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Andrew McLuhan on the Medium as the Message

2025-08-1401:00:04

Andrew McLuhan joins the podcast to talk about the media landscape and how it’s changing with technology (they’re very interrelated)Andrew is the grandson of the famous Marshall McLuhan and is very knowledgeable about the media in all its forms and functions He can be found online here:Enjoy like and subscribe https://medium.com/@andrewmcluhanhttps://x.com/amicusadastra?s=21https://www.patreon.com/mcluhan?https://substack.com/@mcluhanhttps://www.instagram.com/mcinstatutehttps://www.facebook.com/McLuhanInstitute/https://www.themcluhaninstitute.com/Show notes:—ScalePacePatternin The Medium is the Message, Marshall McLuhan argues that the medium with which a message is sent is itself another message; he claims that “the ‘content’ of any medium is always another medium.” (p. 107). To McLuhan, “the message of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs.” (p. 107).John Culkin quote “tools shape us”https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/06/26/shape/“Medium is the message” is poeticThe Medium is the surrounding Environment Dune quote: Ai isn’t bad, it’s the humans behind it trying to control attention “it’s 2025 and most people including the experts have no awareness of a difference between media and content.they use the terms interchangeably.this is the state of the media: it’s invisible”Medium is the steak, content is the protein and fat and flavouring/spices Processed foods are junk food content which have very little positive content and only make you hungry for more content without providing any nutritional value Netflix: slow burn, low engagement extended…TikTok: where everything is a little bit interesting in short bursts, but no sustainable focus Boiling frog technological progress(Counterpoint: the exponential change in water temperature will increase the likelihood of reacting and panicking ) Raise the bath water one degree per minute and transfer between water and are step in foot Uncertainty is a function of changeDigital natives TMIThe McLuhan Institute (too much information)Take what is useful, discard what is uselessSerendipitous discovery open-endedly “ Technology is the most human thing about us “The first duty of life is to be as artificial as possible Homo Technologicus“Predict what has already happened”Elon musk following iain m banks The Culture novels“The future of the future is the present”The future is unpredictable What is Your version of a utopia? The role of artists in every society How to communicate what was previously un/incommunicableAgency and autonomyEnergy wellsLocal maxima Local minimaUnintended consequence and unavoidable consequence should not be conflated “Safe and Effective”. Effective Altruism post-rationalism movement Field guide for adding new technologies, open-endedlyUnderstanding Media Hot and cool The balance and harmony of explore and exploitConverging and diverging Expect to be remixed and requoted and misinterpreted in a game of telephone (This is one reason why talented Internet writers plan for there to be memes or pull quotes.)Free willThe meaning of life