www.MasterTool.nl
A
tool is an object used to extend the ability of an individual to modify
features of the surrounding environment. Although many animals use simple
tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates back hundreds of
millennia, have been observed using tools to make other tools. The set of tools
required to perform different tasks that are part of the same activity is
called gear or equipment.
While
one may apply the term tool loosely to many things that are means to an end
(e.g., a fork), strictly speaking an object is a tool only if, besides being
constructed to be held, it is also made of a material that allows its user to
apply to it various degrees of force. If repeated use wears part of the tool
down (like a knife blade), it may be possible to restore it; if it wears the
tool out or breaks it, the tool must be replaced. Thus tool falls under the
taxonomic category implement, and is on the same taxonomic rank as instrument,
utensil, device, or ware.
