--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: New media may at first appear as mere…" description: "\"New media may at first appear as mere codes of transmission for older achievement and established patterns of thought. But nobody could make the mistak..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/marshall-mcluhan-641_achievement_new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-co_2365094.jpg" --- # New media may at first appear as mere codes of… ![“New media may at first appear as mere codes of transmission for older achievement and established patterns of thought. But nobody could make the mistake of supposing that phonetic writing merely made it possible for the Greeks to set down in visual order what they had though and known before…” quote by Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/marshall-mcluhan-641_achievement_new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-co_2365094.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/marshall-mcluhan-641_achievement_new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-co_2365094.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/marshall-mcluhan-641_achievement_new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-co_2365094.jpg) > “New media may at first appear as mere codes of transmission for older achievement and established patterns of thought. But nobody could make the mistake of supposing that phonetic writing merely made it possible for the Greeks to set down in visual order what they had though and known before writing. In the same way printing made literature possible. It did not merely encode literature.” [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. New media reshapes thought, not just transmits existing ideas. **In simple terms:** Media changes how we think, not just passes info. Key Takeaway Recognize media’s transformative power. Themes media technology culture Mood critical reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - education - advertising - political discourse Key Concepts information theory cognitive shift Questions to Reflect On - How does a medium influence your perception? - Can media be neutral? A Different Perspective It can also reinforce existing power structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [Code](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/code/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [New media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-media/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [New media may at first appear as mere codes of transmission for older achievement and established patterns of thought. But nobody could make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-codes-of-transmission-for-older/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [For now, I'm supposing that all movements are equal, which they're not, except in this respect: that none of them gives a damn about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/for-now-i-m-supposing-that-all-movements-are-equal-which-they-re-not/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [Happiness, the goal to which we all are striving is reached by endeavoring to make the lives of others happy, and if by renouncing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/happiness-the-goal-to-which-we-all-are-striving-is-reached-by/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The Beauty of the Mountain is hidden for all those who try to discover it from the top, supposing that, one way or an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/the-beauty-of-the-mountain-is-hidden-for-all-those-who-try-to/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [If you are walking backward, away from something you think is a mistake, you may be right in supposing it is a mistake, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/if-you-are-walking-backward-away-from-something-you-think-is-a/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [It were better, never to look beyond the present material world. By supposing it to contain the principle of its order within itself, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/it-were-better-never-to-look-beyond-the-present-material-world-by/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Given the complexity of interpersonal relationships and institutions and the complexity of co-ordination of the actions of many people, it is enormously unlikely that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nozick/given-the-complexity-of-interpersonal-relationships-and-institutions/) [Robert Nozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nozick/) > [The Christian life is not just our own private affair. If we have been born again into God's family, not only has he become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/the-christian-life-is-not-just-our-own-private-affair-if-we-have-been/) [John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/) > [The chief difficulty of modern theoretical physics resides not in the fact that it expresses itself almost exclusively in mathematical symbols, but in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celia-green/the-chief-difficulty-of-modern-theoretical-physics-resides-not-in-the/) [Celia Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celia-green/) > [The scientific method of examining facts is not peculiar to one class of phenomena and to one class of workers; it is applicable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pearson/the-scientific-method-of-examining-facts-is-not-peculiar-to-one-class/) [Karl Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pearson/) > [One of the problems of taking things apart and seeing how they work - supposing you're trying to find out how a cat works--you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/one-of-the-problems-of-taking-things-apart-and-seeing-how-they-work/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Failure is not the falling down but the staying down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pickford/failure-is-not-the-falling-down-but-the-staying-down/) [Mary Pickford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pickford/) > [If I am right in supposing it to be comparatively easy to make capital-goods so abundant that the marginal efficiency of capital is zero,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/if-i-am-right-in-supposing-it-to-be-comparatively-easy-to-make/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Honesty is always the best policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/honesty-is-always-the-best-policy/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [the usual attitude of Christians towards Jews is - I hardly know whether to say more impious or more stupid, when viewed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-usual-attitude-of-christians-towards-jews-is-i-hardly-know/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## More by Marshall McLuhan > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Language always preserves a play or figure/ground relation between experience, and perception and its replay in expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/language-always-preserves-a-play-or-figure-ground-relation-between/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Electronic