Extensions and Amputations

I find Mcluhan’s article “The Medium is the Message”  quite helpful for me to understand the effects of technology on our culture and life, and especially the relationship between the “medium” and the “content.” And the two terms extensions and amputations are what impressed me most after reading this article and the other two. As he said, the invention and development of any medium is the extension of ourselves, which results from “the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs.” For instance, the automobile can be regarded as the extension of our feet. They help people to travel wherever we want faster and easier. The television is the extension of our eyes and ears, it helps us to see and hear stories from all around the world and breaks the barrier of time and place. With the help of these technology and medium, our scopes are widely extended. However, while people pay most of their attention to the extension these medium brought, they always ignore the accompanying amputation. The extension of the automobile will “amputate” the joyful time of walking, body-exercising and the fresh air we breathe in. The television extends our vision and horizon, it also amputates the time of  getting together with families and the chance of experiencing and exploring the real world. Thus, although undoutedly, the technology had extended the human body, the dangers and negative effects of the over-extended technology should be given more attention.