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"I don't know who discovered water, but it sure wasn't a fish." -Marshall McLuhan. |
“The
Playboy interview: Marshall McLuhan"
Read Section 1 – Pg. 1 – 10 and work through the following
challenges:
1. Define media.
2. What did McLuhan mean when he discussed media as an extension of man?
3. Explain what aspect of man the following extend:
•
table
• gun
• bicycle
• clothes
• fork, knife, spoon.
• pen
4. “The medium is the message.” MM: Understanding Media. What does this mean?
5. Outline the three major technological transitions and their effect on man.
6. What is Narcissus narcosis (also known as the narcosis of Narcissus)?
7. What is “acoustic space”?
8. Why are we always one step behind our view of the world? What examples can you provide to support this?
9. Why is it that McLuhan’s message has become more relevant than ever in the “electronic age”?
10. Why was it the phonetic alphabet, not the writings of Babylonian, Mayan or Egyptian man that caused such a profound change in man’s perception of the world?
11.
Explain how Gutenberg’s printing press led to:
• Rise of the nation state
• Industrial Revolution