Reading McLuhan’s chapter about media reminded me of how people are always chaising after innovations and by doing so, they many times do not realize they might be kicking the chair under themselves in the future, or somebody else. And as McLuhan said, it is not the fault of media, as they are only a message of something else, in this case of human’s intentions for progress, let’s say. The result of innovation leads us to a quicker world, the “world”, as our ancestors knew it, we know as the “global village”. We, in a way, have to carry the weight of this age on our shoulders. We bear the knowledge of sins that are our own, but of the rest of the world too. This is, I believe, a huge kick into the chair of our successors. A huge price to pay for innovation indeed.
Week 2: Response to “The Medium is the Message” by Marshall McLuhan
In Marshall McLuhan’s “The Medium is the Message”, McLuhan introduces the concept of the medium as being a platform that has meaning and information that is subconsciously translated to the public. The message and the medium work in a symbiotic relationship, influencing each other, and the eventual interpretation that is picked up by the audience. McLuhan introduces multiple examples such as the lightbulb to illustrate what he really means. The lightbulb is used continuously throughout the passage to explain how the medium can affect the audience even without content. Rarely do people think about light as a medium, however, without light, there will be many functions that will cease to exist, such as brain surgery. McLuhan also describes mediums to be “made strong and intense because its given another medium as content” such as television, which portrays operas, plays or music videos. This is interesting because McLuhan reminds us not to focus only on the content that is being fed to the audience, but also the medium that is being used, as it may reveal more about the message than we initially realise.
Week 2: Response to “The Medium is the Message” McLuhan – Kyra Bachman
The article “The Medium is the Message” by Marshall McLuhan argues that the medium in which information is presented influences the audience’s perspective. The medium shapes and controls the scale of human association and action and is important to effectively communicate a message. To exemplify, forms of physics, painting, and poetry all include different forms of media in which they communicate a certain message. The author explains that then through these mediums people retain some sense of the whole pattern and then function as a form of unity.
Interestingly, this article explains how this importance of media, especially technological, has major formative power on society. I interpret this passage as aiming to bring attention to the fact that people tend to focus on the obvious, being the content, but lose sight of the importance of the underlying and subtle changes. McLuhan explains that media should be valued similarly to coal, cotton, or wheat being a major staple in the economy and a driving factor of either prosperity of instability. As society’s mode of operation change, and as we advance technologically, it is only then that we realize the societal implications of the medium. I found this article intriguing because it seems like most would argue that people should pay attention to the content rather then the media, but this article makes a compelling case as to why the medium in which the content is conveyed is the most valuable.
Week 2: Response to Marshall McLuhan (Shirley Liu)
In “The Medium Is the Message”, Marshall McLuhan highlights the importance of the medium over the content that is created using the medium. McLuhan gives many examples of mediums that are undervalued and often times overlooked when we are given exposure to the final product. Electric light used for brain surgery and night baseball is a medium that McLuhan says “shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action.” He continues to claim that the medium does not gain recognition until branded by a big name company. Learning more about this topic has changed my perspective on how we view content and has allowed me to gain some insight on the use of mediums and their importance. I have never thought about content in this manner so it is interesting to learn about it through McLuhan’s thoughts.
Another line that interests me is General David Sarnoff’s statement on the innate values of technology, “We are too prone to make technological instruments the scapegoats for the sins of those who wield them. The products of modern science are not in themselves good or bad; it is the way they are used that determines their value.” Sarnoff made me question how we view technology in our lives today, often categorized with negativity and described as an “obsession.” However, when people discuss technology, oftentimes the first thought we have is what is closely related to us and used by the average person, their mobile phone and laptop. Sometimes people focus on the negatives and so the advances of technology are overlooked when evaluating technology in our lives.
Lab/reciation 1 – Sarah Waxman
Materials:
- 1 * Breadboard
- 1 * LM7805 Voltage Regulator
- 1 * Buzzer
- 1 * Push-Button Switch
- 1 * Arcade Button
- 1 * 220 ohm Resistor
- 1 * LED
- 1 * 100 nF (0.1uF) Capacitor
- 1 * 10K ohm Variable Resistor (Potentiometer)
- 1 * 12 volt power supply
- 1 * Barrel Jack
- 1 * Multimeter
- Several Jumper Cables (Hook-up Wires)
Relevant Components:
Capacitor: Necessary for the voltage regulator
Voltage regulator: there to ensure that the voltage that reaches the resistor(s) and LED/speaker does not exceed the amount that it needs (which would result in those components being burnt). It reduces the initial voltage (12V) down (to 5V).
Resistor: functions to reduce the voltage that will ultimately reach the LED/speaker.
Potentiometer: only in Circuit 3, serves as another resistor that can change the amount of voltage that it absorbs/that eventually reaches the LED so that the LED can reflect that amount as its brilliance.
Switch/Button: function is to close the circuit; i.e. make the LED light up, speaker make a sound.
Cables: used to connect all the components on the breadboard.
12 volt: serves as the power supply that fuels the entire circuit
We did not encounter any issues with the circuits but once, when one of the cables erroneously connected two components on the breadboard (between the voltage regulator and the speaker in Circuit 1). We corrected this by unplugging the circuit from the power source (the voltage), and connecting the cable to the correct line on the breadboard to connect the 7805 to the speaker and then plugged the circuit back into power. The circuit then functioned properly.
By definition a circuit includes interactivity. For the circuits to function correctly, all the components must interact with each other. Moreover, there is a further interaction between the human and the circuit when the person closes the circuit by clicking the switch/button, which initiates the ensuing continuous interaction between all the previously mentioned components that make the LED turn on, the speaker sound, etc.
Interaction design and computing can be used to create interactive art by allowing the spectator to become a part of the art, or make the viewer a necessary component for the art to achieve its purpose. For example, an art installation that mirrors the viewer’s actions forces the viewer to become a part of the art’s ultimate purpose: this is an interaction between viewer and art and the computational design that is behind the artwork.