What is the big deal about Marshal McLuhan? In one sentence: he was brilliant in helping us think about media as if we were fishes out of the “media” water.
Some things it’s very hard to get perspective on while one is immersed in them/ it. That’s the case for media, and it’s the case now as we try to “grok” the experience of new powerful connectivity everywhere 24/7/365.
In addition to learning what Marshal had to say, we can open our minds about it all by hearing folks tell their tales who have been removed from the water by travel, or other disconjunction, and tell their tales as fishes in the air. For example, those who are new to the US….. and are full of wonder about not being in their familiar medium (culture) anymore ….experience reality differently than before.
It’s a favorite trope in movies going way back, the alien from outer space like ET, or a person who time travels, etc etc… or even just a young person attending HS for the first time. We are naturally interested to see the “everyday” in a new context that makes it all new to us again.
This is a big topic, and after one has immersed themselves in McLuhan, these folk’s stories about experiences being fishes “out of the water” in the US might help us understand what he’s saying. Quora, btw, has a lot of interesting conversations ongoing. This link may be different as more people answer over time, and then I’m not sure how long before it goes away. You can sign up for yourself. Free.
And the secret is we’re all fishes out of water everywhere we are in today’s world, trying to get perspective and trying to understand intuitively how to live in this new environment. T3YBC wants to “figure this stuff” out so we can “help” guide learning on this new planet we find ourselves on.
What’s the hardest thing to get used to in this brave new world?