Alex WellersteinVerified account

If something was created through political forces, does that necessarily mean it’s political? I don’t think so. E.g a bridge.

Funny you mention that. Bridges are famous examples in history of tech: build an overpass too low and you can’t take buses or trucks on a road, shaping who can be in that space.

But it’s still just a pile of concrete. May have political implications but the bridge itself is not political

A bridge is a product of sci and tech, but can’t exist apart from the systems that create and maintain it (or don’t, as the case may be). A Petri dish isn’t “science.” It’s a tool.

Totally agree with those statements - don't think it addresses the point. Scientific method may be the product of political forces and may have political implications, but that doesn't make the method itself political. It's just a method. Just like how a bridge is just concrete.

Agree - but the bridge doesn't make those decisions, humans do. I think there's separation between the bridge as physical object and the human activity/intentions around it. There's also a separation between scientific method and human activity/intentions around it.

When humans make things, they imbue them with human properties, including politics. A nuclear weapon, you probably agree, contains some kind of inherent politics — or to put it another way, it's impossible to imagine one that doesn't come with political implications.