Understanding McLuhan/Understanding McLuhan (1996)(Voyager)[Mac-PC].iso/pc/mcluhan.dxr/07178_Field_TCUM T743.txt

Text File | 1996-04-10 | 858b | 15 lines

should be so much more compressed and condensed than a
hot medium like film. But it is well known that a half minute of
television is equal to three minutes of stage or vaudeville. The
same is true of manuscript in contrast to print. The “cool”
manuscript tended toward compressed forms of statement,
aphoristic and allegorical. The “hot” print medium expanded
expression in the direction of simplification and the “spelling-
out” of meanings. Print speeded up and “exploded” the
compressed script into simpler fragments.

     A cool medium, whether the spoken word or the
manuscript or TV, leaves much more for the listener or user to
do than a hot medium. If the medium is of high definition,
participation is low. If the medium is of low intensity, the
participation is high. Perhaps this is why lovers mumble so.