#modernity

#modernity

Bruno Latour is an intriguing person. He first caught global attention with his (and co-author Steve Woolgar's) 1979 book Laboratory Life. In this work, Latour and Woolgar observed laboratory scientists ethnographically. Meaning, they'd follow scientists similar to how primatologists would follow chimpanzees in the wild. White coats were investigated in their natural habitat. This way, Latour thought he could analyse the behaviour of scientists and verify how discussions, negotiations, and rivalries shape what becomes "knowledge."

It's London, 1923. Everyone suddenly looks up. Every one looked up. Dropping dead down the aeroplane soared straight up, curved in a loop, raced, sank, rose, and whatever it did, wherever it went, out fluttered behind it a thick ruffled bar of white smoke which curled and wreathed upon the sky in letters. Near the beginning of Mrs. Dalloway, an ordinary day is disrupted by a technological intrusion.

This way, Latour thought he could analyse the behaviour of scientists and verify how discussions, negotiations, and rivalries shape what becomes "knowledge." After his inquiries, Latour concluded that scientists apply an awful lot of personal biases and human behaviours to so-called factually correct scientific research. For Latour, "facts" gain authority through social processes, institutional validation, and consensus-building. Not just through "objective" discovery.

The new Times Square Planet Hollywood merges nostalgia with modernity, showcasing high-definition screens playing contemporary music videos that stray far from the restaurant's original theme.