Strict cause-effect relationships may not be apparent. The effects of particular technologies on cognition, knowledge, and society at large are often quite subtle and complexly woven.
In this post I want to expand on this issue a bit by looking specifically at the advent of the technology of writing and print. (This topic was also covered in a recent episode of his podcast). I was reminded of this by reading a recent column by Ezra Klein titled: I didn’t really want it to be true, but the medium really is the message. As McLuhan famously said “The Medium IS the Message.” Image created by Dall-E 2 from the prompt “Marshall McLuhan with machines and technology, expressive digital art”
Different technologies (or media) engender different mind-sets or ways of thinking these characteristics are inherent in the nature of the media itself and, thus, often invisible to the users of these media. The truth of the matter is that technologies are NOT neutral with regard to its effects on individual and social cognition. they are mere “pipes” or “conduits” by which information is passed from one individual to one or more people. One of the greatest myths about media is that they are neutral, i.e. Two additional posts followed: Four and five The medium is the message: Unpacking McLuhan The third post builds on a piece written by Neil Postman over 30 years ago and shows how the questions and issues it raises are still relevant for us today. This, the first post, uses the invention of writing and print to unpack the meaning of McLuhan’s statement, “The medium is the message.” The second post, focuses on a story by Ted Chiang that takes these academic ideas about the psychological and social implications of the advent of a new technology and frames them within two human narratives and in that process goes deeper into than any academic article ever could.
Unpacking game story explained series#
This is the first of a series of blog posts about how media influence our thinking.
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