use tools
recursive tricktools that make other tools built the industrial revolution
cognitive shortcutusing a tool literally rewires the brain's body map
for instance
oldowan stone flakes — 2.6 million years old, found in gona, ethiopia
the printing press — gutenberg, 1440s, mainz, remade knowledge itself
new caledonian crows — bend wire into hooks to fish out grubs
the personal computer — turned a room-sized machine into a desktop object, 1970s