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McLuhanSaysMcLuhanSaysAhot medium isone that extendsone

single sense in highdefinition. High

definition is the state of being well filledwithdata.

Understanding Media, p. 22Hot mediaare, therefore, low in

participation,and cool mediaare high inparticipation orcompletionby theaudience.

Understanding Media, p. 23

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HotHotMediumMedium Single sense, high defn,

lots of information

Little completion oractive participation

Tends to exclude

Leads to specialization,fragmentation

Numbs awareness,lessens total perception

Short, intenseexperiences

Tends to hijack attention

Multiple senses, lowdefn, less info for each

High participation, activecompletion

Tends to include

Leads to generalization,consolidation

Engages awareness,heightens perception

Longer, sustainedexperiences

Actively aware attention

CoolMedium

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Examples:Examples:

Renaissance painting

Photograph

Print (e.g. books)

Popmusic

Lecture

Mosaic or abstractart

Cartoon

Seminar

Speech

Contemporary jazz

HOT COOL

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Abstract art is the art of making the

image, not the art of matching inner

and outer.

Culture is Our Business, p. 88

McLuhan SaysMcLuhan Saysaudience participation or completion

Recall:When truth is reduced to mere matchingof inner and outer, anystatement can bequestioned.

From Clich to Archetype, p. 30

Abstract art is the art ofmaking the

image, not the art of matching inner

and outer.

Culture is Our Business, p. 88

Abstract art is the art ofmaking the

image, not the art ofmatching inner

and outer.

Culture is Our Business, p. 88

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McLuhanSaysMcLuhanSays

Consistency isameaningless term to apply to

anexplorer. Ifhe wanted to be consistent, hewould sayhome.

McLuhanHot & Cool, p. xiii

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McLuhanSaysMcLuhanSays

Dontallow my terminology to putyouoff. I

use language asaprobe notapackage. EvenwhenI seem to be making verydogmaticstatements, I am exploring contours.

Letter to JonathanMiller, May4, 1965

Gordon, Escape Into Understanding, p. 214

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GroupProbesGroupProbes

Why would a supermarket want tohave an in-

store bakery and offer free samples? Think of womens fashion. Ishautcouture

hot, cool, both orneither?

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The ArtistsAwarenessThe ArtistsAwareness

The artististhe maninany field, scientific or

humanistic, who graspsthe implications ofhisactionsand ofnew knowledge inhisowntime. He isthe manofintegral awareness.

Understanding Media, p. 65

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We NowPause foraWe NowPause foraMessageMessage

fromOurSponsorfromOurSponsor

SpawnSir?SpawnSir?Spinster?Spinster?

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Some CoolStuffSome CoolStuff Lander

Hyundai

Levis

Underdaks

Volkswagen

Toyota

Woodpecker

Racism Stop It!

Japp 1

Japp 2

Japp 3

Exam

Apple Big Brother

MovementWithoutConstraint

Trash Mirror

Starry, starry night

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TelevisionorTeletouch?TelevisionorTeletouch?The TV image isnow a mosaicmeshoflight

and dark spots

The TV image requireseachinstantthatweclosethe spacesinthe meshby a convulsivesensuousparticipationthatisprofoundlykineticand tactile

The TV image isone of low definition, inthesense thatitofferslittle detailand a lowdegree ofinformation

Understanding Media, Chapter31

Television

HotorCool?

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The MovingFingerofTelevisionThe MovingFingerofTelevisionButTV is, above all, anextensionofthe sense oftouch

iconographic art uses the eye aswe use ourhand The TV

image evenmore than the icon, isanextensionof

thesense oftouch.

UnderstandingMedia, 333 334

The MovingFingerwrites; and, havingwrit,

Moveson: norallyourPiety norWitShalllure it back tocancelhalfa Line,

NorallyourTearswashout a Word ofitEdward Fitzgerald, The RubaiyatofOmarKhayyam

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SmallGroupsProbeSmallGroupsProbeWhattemperature is television now?

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McLuhanSaysMcLuhanSaysRadio isahot medium Radio will serve as

background-sound or asnoise level control, aswhen the ingenious teenager employs itasameansof privacy.

Understanding Media, p. 312

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McLuhanSaysMcLuhanSaysPuthundreds of extra lineson the TV image,

step up itsvisual intensity to anew hot level.Thismightserve to reverse the whole effectof TV. It might make the TV imagephotographic, slick, like movies: hotand

detached.McLuhanHot & Cool, p. 278

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McLuhanSaysMcLuhanSaysIntensityor highdefinitionengenders

specialism and fragmentation in living

whichexplainswhyany intense experiencemust be reduced to averycool statebefore itcanbe assimilated.

For manypeople, thiscooling system bringsona life-long state of psychic rigor mortis,or ofsomnambulism

Understanding Media, p. 24

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GroupProbesGroupProbesWhat affectsthe temperature of a medium?

What causesmedia temperature tochange?

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SmallGroupsProbe IISmallGroupsProbe IIThe hotting-upofone sense tends toeffect

hypnosis, and the cooling ofallsenses tendstoresult in hallucination.

Understanding Media, p. 32

Overheating amedium induces reversal.

Find examplesand evidence ofmedia that havereversed temperatures.

Describe the situation, the ground and the heatingorcooling influencesand effects.

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ForNextTimeForNextTimeModes of Conversation:

Whatare the effects ofthe various media of

conversation?Are there analogues between the various types

of non-electronic and electronic media ofconversation?

Can we understand the often surprising effectsof electronically mediated communications?