Do we need the [technology] tag?

Question

I just noticed we have a technology tag. It's excerpt states this:

Questions relating to the use of technology to further space exploration.

I'm wondering what the community's opinion is on this tag - it seems to me like it is almost intrinsic - there isn't much space exploration not having to do with technology.

Thoughts?

Answer 1

For convenience, let's first analyze what questions are currently tagged under technology, there's not too many of them:

• What happens to defunct lunar and Mars rovers? What technological barriers prevent humanity from creating a perpetual rover?
  mars the-moon rovers technology
  technology tag is unnecessary, already implied by rovers
• Has any CubeSat flown with an active propulsion system?
  propulsion technology cubesat
  technology tag is unnecessary, already implied by cubesat
• Why did the ESA choose SPARC for LEON?
  technology flight-computer esa
  technology tag is unnecessary, already implied by flight-computer
• What technologies are being developed to ease the supply chain burden for space travel? [closed]
  technology supply robotics
  technology tag is unnecessary, already implied by robotics
• Is it better to build a spaceship in total or in parts for orbital assembly? [duplicate]
  technology orbital-assembly
  technology tag is unnecessary, already implied by orbital-assembly
• How do spacecraft measure onboard gravity?
  gravity technology physics instrument
  technology tag is unnecessary, already implied by instrument
• Is there any research going on launching into orbit with “space guns”? Why (not)?
  launch technology
  technology tag is arguably necessary, possibly previously implied by launch
• What technological barriers, if any, prevent a manned mission to Mars at this time?
  mars technology
  technology tag is necessary, but could possibly be implied by adding other, more specific tags
• Can spacecraft be made invisible to stations on Earth?
  technology artificial-satellites tracking stealth
  technology tag is unnecessary, already implied by artificial-satellites, tracking
• Do any systems in space use Artificial Intelligence yet?
  technology flight-computer unmanned
  technology tag is unnecessary, already implied by flight-computer, unmanned
• Has any technology been demonstrated that allows a useful payload to survive at least one month on Venus' surface?
  technology venus cooling
  technology tag is necessary, but could be implied by replacing cooling by artificial-cooling
• What happens to defunct lunar and Mars rovers? What technological barriers prevent humanity from creating a perpetual rover?
  technology mars the-moon rovers
  technology tag is unnecessary, already implied by rovers

So this is what question tagged technology we currently have. Out of 11 questions in total, 8 have the keyword "technology" already implied with other tags they use, one is borderline, and two possibly necessary, but "technology" could be implied by adding other existing or new, and more specific tags.

These statistics seem to concur with the assessment that the keyword "technology" is already intrinsic to the nature of Space Exploration website, which, by definition is Q&A site for spacecraft operators, scientists, engineers, and enthusiasts. Use of "enthusiasts" is only ambiguous on its own, but not in the context of this definition. Other keywords in the definition - "spacecraft operators", "scientists", "engineers" - go hand in hand with the keyword "technology".

I wasn't entirely sure, before I started analyzing our current contents, but now support the notion to abolish the tag technology and rather add tags to those three questions that are arguably borderline ambiguously tagged, to make them implicitly imply the keyword "technology".

Answer 2

I think that it's a legitimate tag, if applied to a question that has a strong focus on a particular technology, rather than application.

For example, if someone asked about what tensile strength would be required to be able to build a space elevator, and how the current strongest mass-produced material compares with that requirement. Such a question seems to me would fit such a tag.

I agree, though, that such a tag could be prone to overuse or misunderstanding, as some of the high level tags on Science Fiction and Movies & TV often are.

Answer 3

I'll play the devil's advocate on this one, and give it a spin.

tongue-in-cheek What about parapsychology/ESP/psi?

From http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vision_remota/esp_visionremota_9a.htm

The so-called Father of Soviet Rocketry, K.E. Tsiolkovsky, stated that:

“In the coming era of space flights, telepathic abilities are necessary. While the space rocket must bring men toward knowledge of the grand secrets in the universe, the study of psychic phenomena can lead us toward knowledge of the mysteries of the human mind. It is precisely the solution of this secret which promises the greatest achievements.”

There are reports that the Soviets are training their cosmonauts in telepathy to back up their electronic equipment while in outer space. One of these back-up schemes is known to involve coded telepathic messages. This method was previously demonstrated in March 1967, when a coded telepathic message was flashed from Moscow to Leningrad. The involvement of astronauts or cosmonauts in telepathy experiments is not necessarily unprecedented. In February 1971, during the Apollo 14 flight to the moon, astronaut Edgar Mitchell made 150 separate attempts to project his thoughts from inside the space capsule back to an individual on earth.

[Appendix 1, pages 25-26.]