Knowing Enough and Space-Making for Microbes in Sake Fermentation Practices.

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Science and Technology Studies (STS)
• Anthropology of Science

Background:

• Traditional fermentation practices offer alternative epistemic frameworks to technoscientific approaches.
• Understanding microbial life in fermentation involves more than just precise identification and quantification.
• The paper challenges the dominance of Western scientific paradigms in microbial knowledge acquisition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how brewers gain knowledge of microbes in fermentation settings.
• To explore the concept of "knowing enough" as an alternative to exhaustive scientific knowledge.
• To analyze the practice of "space-making" in encouraging microbial growth.

Main Methods:

• Praxiographic data collection through field research at a Japanese sake brewery.
• Analysis of brewers' anticipatory practices and their role in fermentation.
• Examination of fermenting spaces, tools, and cleaning routines.

Main Results:

• Brewers actively create environments conducive to specific microbial activity through "space-making."
• A tension exists between the natural temporalities of microbial metabolism and laboratory equipment.
• Alternative methods of microbial knowing, emphasizing inquiry and interdependence, are identified.

Conclusions:

• Microbial knowledge in fermentation can be achieved through practical engagement and "knowing enough."
• Interdependence and inquiry offer a more holistic approach to understanding microbes than control-based schemas.
• This research provides insights into non-Western epistemic frameworks for microbial science.