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Marshall McLuhan made many predictions in his seminal 1964 publication, Understanding Media: Extensions of Man. Among them were his predictions that the Internet would become a «Global Village», making us more interconnected than television; the closing of the gap between consumers and producers; the elimination of space and time as barriers to communication; and the melting of national borders. He is also famously remembered for coining the expression «the medium is the message». These predictions form the genesis of this new volume by Robert Logan, a friend and colleague who worked with McLuhan. In Understanding New Media Logan expertly updates Understanding Media to analyze the «new media» McLuhan foreshadowed and yet was never able to analyze or experience. The book is designed to reach a new generation of readers as well as appealing to scholars and students who are familiar with Understanding Media. Visit the companion website, understandingnewmedia.org, for the latest updates on this book.
About the author
Robert K. Logan is Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Toronto and Chief Scientist of the Strategic Innovation Lab at the Ontario College of Art and Design. He collaborated and published with McLuhan, which influenced this publication and his many other books including The Alphabet Effect, The Sixth Language, The Extended Mind, Collaborate to Compete and What is Information? He brings his experiences in politics and the business world to his understanding of media new and old.
Summary
Marshall McLuhan predictions that the Internet would become a Global Village, making us more interconnected than television; the closing of the gap between consumers and producers; the elimination of space and time as barriers to communication; and the melting of national borders. This book is designed to reach a new generation of readers.
Report
«'Understanding New Media' is a necessary and up to date upgrade of Marshall McLuhan's theories in the context of a new digital media ecology. Bob Logan is one of the best interpreters of McLuhan's 360º vision of media, technology and culture, and he has enriched this wide- angle perspective by including categories from biology, complexity and evolution fields. In a historical moment characterized by a hyper- specialization of science - media studies are not the exception - this integrated approach is essential for understanding new media.» (Carlos A. Scolari, Professor, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona)
«Marshall McLuhan's ideas on media have stood the test of time remarkably well. In many respects they are more relevant today than in the time of writing. Thus, an update of his classic work 'Understanding Media' from 1964 makes perfect sense. And I could think of no better candidate for the task than Robert Logan. His first-hand knowledge of McLuhan combined with his straightforward and lucid style of writing makes 'Understanding New Media' extremely useful as a guide to McLuhan's thoughts as well as our present world of 'New Media'.» (Mogens Olesen, University of Copenhagen)