man has no physical body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/electronic-man-has-no-physical-body/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [I am curious to know what would happen if art were suddenly seen for what it is, namely, exact information of how to rearrange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/i-am-curious-to-know-what-would-happen-if-art-were-suddenly-seen-for/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. To the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/with-the-arrival-of-electric-technology-man-has-extended-or-set/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [“The constant broadcast and reception of ghostly images via radio and television, according to this notion, had weakened the sense, particularly among youth, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-constant-broadcast-and-reception-of-ghostly-images-via-radio-and/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Every innovation scraps its immediate predecessor and retrieves still older figures – it causes floods of antiques or nostalgic art forms and stimulates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/every-innovation-scraps-its-immediate-predecessor-and-retrieves-still/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The family circle has widened. The worldpool of information fathered by the electric media--movies, Telstar, flight--far surpassesany possible influence mom and dad can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-family-circle-has-widened-the-worldpool-of-information-fathered/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Like primitive, we now live in a global village of our own making, a simultaneous happening. It doesn't necessarily mean harmony and peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/like-primitive-we-now-live-in-a-global-village-of-our-own-making-a/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Professionalism is environmental. Amateurism is anti-environmental. Professionalism merges the individual into patterns of total environment. Amateurism seeks the development of the total awareness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/professionalism-is-environmental-amateurism-is-anti-environmental/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The visual power of the phonetic alphabet is the translate other languages into itself is part of its power to invade right hemisphere (oral)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-visual-power-of-the-phonetic-alphabet-is-the-translate-other/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [New media may at first appear as mere codes of transmission for older achievement and established patterns of thought. But nobody could make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-codes-of-transmission-for-older/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Youth instinctively understand the present environment - the electric drama. It lives mythically and in depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/youth-instinctively-understand-the-present-environment-the-electric/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Our motor car is our supreme form of privacy when we are away from home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/our-motor-car-is-our-supreme-form-of-privacy-when-we-are-away-from/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The scientist rigorously defends his right to be ignorant of almost everything except his specialty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-right-to-be-ignorant-of-almost/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) [Explore all 433 Marshall McLuhan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## More Achievement quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/) Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It's tragic what America has become because there is a great segment of society that now resents luxury and success and achievement by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-leach/it-s-tragic-what-america-has-become-because-there-is-a-great-segment/) [Robin Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-leach/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) Chaz Brenchley > [The main substantive achievement of neoliberalism has been to redistribute rather than to generate wealth and income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/the-main-substantive-achievement-of-neoliberalism-has-been-to/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [Every profession has an ideology and a drive for power that goes far beyond its achievements and it is the task of democracy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/every-profession-has-an-ideology-and-a-drive-for-power-that-goes-far/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [“If you find a way where there seems to be no way, that’s what we call miracle, not personal achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/if-you-find-a-way-where-there-seems-to-be-no-way-that-s-what-we-call/) [Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) Nicholas Roerich > [Every scene is a challenge. There are technical challenges, but often it's the simplest challenge where you feel a sense of achievement when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-deakins/every-scene-is-a-challenge-there-are-technical-challenges-but-often/) [Roger Deakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-deakins/) [Browse all 3,867 Achievement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "New media may at first appear as mere codes of transmission for older achievement and established patterns of thought. But nobody could make the mistake of supposing that phonetic writing merely made it possible for the Greeks to set down in visual order what they had though and known before writing. In the same way printing made literature possible. It did not merely encode literature.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marshall McLuhan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-codes-of-transmission-for-older-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Achievement" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-codes-of-transmission-for-older-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/marshall-mcluhan-641_achievement_new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-co_2365094.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/marshall-mcluhan-641_achievement_new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-co_2365094.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/marshall-mcluhan-641_achievement_new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-co_2365094.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“New media may at first appear as mere codes of transmission for older achievement and established patterns…” — Marshall McLuhan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Marshall McLuhan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "New media may at first appear...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-codes-of-transmission-for-older-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-codes-of-transmission-for-older-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```