War and Peace in the Global Village

Hi, just started on McLuhans book, took me like 20 minutes to get through 4 pages, but I got into it and the pace pickd up a little. Anyways, here are some interesting points that I came across. In addition quotes that i think might be usefull at some point.

He describes New Technologies as "Self amputations of our own being" he used this point in his book "understanding the Media" to, it illustrated the same point that
"all social changes are the effect of new tecnologies" thes were found on page 4 lines 13-15.

In addition I found this interesting;
"The West shall shake the East awake....
while ye have the night for morn...." (I still dont realy understand WTF this is on about)
James Joyce (finnigans Wake) page 4 line 5-6 in war and peace.....

The quote describes a inevitable meeting of east and west, to my understanding the "Awake" seems to mean that for example by looking back at our past we persistently meet them with increased "wakefullness" or understanding/critique. I thini that is one possibnle reading that McLuhan tried to describe.

He eventualy goes on to talk about the work of Bosh and his reaction to the introduction of Print in the C16th. The focus being on changes in the sensory mode, Heironymus Bosh produced paintings that expressed pain and confusion, this was his reaction to the feeling at the time as people struggled to cope and addapt to the introduction of print and the confusion it caused.

I like the description of how jarring we can sometimes find new technologies, as confusing/painfull/shocking or disturbing. Maybee we could force all of these ellements into our presentation? Just a thought.

Next point: "Today with Tellevision as a much more powerfull medium, pain has created musicall genres from Rock to Beatle that are exceedingly unpleasent to sensibillities earlier orientes to less demmanding technological environments."

"Hieronumus Bosh painted the new confusion of spaces"-"His Horror pictures are a faithfull artisitc recreation of the pain and missery that resulted from the new tecnology"
note: if it is printed then surely it must be true?

"Today the blues sound like carressing nursary lullabies" I just liked this quote as a point of contrast thats all.

Otto Lowenstein (bioligist) "The Senses" "penguin Books"

"wonder wether one can ever see something which one has had no previous knowledge"
I liked this quote to and feel it is probarbly a lot more relevent.

Example: Blinde people and a Biologist. "believing is seeing" as I will now explain.
*Blinde people having sight restored to them "Shrink at first from the wealth of aditional stimulation, longing at times for he relative seclusion of their former worlds." page 10

I wonder, does this bare any comparison to Somni? does she react in this way, i think it might be the opposite, she revvels in it, but what was her initial reaction? she was fearfull and resserved I think with her awakening, altho it never specifies exactly when that was? The experiment that awoke her, is that her technology?

"one of the most striking facts is that it takes a lot of time and effort before they recognise the objects around them as sepperate items-"at first sight" the world looks like a flat extension of meaningless patches of light. page 10
however
"one by one objects grow out of this chaotic world, and remain unmistakibly seperate once they have been Identified"

Biology, when looking through a microscope "the shapes defie description, untill the demonstrator has drawn on paper one or the other specific objects to be searched for" when looking in a microscope"

This is how we feel when deeling with adjusting to the unique sensory environment of new technology"