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Lum notes from BOOOOOKKKEEEERRR!!! (part one)
Feb 28 2008, 12:45 PM EST | Post edited: Feb 28 2008, 12:45 PM EST
-Not only form but the structure of symbolic systems mold the way in which we interact with the world around us.

-Fundamental changes occur when there is a change in a society's dominant medium for communication.

-Media ecology must be understood as the study of (man-made) environments on two levels.

-psychological perceptual level: we perceive our environment based upon our senses. Communication mediums are a sensory extension so they are thus biased towards the sense which they most emphasize (ex. Television is biased towards visual and, to a lesser degree, aural senses).

-On the symbolic level, all mediums are constituted by a particular symbolic system. In other words, some things that have symbolic meaning are more emphasized in some mediums than in others. This symbolic system in turn structures the thought of those who utilize the medium.

-an important note is that people do not always separate sensorial form from symbolic structure when the interact with a medium. This means that both the symbolic and sensorial form of a medium interact to shape the perceptions of those who interact with them.

We live in a multimedia society. This greatly complicates matters in as much as we must examine multiple sensorial-symbolic systems interactions in order to understand the way in which such systems influence the means by which people construct their perception of their environment.

-This of course means that we must also examine the interaction between different mediums differing sensorial-symbolic systems as well. As an amalgamation of multiple mediums (and therefore, multiple sensorial-symbolic systems) the internet must be studied not as such, and not as a single medium. An understanding of the dynamics between the multiple mediums that are utilized by the internet therefore becomes critical. Do you find this valuable?    
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