Bruno Latour, Aramis, or the Love of Technology, PDF - Dss-edit.com

ments boded no good. Aramis was at a standstill, in a position of extremeweakness, on the eve of an enormous request for funding for the constructionof the eET. The only element that augured well for the researchers in groundtransportation was the Left's stated desire to develop industrial research and tobolster the image of France as a nation on the cutting edge of technology. Youhave to put yourself back in the atmosphere of the times. VVe hadn't seenanything like it since De Gaulle's early days.""Finally, straightforward politics," I said delightedly. "We've gotthem all, the Commies, the pinkos, Big Politics. It wasn't so complicatedafter all. Contrarv to what vou were saving, Norbert, it wasn't worthJ j Jthe trouble to go into all the technical details. All we needed to do waslook at the overall context. He's right: it's a question of atmosphere.""Atmosphere, atmosphere," my mentor repeated drily,A technological project is not in a context; it gives itself a context, orsometimes does not give itself one.What is required is not to "replace projects in their context," as thefoolish expression goes, but to study the way the project is conlexlualizedor decontextualized. To do thai, the rigid, stuffy word "conlexl" has 10 bereplaced by the supple, friendly word "network. II The big explanations interms of politics, economics, organizalion, and technology always turn up,without fail: "II's politically unacceptable." "It isn't profitable." "Society isn'tready for it." "It's inefficient." These explanations are always used preciselybecause they can't be worn out. They're not designed to explain-if thatwere the case, they would have to wear out in contact with the hard,contorted circumstances. Rather, they're intended to move from hand tohand and to serve, like the weasel in the children's game, to get rid of theproblem by designating the one who failed to pay attention and got caughtwith the ring in his hand.II court, il court Ie furetLe furet d' 10 politique,II court, il court Ie furetLe furet d' 10 technique.The weasel is running,The political weasel;The weasel is running,The technological weasel.INTERPHASe