Through a glass darkly 7/29

Tuesday, July 29, 2003

Marshall McLuhan is a name unfamiliar to most people under 40 or so. Maybe they heard something in school about him but were never really taught who he was or why his work was important. Perhaps they recall phrases like "global village" or "The medium is the message" but have never delved any deeper into his work. What brought McLuhan to mind recently was the spate of reports about obesity in America. You might ask why reports of obesity would spark memories of a person who was considered to be the father of media criticism, but McLuhan's work was much deeper than most suspect. McLuhan also looked at the way humans extend themselves. For example, a shovel is an extension of the hand that can scoop more dirt, easier than a hand can. A telescope extends the vision of the eyes. The car can be thought of as an extension of the feet. On the other hand, McLuhan considered the consequences of those extensions. Every extension has an effect that modifies or eliminates, amputates in McLuhan's terms, some other attribute. While cars extend the range we can go in a day that extension changes the way cities are designed to accommodate large numbers of vehicles to the detriment of pedestrians. The ease of travel also changes the way we think of effort. We may feel more effort is involved in walking several blocks than in driving several miles. E-mail makes getting messages back and forth easier but the content is often copied from others efforts. Just as the typewriter ruined penmanship e-mail and spontaneous communication are reducing deeper thinking. All of these changes strengthen and support each other, extending our capabilities in some areas while stunting them in others. I'm not saying it's technology that encourages obesity. I'm saying it's the mindset that shuns physical effort of any kind that results in technology being used just because it exists, not because of any true need to use it. I'm as guilty as the next, I love techno-geeky, labor-saving gadgets, but I've come to the conclusion that I won't be any happier just because I've obtained some electronic whatsit that all the guys have. I do like my toys but I've decided to try to make sure that they cause me to expend more physical effort than if I didn't own them. Also, I now park farther from store doors to get just a little extra exercise (one benefit is that I find plenty of space and don't have to hunt for them). Obesity has many causes but I think we can be sure that McDonald's didn't set out to cause Americans to blimp up. The ease we can get food at one may be a factor affecting the percentage of obese people but that isn't because of some evil plot by the owners of McDonald's, it's the result of individual decisions made freely by people who have a range of choices. A 500-word essay can't delve into the deeper aspects of McLuhan's work, but it can point the way. Let's hope the lawyers don't read McLuhan or in our litigious society car makers, computer companies and any other company that makes our lives softer will face lawsuits for causing obesity.

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