Excerpts from Understanding Media, The Extensions of Man, Part I.

In these excerpts, McLuhan makes a comparison between the mechanical and electric age. Now existing in the electric age, McLuhan explains that we are more conscious of technology’s impact and consequences than before. The Age of Anxiety also refers to the electric implosion resulting in society’s conscious participation.

McLuhan demonstrates that humans typically bring all of their attention to the content rather than the medium itself. He focuses on the example of the electric light and that if it does not produce some sort of message such as a lit up advertisement billboard than it is not considered a medium. What our society tends to ignore is that in fact the electric light serves as a medium hence we could not be able to perform our daily activities without such a medium. He also introduces cubism which allows us to better visualize aspects of a medium and message as a whole. In this way, society is able to view the pattern and process in unity.

A contrast, by De Tocqueville, of France and America is later provided by McLuhan. He simply explains that various countries/cultures have unique norms that of which technology impacts differently.

Hot medium and cool medium are terms in which McLuhan later defines. A hot medium is one which does not require much participation from the audience. Examples of hot media would be a movie or the radio. The telephone and/ or seminar are examples of a cool medium hence the audience’s full awareness and participation is necessary. McLuhan mentions TV being a cool medium, yet I would consider it a hot one?