Reification and social technologies

Just finished reading Chapter 1 in "Systems Practice" as part of Activity 2.5.

Interested in the concept of a 'social technology', and has to look up the meaning of the word 'to reify' to make sure that I really understood what it meant. The OED defines it as "to make (something abstract) more concrete or real", and I thought about what that means in terms of this social technology concept.

Technology is usually used to refer to something concrete or otherwise solid, whereas a social technology is some form of machinery that has been created to make society work in some way. Social rules, procedures, etc. The problem is that this has originated from a set of abstract ideas and so the resulting technology does not necessarily have to be the only technology: if we had started out by thinking differently we would have a different social technology. It's easy to lose sight of that in everyday life and take the way we do things for granted.

It makes me think about the discussion that I listened to at the CycleSheffield meeting last night about the introduction of special trains on a local railway service that cannot carry bicycles. These will replace ordinary trains that do carry bicycles, but the thinking high up in the Passenger Transport Executive that has made the decision did not take bicycles into consideration so we end up with a new social procedure that excludes cycle transport.

Now I have to think about what I do when I do what I do.

Walking as a relational dynamic

Working through this activity has made me think about the processes that I go through in order to complete a simple task such as walking across the room.

I realise now that the first thing I do is to survey the space through which I must move: what is the surface like in relationship to me, going up, going down or staying level, as this will influence the mental state with which I approach the task and hence determine the amount of energy I devote to doing it. While doing this I find my attention drawn to objects along the way that perhaps should not be there and so may need to be moved. I remember an old sketch of Billy Connolly, where, reflecting on the mobility issues coming with older age, bends down to pick something up and asks himself if there is anything else he needs to do while he is down there.

Next, I had a think about the objects along the way, around which I needed to navigate, shelves, a sofa, etc

Finally, I made a decision about whether or not to do the activity after all. Perhaps it was all going to be too much and it would be better just to stay sitting where I was.

Phew, so much thinking and so many decisions about my interrelationship with the floor and obstacles, and I had not even thought about them.