The Social Construction of a Machine: Ritual, Superstition, Magical Thinking and other Pragmatic Responses to Running a CT Scanner

That technology can disrupt the tissue of experience and overturn taken for granted assumptions is a fundamental premise in all science fiction involving time travel. Thrust suddenly into a future whose principles are unknown, time travelers are forced to unravel a new world’s logic so as to act knowingly amidst strange socio-technical surroundings. The drama of the protagonists’ sense making is heightened when they are unable to consult with knowledgeable informants, and yet must pass as competent insiders to avoid perils of detection. Such plots are fraught with dangers narrowly averted as heroes and heroines piece together the logic of the future by trial and error and serendipitous discovery. Whether time travelers ever fully comprehend the future’s technical logic is irrelevant; they need only learn to act as if they might.

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