Technology is the practical application of knowledge (in the form of methods, processes, skills, and techniques) to produce goods and services or accomplish objectives in a particular area, e.g., engineering, medicine, etc. (To note, it can also be taken to refer to the knowledge of such methods, processes, and the like as well as their embeddedness in machines.) Therefore, any consideration of the "pitfalls" of technology—a word that, strictly speaking, alludes to hidden or unsuspected dangers or difficulties, not just "shortcomings"—should relate to the specific objective sought by and the specific characteristics and scope of the technology under discussion. Past the technical "pitfalls", dangers, difficulties, shortcomings, etc. associated with the technology per se, impacts can be found in economic, environmental, ethical, financial, legal, military, political, societal, and other arenas, both in the short term and the long term (and at different removes, meaning, degree of remoteness or separation). Not to forget, it is often the case that technology finds applications in areas other than those it was designed for (the Global Positioning System being but one example); there is also the matter of planned obsolescence …