The concept of apparatus comes from the Latin word apparātus and has multiple uses. The first meaning mentioned by the dictionary refers to the grouping of elements that act together and in a coordinated way to develop a function.
For example: “My grandmother has a device that kneads and cooks bread in a few minutes”, “I would like them to invent a device capable of automatically ironing and ordering clothes”, “The government announced a million dollar investment in high-end devices technology to improve hospital benefits ”.
An apparatus, in this sense, is a machine made up of various parts. A television, a scanner, a car, a microwave oven and a washing machine, among many other devices, can be considered as appliances.
Although we can cite a list of devices of a truly considerable length, it is not the variety in which this concept is manifested today, but the weight that it has come to have in our lives. Something that only in the second half of the 20th century could be a luxury that only the wealthiest families could afford, such as buying a television or a music system, has multiplied exponentially and today is not only normal, but “necessary”.
It is no longer necessary to charge a juicy salary at the end of the month to acquire household appliances, since the great competition and the increasing demand of the last decades has given way to mass production, with the consequent reduction in prices. Any person from the middle class can access a series of devices that allow them to enjoy their free time and facilitate the typical tasks of home maintenance, such as cleaning and preparing food.
The most worrying feature of this era is that many people do not stop to think about whether they need a device before buying it, but rather they are influenced by the media and invasive advertising campaigns, which convince them that they need them if they want to be part of society. This phenomenon especially attacks the most insecure, those individuals who cannot bear the idea of being judged for not adapting to impositions, and thus the market moves millions regardless of the quality of the products and services it offers.
In the field of biology, the group of organs that are involved in the same function is called an apparatus. The respiratory system, to cite one case, is made up of the trachea, bronchi, lungs and other organs dedicated to absorbing the oxygen present in the air to carry it to the blood and, simultaneously, expel carbon dioxide from the body. The digestive system, the circulatory system and the reproductive system are other examples in this same context.
A group of individuals or objects, both physical and symbolic, may also be called an apparatus: “The Nationalist Party summoned its apparatus to protest against the government’s decision”, “People do not agree with the functioning of the judicial apparatus “, ” ecologist candidate lamented not having a device to back it up “.
The instruments used for conducting exercises gymnastics and device that allows correct defects in the body of a human being, finally, can be called devices: “I was training with appliances”, “When I was a kid, I had to use appliances on teeth “. Although both examples refer to decisions related to aesthetics, dental appliances can be used to straighten severely crooked dentures and thus avoid complications that exceed the limits of orthodontics.
Apparatus