It must be said of the wind dust and clouds

Unpublished trauma, this ash cloud. For the time being, is drawn more to review its economic, emotional, tourist or technical dimensions. The trivial to use are mobilized: limits of our techniques, forces of nature and glorious uncertainties of complex societies. But it does not, stressed to my knowledge, how the particular quality of ambient anxiety is related to a triple oversight of a deeper nature. In fact, present us ash from the Icelandic volcano with three realities that are not yet clearly on our mental maps.

First the materiality of the air. Of course, we know since Torricelli and Pascal that it weighs on our shoulders, and without resistance would not there aviation. Of course, we have in mind that there are daily measurements, analyses of pollutants and ozone alerts. But all this remains poorly integrated into our daily imagination. In fact, these knowledge always coexist with the ancient representation of the air, who wanted the homogeneous and diaphanous, as intangible. The atmosphere around us contain, according to the times and places, Spore, of pollen, toxics, rare of all natures dust gas, this is what we are not yet fully accustomed to imagine consistently.

Then, the very status of dust. Indeed, they always belong to the category of sous-choses, unthinkable residues and left behind. Tiny crumbs of substance, too Dim to be visible, they appear to be somewhere between being and nothingness. Classical metaphysics designs stable substances and distinct forms. It floundering on powders, suspensions, dilutions. It must therefore learn to turn our gaze to the tiny, consider these residues thought unworthy of attention, while they are also the texture of the world.

Western philosophers, François Dagognet is one of very few which have drawn attention to the interest and the importance of these forms of matter exploded, fragmented, dispersed in microscopic particles. "The most decisive, he insists, lies in the more decreased. In China, on the other hand, it seems that the Taoist thinkers have always known it. One of their fundamental principles is precisely the invincible force of which is the weaker and, at first glance, the most fragile. "There is nothing in the world of more flexible and lower than water", said Lao Tseu, yet it erodes the massive and carry heavier loads. Extreme weakness (the drop), she is also a power without limits (Ocean).

It must be said of the wind, dust and clouds. Helpless, without intent or desire, but indefinitely renewed, they outweigh frequently fort, the hard, the rigid. "That the low prevails over the fort and flexible on the tough, everyone knows, but there is nobody who put in practice," said Tao Te King. This is the third reality that we are not accustomed to discern. Our technology, our machines and our programs work strong force and front power. Most often, the use of the flexible, fluid and the vaporous lack them.

Account, behind time emergency, is to a mental conversion that we encourage this cloud. It began to take into account this mutation, to detail the consequences theoretical and practical, the Icelandic volcano would be without doubt more fruitful than harmful. Obviously, it must first resolve the stewardship: repatriate stranded travellers, avoid imminent bankruptcy, resolve if possible equation combining safety and activity. But the issues that are in the background does not alas. On the contrary, they will not only grow and beautify. The dust was the future.