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

"If Aramis had been ready in time for the World's fair, would ithave gotten everyone's attention?" I asked."Yes, everyone's-it was really a compelling idea.""But there was no World's Fair, as it turned out.""Well, no, Chirac didn't want one; he didn't want to upsetParisians with reminders of the Revolution."*Reuters, September 1 0, 1989, from our special correspondent BernardJoerges. Every World's Fair refurbishes the image of public transportationto some extent. The one that marked the bicentennial of theFrench Revolution in banner-bedecked Paris, the one that has justclosed its doors after a grand ceremony on the Champ-de-Mars, wasno exception to the rule. From this standpoint, one of the key featuresof the fair was unquestionably the completely automated and completelymodular transportation system called Aramis. More than motorboatson the Seine, more than moving sidewalks, Aramis is a revolutionarytransportation system conceived and constructed by theMatra Transport company, which has demonstrated its technologicalsuperiority once again. Specialists in space technology and sophisticatedweaponry, the Matra people are shaking up the field of urbantransportation, which has been mired in tradition for so long. TheRegie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP), responsible for implementingAramis, has leapfrogged into the twenty-first centurythanks to this astonishing display. A train arrives at the station. Ofcourse, as in the VA L system that operates in Lille, or Morgantown'ssmall system in the United States, or Atlanta's, there is no conductor.Elegant little cabs, as cozy and comfortable as a Renault Espace, holdup to twenty visitors each. But here is the surprise: each car is separate.Nothing visible links it to the ones behind: no coupling, no cable, nowire, no linkage of any sort. And yet the cars form a train; theyapproach one another and merge ever so gently. They stay together as*Jacques Chirac, in addition to serving as prime minister from 1986 to 1988,was the mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995. vVorld's Fairs have been held many timesin Paris from 1889 to 1937 and have shaped a number of its landmarks, includingthe [iffd Tower. For the new socialist government, hosting a \Vorld's Fair in Paris in199 seemed a natural way to celebrate the hicentennial of the French Revolution.Obviously, however, the m;yor of Paris-who was also the leader of the opposition-­would have had to agree.