The paper seeks to ground heat and temperature more sociologically. The starting thought, which is possibly completely wrong, is that the modelling of global average temperature undertaken by climate scientists over the last few decades, is affecting a wide range of experiences of heat. Not only is climate experiencing heating, but the models themselves are more sensitive to experiences of heat.

Using fairly recently developed methods of experimental ontology from STS and environmental humanities, the paper analyses a textbook model of planetary temperature, James Lovelock's 'Daisyworld'. The forms of knowledge these models produce play a role in the experience of heat. But as approximations that attempt to couple living, non-living, economic, and political processes, their role is difficult to analyse. Mackenzie suggests that the sociological interest of such models both as devices that mediate sensing of heat, and as devices that generate conventions in the emergence of political geo-collectives concerned with regulating heat, can be understood as felt-virtuality.

Adrian Mackenzie (Professor in the School of Sociology, ANU) researches how people work and live with media, devices, knowledge, and infrastructures. He often focuses on software and platforms. He is keenly interested in the methodological challenges of media and science infrastructures for sociology. He is currently researching models, apps, and sensors for extreme events.