pynchon-l-digest V2 #5256

[david christensen]

For no other reason other that it seems relevant and irrelevant:

A quote from my unfinished Phd. on urban and economic geographies, it had
something to do with buildings by the way...

"Lash (1999) identifies similarities in Baudrillard’s conception of the
object and that of Latour. While Baudrillard’s simulacrum is a long way from
network topologies, the object is given similar characteristics. In both
theorists conceptions the object is never in a state of finality. For
Baudrillard the object seduces, it is not sublime. To be so suggests
finality. Seduction is a process. Latour’s parliament of things is also
wholly predicated on a non-reductionist conception of the object. The object
is never final; it shifts or obtains stability only through relational
materialism, through the network."

Now this is not a throw away line. Pynchon is by default a network dude,
everything is connected, right. Also things can be remarkably different...
things, objects, events, institutions...

Anyway Pynchon inspired my failed grasp at academia and probably was one
source of salvation of not actually ending up there... Although profound
slackness had played a major part...