This passage, from the 1964 book, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man was interesting yet puzzling. I couldn't quite grasp completely what McLuhan meant by hot and cold mediums. My understanding was this:
hot medium = one that is projecting in "high def", in other words not requiring participation from the audience. Intense and influential, sometimes too extreme for society/people to handle.
cold medium = "low def", requiring participation for it's effectiveness, therefore less powerful as a stand-alone method of conveying ideas but nevertheless integral to society/people.
It seems like the notion of hot/cold medium reflects the history industrialized society changing with the advent of radio, film, and TV. This reminded me of the Futurist Manifesto, describing the fast-paced changes that confronted the industrial world during the early 20th century. I wonder what McLuhan's view on the Internet would have been because the Internet among other technologies has been impactful in creating today's society of seemingly ever-expanding modes of information and connection.
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