Bristol University Press
8 Implications
Abstract
This chapter reflects on the implications of understanding platforms as ensembles for engaging with and shaping their future. It revisits the six attachment-figures introduced in the book, highlighting the importance of considering their vibrational movements and flows in understanding platform dynamics. It emphasizes the need for methods that embrace the instability and minor transcendence inherent in ensembles, urging readers to engage with the technical complexities of platforms and acknowledge their diverse attachments to these arrangements. The chapter champions a shift from grand-unifying theories of platforms to a more grounded perspective that focuses on the specific practices, devices, and closures that constitute platform ensembles. It also discusses the political arithmetic of platform ensembles, highlighting the need to understand how they shape distributions of power and inclusion. It further explores the challenges of dismantling attachments to platforms, emphasizing the importance of restoring the integrity of the self in a world increasingly mediated by these arrangements. The chapter concludes by reaffirming the potential of experimental ontology with ensembles as a way to engage with the complex and evolving nature of platforms and to cultivate a more nuanced and grounded understanding of their impact on our lives.
Abstract
This chapter reflects on the implications of understanding platforms as ensembles for engaging with and shaping their future. It revisits the six attachment-figures introduced in the book, highlighting the importance of considering their vibrational movements and flows in understanding platform dynamics. It emphasizes the need for methods that embrace the instability and minor transcendence inherent in ensembles, urging readers to engage with the technical complexities of platforms and acknowledge their diverse attachments to these arrangements. The chapter champions a shift from grand-unifying theories of platforms to a more grounded perspective that focuses on the specific practices, devices, and closures that constitute platform ensembles. It also discusses the political arithmetic of platform ensembles, highlighting the need to understand how they shape distributions of power and inclusion. It further explores the challenges of dismantling attachments to platforms, emphasizing the importance of restoring the integrity of the self in a world increasingly mediated by these arrangements. The chapter concludes by reaffirming the potential of experimental ontology with ensembles as a way to engage with the complex and evolving nature of platforms and to cultivate a more nuanced and grounded understanding of their impact on our lives.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- Series Editors’ Preface viii
- List of Figures and Tables x
- Preface xi
- Introducing 1000 Platforms 1
- Life along Edges: Coastlines and Reefs 18
- Edging: From Terminals to Interfaces 20
- Platform Urbanites: The Doge Pesaro 39
- Shading: Images and Their Associations 42
- Container Figures 68
- Hashing Many Containers 71
- Banded Iron Formations 89
- Embedding and Embodying 92
- Being on Stage 111
- Closures and Their Stagings 114
- A High-Diving Platform 134
- Alignments and Earth 137
- Implications 158
- References 166
- Index 178
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- Series Editors’ Preface viii
- List of Figures and Tables x
- Preface xi
- Introducing 1000 Platforms 1
- Life along Edges: Coastlines and Reefs 18
- Edging: From Terminals to Interfaces 20
- Platform Urbanites: The Doge Pesaro 39
- Shading: Images and Their Associations 42
- Container Figures 68
- Hashing Many Containers 71
- Banded Iron Formations 89
- Embedding and Embodying 92
- Being on Stage 111
- Closures and Their Stagings 114
- A High-Diving Platform 134
- Alignments and Earth 137
- Implications 158
- References 166
- Index 178
