Day5 Notes
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The document discusses different concepts related to technology and its impact on society: 1) It discusses Marshall McLuhan's concept of "extensions of man" and how technology has extended human capabilities, first in space and later by connecting people globally through electric technology. 2) It questions what constitutes an "extension of man" and whether the internet can be considered like a hammer or Germany. 3) It discusses how McLuhan saw technology altering human relations and references how the medium impacts the message more than the actual content or product.
Day5 Notes
- 1. Instructor: Adam T. Perzynski, PhD January 26, 2009
- 2. EXTENSIONS OF MAN USSO 286I
- 3. Extensions of Man “ Online video is just another way that people can make their opinions known.” EXTREME SADFACE Do we even know what the internet is? Do we even know what online videos are? Are they more like hammers? Or like Germany?
- 4. Extensions of Man “ After three thousand years of explosion, by means of fragmentary and mechanical technologies, the Western world is imploding. During the mechanical ages we had extended our bodies in space. Today, after more than a century of electric technology, we have extended our central nervous system itself in a global embrace, abolishing both space and time as far as our planet is concerned. Rapidly, we approach the final phase of the extensions of man - the technological simulation of consciousness, when the creative process of knowing will be collectively and corporately extended to the whole of human society, much as we have already extended our senses and our nerves by the various media.”
- 5. Extensions of Man What is an extension of man? Is the internet like a hammer? Is the internet like Germany? How are these extensions of man?
- 6. Extensions of Man How do “extensions of man” fragment human action?
- 7. The Medium is the Message “ In terms of the ways in which the machine altered our relations to one another and to ourselves, it attered not in the least whether it turned out cornflakes or Cadillacs.” What is the medium here? Is it the machine? What is the internet churning out? Does it matter what the internet churns out?
- 8. The Medium is the Message Can the messages of Free Hugs and Everyday be successfully conveyed through another medium? Are these good examples of how online video is different from television and movies? Are there other better examples? How much does the medium influence our perception of the message? What message?
- 9. The Medium is the Message “ For instance, I'm currently procrastinating on this comment by switching over to YouTube and watching strange videos that I find funny. The Internet, and online video in particular, have made my world more quickly moving. What does that imply for everything else in my life? Is that a good lesson?” Thanks to Joe for his reflexive comment!