Jason Gerbsch                                                             Approximately 230 words

jg33@geneseo.edu

INTD 105-19: Scientific Writing

To be modern, according to Latour, is to be simultaneous in our ideas.  Because of this, humans are not modern.  Latour states that, “as soon as one outlines the symmetrical space and thereby reestablishes the common understanding that organizes the separation of natural and political powers, one ceases to be modern” (Latour 1991, 13).

As a society, we don’t like to mix networks together, it becomes too confusing.  An event must belong to one network or the other.  Latour brings up the example of the hole in the ozone.  He states that the ozone hole is too social and too narrated to be truly natural, meaning that the media has so much coverage on the issue, that it can’t be scientific.  However, this is entirely false as many events in our society have multiple networks intertwining.  Using the example of the ozone hole, networks such as science, politics, industry, and more are involved in a matter such as this.  No event or issue can be labeled as belonging to one singular network, because beneath the surface, everything is connected.  Because of this, we are not modern.

I can see the connection between my object and the idea of intertwining networks created by Latour.  Like many events and issues in real life, there are many connections between the ivy and Sturges Hall, as well as humans.