Marshall McLuhan is best remembered for two things - the "global village" and "the medium is the message" (or as his book is titled "the medium is the mAssage"). His two well known theories were presented in Understanding Media which was first published in 1964.
Its an entertaining read with lots of sloganeering, little reference to anything anybody else ever wrote and, when there are other writers mentioned, they are usually dismissed as fools. His citations are appalling and its impossible to verify his reading of their works as he cites no page numbers even when he cites the name of a book he is dismissing as rubbish. His arguments are rarely backed up and can, in many cases, be dismissed as nonsense very easily.
Paradoxically some of his arguments are fruitful. Some of his ideas do seem to be a spark that could grow if he could follow them through. in this blog I will summarize each chapter and hopefully draw out the arguments which have some depth to them.
