The term "technology" is a compound word deriving from the Greek τεχνολογια (tekhne-loghia), literally “discussion (or reasoning) about art”,where art means knowing how to do something, today commonly called technique.
If the technique regards manual ability, reasoning is proposed as rationalization or understanding of the results achieved through a concrete activity: in short, technology becomes the design of technique.
The dialectic between the terms doing and knowing has interacted over the centuries, often changing roles in promoting the evolution of technology. Creativity is knowing how to join existing elements with new, useful connections.
The categories of “new” and “useful” root the creativity activity in society and history. The “new” is relative to the historic period in which it is produced; the “useful” is intimately connected with the understanding and recognition of the social user.
New and useful adequately illustrate the essence of the creative act: going beyond existing rules (the new) which establishes a further shared rule (useful).
The combination of knowing how to do something, with the new and useful produces surprising results such as Fulgor Milano built-in appliances.