Marshall McLuhan: Techno Prophet

[Professor S]

I've been rediscovering the work of Marshall McLuhan, the man who essentially invented the field of communications. He is a mix of artist, philosopher, and scientist. When I first studied his work in the mid 90's I had no idea what he was talking about. Now, with the explosion of information technology, I think his work is revered more than ever.

Here are a few basics McLuhan concepts:

1) Media is an extension of the self. A wheel is an extension of the foot; computers are an extension of the brain/central nervous system.

2) Media's effect can be compared to thermodynamics. It is "Hot" or "Cold" with the audience sitting in the middle. "Hot" media is intense and tends to affect only one or two senses. This creates a level of detachment from the media. "Cold" media engages multiple senses, drawing the viewer in, making them a participant in the media. McLuhan famously predicted that the audience would reject the Vietnam War because it portrayed a "Hot" war on a "Cool" medium (TV), and the audience would feel it too intensely, unlike on a news reel or photograph.

3) The intended content of media is secondary to the media itself. Example: What the printing press printed is less significant than what the press accomplished: Literate man. The media itself transforms man, not the content of the media, which tends to lag a generation behind the technology.

4) As media becomes electronic, and information is more readily available, man will lose his private life and society will become "tribal". He coined the term "The Global Village", but unlike many who use this today, his definition did not necessarily involve peace and harmony. Quite the contrary, his definition was that everyone would be involved with everyone else. This would eventually erode the individual's identity, and in the search to regain identity man would become more violent. He believed terrorists were an example of this. Their violence is a last gasp for identity.

And he wrote about most of this before 1964.

I'll pull up some video when I have the chance. He is quite... quirky.

Thoughts?