Bruno Latour, Aramis, or the Love of Technology, PDF - Dss-edit.com
Bruno Latour, Aramis, or the Love of Technology, PDF - Dss-edit.com
Bruno Latour, Aramis, or the Love of Technology, PDF - Dss-edit.com
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ep<strong>or</strong>ts and numerous explanations provided by Matra engineersduring <strong>the</strong> Orly trials .They should not be read as <strong>the</strong> descript ion <strong>of</strong> a transp<strong>or</strong>tationsystem, but ra<strong>the</strong>r as that <strong>of</strong> a prototyp e <strong>of</strong> a transp<strong>or</strong>tationsystem-that is, <strong>of</strong> a coheren t but essentiallychangeabl e set <strong>of</strong> solut ions, <strong>of</strong>ten quite <strong>or</strong>iginal ones, to<strong>the</strong> problems raised .This "technical description" thus emphasizes <strong>the</strong> project's <strong>or</strong>iginal features and neglects o<strong>the</strong>r m<strong>or</strong>e classicalsets which have never<strong>the</strong>less been used and even sought afterin <strong>the</strong> eff<strong>or</strong>t to avoid a "race toward gadgetry ."To study a technological project, one must constantly move from signsto things, and vice versa.<strong>Aramis</strong> was an exciting discourse. It became a site at Orly. And nowit has be<strong>com</strong>e discourse again: text, rep<strong>or</strong>ts, explanations. What would<strong>Aramis</strong>' st<strong>or</strong>y be if it held toge<strong>the</strong>r on its own? It would be a st<strong>or</strong>y thatwould w<strong>or</strong>k; it would carry away, would transp<strong>or</strong>t, without breakdown,those who gave <strong>the</strong>mselves over to it. The do<strong>or</strong> closes, <strong>the</strong> passengerpunches in her destination, and <strong>the</strong> vehicle, without a hitch, without stop·ping at intervening stations, at 50 kilometers an hour, watched over fromon high, delivers <strong>the</strong> traveler to her destination and opens <strong>the</strong> do<strong>or</strong>. A wholeprogram! But in 1973 <strong>Aramis</strong> is a narrative program, a st<strong>or</strong>y that is toldto <strong>the</strong> decision makers, to stockholders, to local <strong>of</strong>ficials, to future passen·gers to "bring <strong>the</strong>m on board," but it is also a w<strong>or</strong>k program, a flow chart,and a distribution <strong>of</strong> tasks, so that Matra can be an enterprise that w<strong>or</strong>kswell. These programs are translated in turn by a <strong>com</strong>puter program in 1 8-bitseries: "1 11, give <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> car; 01 11, check <strong>the</strong> message; 01,open <strong>the</strong> do<strong>or</strong>; 10, release <strong>the</strong> emergency brake; 00, display <strong>the</strong> number<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> target station; 11, parity." Finally, all <strong>the</strong>se mingled programs, all<strong>the</strong>se trials, all <strong>the</strong>se attempts produce a real st<strong>or</strong>y, written down: a ponderoustext, <strong>the</strong> rep<strong>or</strong>t on <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> phase o. With Bardet, we were stillat <strong>the</strong> point <strong>of</strong> daydreaming on paper, scribbling calculations on <strong>the</strong> back<strong>of</strong> an envelope; <strong>the</strong>n we moved on to m<strong>or</strong>e serious writing, to patents. Nextcame protocols, signed agreements. Then we went on to hardware, to Orly,to grease and sparks and cement mixers and printed circuits. Now we'veIS ARMv'IS FEASIBLE?
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