The Medium Is Still the Message (Paperback)

Paperback. The Medium Is Still the Message presents Marshall McLuhan, history's foremost philosopher of media, as the indispensable guide for understanding the impact of technologies. McLuhan (1911-1980) shows that media are not simply tools of communication: they create new environments with transformational effects on politics, economics, culture, identity, religion, and nature. Grant N. Havers argues that McLuhan's key insight - "the medium is the message" - is even more relevant today as humanity grapples with the unintended effects of new media. As McLuhan demonstrated, a lack of understanding about the power of media technologies allows these entities to become idols that enslave their makers. At the same time, they encourage human beings to act like gods who can reinvent reality itself, all the while leading to the decline of literacy, the weakening of democracy, the resurgence of tribalism within the global village, and the elusive search for identity in cyberspace. The Medium Is Still the Message ultimately offers good news: using McLuhan's insights, human beings can escape the technological cave that they have fashioned for themselves. "Examines the life and ideas of Marshall McLuhan and helps us to understand the effects of media on us, with reference to our current age"-- Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.…