Archive for the ‘McLuhan’ tag
Understanding Media Reading Response
The medium is the message
In this chapter he introduces the concept of Electronic technology and the
difference between hot and cool medium.
Electronic technologies are new concepts that are emerging constantly. The
text introduces us to how these new ideas are in constant change, adjusting
with a society’s overload of information.
The author also mentions how this affects technology, senses, rations and
patterns. In order to explain this, he quotes Professor J.U Nef “the total
wars of our time have been the result of a series of intellectual mistakes”.
The effect of electronically technology is at first anxiety, followed by
alarm, resistance and exhaustion.
I agree with the author, when he describes cotton and oil, like radio and
tv, become fixed charges of the community.
The community depends on these means in order to organize and have social patterns and human senses.
In the human senses, all media are extensions like tv video radio, computer,
etc; this extension changes the perception of societies and their way of
thinking.
As I stated before, McLuhan identifies two types of media: hot media and
cool media. It refers to the degree of participation. A good example of hot
medium is the radio, which is also described as high definition medium . He
describes speech as an example of cool medium of low definitions because so
little is given and so much has to be filled in by the listener