Message & Mediums

I enjoyed reading McLuhan’s thoughts about the relationship between a message and a medium. This was one of my favorite readings from the semester.

In this post, I want to highlight some of the parts I found to be the most interesting. This piece caused me to think about technology in ways I have never done before.

Understanding the larger, cultural effects of new technologies is very important.

Lights, Camera, Message

The first page of this piece was really intriguing to me.

In this section, McLuhan provides the example of a lightbulb. The lightbulb simply emits light. McLuhan goes on to explain some of the larger effects of the invention of artificial light, such as nighttime baseball games.

McLuhan states that “the message of electric light is that we can work inside and at night if we desire, without ever imagining that this would be difficult.”

Reading this example caused me to think about other inventions that have a greater impact on society beyond their base function. One example I thought of was the invention of video cameras. Let me do something I haven’t done much this semester: make a connection to my beloved basketball.

Video cameras have allowed us to document historical events and create evidence in ways that would have never been possible. In 1962 Wilt Chamberlin (allegedly) scored 100 points in a singular NBA game; the most points in a single game in NBA history. However, there is no footage of that game happening. This had caused a lot of people to doubt the legitimacy of this event.

Now, with cameras, we have proof of everything. I always think about how much easier a criminal in the 1800s had it. No cameras, no surveillance. Now, there is a camera pointing your way at all times.

Intelligence vs Google

Another part of the reading I found interesting was Nicholas Carr’s assertions about true intelligence.

Carr spoke about how the invention of Google has affected our ability to deep dive into text. Instead, we often bounce around from website to website skimming information. Carr brought up a question surrounding the true intelligence of Jeopardy contestants. Are they super smart simply because they can recall the baseline answer to a question?

Again, I want to relate this to basketball discourse. When I debate the NBA with people, a lot of folks will pull random stats they find from google searches. Then, when we debate face to face, they do not truly know the history of the game or any facts off the top of their head.

It is very easy to say “I know basketball” because you can look up any supporting fact you need on Google. It is a whole other thing to truly know the history of the sport because you put time into learning the game.