Mechanology is the branch of knowledge that deals with the study of machines and can be described as a protologism for a social science discipline concerned with the analysis and classification of technological artifacts.

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This non-formal discipline was conceived in the early 20th century by French philosophers and recognizes the following: machines as belonging to three or four distinct categories, the simple machine as the basic unit of all mechanisms, and convergence of utility as the selective pressure over time. Using research to categorize machines produces a common language of classification that is simpler than applied engineering and more precise than the umbrella term, ‘technology’.  While we study postal stamps (Philately), the future (Futurology), and music (Musicology) in this way, why not also study machines?

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Further uses: 

 

1. We currently use terms like classical, neolithic, or even renaissance-era, to define types of machines.

2. It can inform discussions of patent rights and the liquidity of an invention.

3. Determining when something can be built or not due to some legal ineligibility i.e., a power plant can’t be built but a water mill can (a simpler machine). 

4. To assess the danger of a machine either through precaution or threat; AI being the ultimate summation of machines. 

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