Understanding McLuhan/Understanding McLuhan (1996)(Voyager)[Mac-PC].iso/pc/mcluhan.dxr/06682_Field_TCUM T247.txt

Text File | 1996-04-10 | 901b | 15 lines

invention of Euclidean space is, itself, a direct result of the
action of the phonetic alphabet on the human senses. Nor had
he realized that number is an extension of the physical body of
man, an extension of our sense of touch. The “infinity of
functional processes,” into which Spengler gloomily saw
traditional number and geometry dissolving, is, also, the
extension of our central nervous system in electrical
technologies. We need not feel grateful to apocalyptic writers
like Spengler, who see our technologies as cosmic visitors from
outer space. The Spenglers are tribally entranced men who
crave the swoon back into collective unconsciousness and all
the intoxication of number. In India the idea of darshan —of the
mystical experience of being in very large gatherings—stands at
the opposite end of the spectrum from the Western idea of
conscious values.