Technology RC Terms for CAT VARC
Master essential technology concepts that dominate contemporary RC passages. From artificial intelligence to digital transformation, build the vocabulary foundation for understanding our rapidly evolving technological landscape and its ethical, social, and economic implications.
Why Technology Terms Matter for CAT Reading Comprehension
Technology passages have surged in prominence across recent CAT exams, reflecting our increasingly digital world. These passages explore not just how technology works, but its profound implications for society, ethics, economics, and human identity.
When you encounter terms like artificial intelligence, algorithmic bias, or surveillance capitalism, you’re accessing frameworks that explain the most pressing debates of our time. Each technology term represents a lens for examining how digital innovation reshapes power, privacy, labor, and human relationships.
Analysis of CAT 2022-2024 shows technology-related passages appeared in 35% of RC sections, with the highest concentration in Slot 1 papers. Why? Technology terms provide instant context for understanding arguments about AI ethics, data privacy, digital transformation, and the socioeconomic impacts of automation.
What mastering these terms unlocks:
- Navigate tech-ethics passages confidently — understand debates about AI regulation, data rights, and algorithmic fairness without getting lost in jargon
- Identify unstated assumptions in digital transformation arguments — recognize when passages assume technological progress is inherently beneficial vs. questioning its costs
- Decode author stance on technology’s role in society — distinguish between techno-optimism, techno-skepticism, and balanced perspectives
- Handle complex passages about emerging technologies — from quantum computing to blockchain, understand not just what technologies are but why they matter
- Answer inference questions with precision — use your understanding of concepts like digital divide or automation paradox to predict logical extensions of arguments
This page contains 25 carefully curated technology flashcards covering the most frequent concepts in CAT VARC technology passages. Each term includes definition, difficulty rating, and real RC context examples. Ready to test your understanding across all science subjects?
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🎴 25 Technology Flashcards for CAT VARC
Click any card to flip and reveal detailed context. Mark as mastered to track your progress. Each term includes a memory hook to aid retention.
💡 Study Strategy for Technology Terms
Technology is part of the broader Sciences cluster. Explore related subjects like Science, Medicine, and Environment to build comprehensive RC vocabulary across interconnected disciplines.
Pro tip: Technology passages often blend technical concepts with ethical, social, and economic implications. Don’t just memorize definitions—understand how each term relates to broader debates about innovation, regulation, and societal change.
🎯 Quick Mastery Quiz
Test your understanding of technology concepts. Get instant feedback with detailed explanations.
How to Master Technology Terms for RC
🧠 The Spaced Repetition Method
Technology terms stick when you encounter them repeatedly over time, especially given how rapidly this field evolves. Here’s the proven approach:
- Day 1: Study all flashcards, focusing on distinguishing similar concepts (AI vs. Machine Learning, AR vs. VR)
- Day 2: Review and mark terms you can explain to someone else as “mastered”
- Day 4: Quick review of all terms, spend extra time on ethical/social implications
- Day 7: Final comprehensive review before attempting the quiz
This spacing leverages your brain’s natural consolidation process, moving terms from short-term to long-term memory while building connections between related concepts.
📖 Context Over Definition
In RC passages, technology terms rarely appear as dry definitions. Instead, you’ll encounter them embedded in debates about ethics, economics, and social change. Train yourself to:
- Read the “RC Context” section carefully — this shows how terms appear in actual CAT passages and what debates they’re part of
- Notice contrasting viewpoints: “proponents argue” vs. “critics warn,” “technological optimism” vs. “skepticism”
- Identify stakeholder perspectives: Tech companies, regulators, users, workers all have different stakes in technology debates
- Practice connecting terms: How does algorithmic bias relate to data privacy? How does automation affect the digital divide?
🎯 The “Tech Implications” Strategy
Technology passages typically follow a pattern: introduce innovation → explore implications → present competing perspectives. Master this structure:
- Technical Layer: What the technology is and how it works (usually in opening paragraphs)
- Economic Layer: How it affects markets, jobs, and business models
- Social Layer: Impact on inequality, access, and human relationships (digital divide, surveillance capitalism)
- Ethical Layer: Moral questions about privacy, autonomy, fairness (algorithmic bias, ethical AI)
RC questions often test whether you can identify which layer an argument operates on and predict implications across layers.
⚡ Common RC Passage Patterns in Technology
CAT RC technology passages follow predictable patterns. Knowing these terms helps you identify the pattern instantly:
- “AI & Ethics” passages → Expect: artificial intelligence, machine learning, algorithmic bias, ethical AI, automation paradox
- “Digital Economy” passages → Expect: platform capitalism, digital transformation, surveillance capitalism, big data, automation
- “Tech & Society” passages → Expect: digital divide, digital colonialism, techno-optimism, techno-skepticism, human-technology interface
- “Emerging Tech” passages → Expect: blockchain, quantum computing, IoT, VR/AR, transhumanism
- “Data & Privacy” passages → Expect: data privacy, cybersecurity, surveillance capitalism, information overload
Pro tip: When you spot 2-3 technology terms in the first paragraph, you can predict the passage’s argumentative structure and read actively, anticipating both the author’s stance and potential counterarguments.
