McLuhan and the Threat of Techonology

We already touched on my group’s passage in class, but I think I would be good to post a few more notes about it since it relates to the threat and danger of electric technology. The passage begins on page 17 of the McLuhan, midway through the bottom paragraph with the words “The American stake”, then continues through the following paragraph until “The serious artist is the only person able to encounter technology with impunity, just because he is an expert aware of the changes in sense perception.” In the beginning of our passage, McLuhan emphasizes the danger electric technology poses to all aspects of American society, and he says that perhaps one of the reasons it is so dangerous is that humans are unaware of the danger it poses (it is “quite invisible”, “quite unrecognizable” to us). Precisely because the content of this new electric technology is the same as the content in other medium, we are unaware of the effect this new medium has on us. He writes, “For the ‘content’ of a medium is like the juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind” (18). In other words, though we are focused on the content, the effect of the form/medium in which the content is sent is extremely important.

In the next paragraph, McLuhan reiterates that although we may claim to see what is being sent to us through electric technology, we cannot realize or avoid the effect it has on us. McLuhan gives the example that although we may say, “Personally, I pay no attention to ads,” we do because “The effects of technology do not occur at the level of opinions or concepts but alter sense ratios or patterns of perception steadily and without any resistance” (18). Electric technology cannot be fought off, for it alters the fundamental sense and thought processes we have.

The problems/questions MucLuhan still raises are exactly what threat electric technology poses. Yes, it is a “new” form and relays content in a new way, but why is the sending of material through electric technology so much more threatening than other forms? Also, this is a small question that’s been bothering me, but what is the difference between “electric” and “electronic”? McLuhan uses the word “electric” to describe technology, and I keep substituting “electronic” even though I’m not certain that’s correct.