--- 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/779/marshall-mcluhan-641_media_new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-co_84635.png" --- # 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 o” quote by Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/marshall-mcluhan-641_media_new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-co_84635.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/marshall-mcluhan-641_media_new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-co_84635.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/marshall-mcluhan-641_media_new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-co_84635.png) > “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 o” [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 initially seem like simple transmission tools extending past achievements, yet they fundamentally reshape cognition and cultural patterns. **In simple terms:** Media reshape thought, not just convey it. Key Takeaway Media are cognitive extensions. Themes media theory cognitive impact cultural evolution communication technology history Mood thoughtful analytical Type theoretical observational When to use this quote - adopting a new platform - teaching with digital tools - analyzing social media trends - designing communication strategies Key Concepts transmission encoding cognition culture Practical Applications - media literacy curricula - strategic communication planning Questions to Reflect On - How does a medium influence the way we think? - What are the hidden effects of adopting new technology? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [New media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-media/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## 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-2/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [To me, there's no point in writing merely to entertain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bebe-moore-campbell/to-me-there-s-no-point-in-writing-merely-to-entertain/) [Bebe Moore Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bebe-moore-campbell/) > [I have been successful probably because I have always realized that I knew nothing about writing and have merely tried to tell an interesting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/i-have-been-successful-probably-because-i-have-always-realized-that-i/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [All the new media are art forms which have the power of imposing, like poetry, their own assumptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/all-the-new-media-are-art-forms-which-have-the-power-of-imposing-like/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Today we are beginning to notice that the new media are not just mechanical gimmicks for creating worlds of illusion, but new languages with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/today-we-are-beginning-to-notice-that-the-new-media-are-not-just/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The new media are not ways of relating to us the 'real' world; they are the real world and they reshape what remains of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-new-media-are-not-ways-of-relating-to-us-the-real-world-they-are/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The new media and technologies by which we amplify and extend ourselves constitute huge collective surgery carried out on the social body with complete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-new-media-and-technologies-by-which-we-amplify-and-extend/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [“The student of media soon comes to expect the New Media of any period whatever to be classed as 'pseudo' by those who acquired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-student-of-media-soon-comes-to-expect-the-new-media-of-any-period/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [New media are new archetypes, at first disguised as degradations of older media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/new-media-are-new-archetypes-at-first-disguised-as-degradations-of/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [If we understand the revolutionary transformations caused by new media, we can anticipate and control them; but if we continue in our self-induced subliminal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/if-we-understand-the-revolutionary-transformations-caused-by-new/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The new media are not bridges between man and nature; they are nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-new-media-are-not-bridges-between-man-and-nature-they-are-nature/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [One of the things that I'm really proud of is that I have really good timing. It's very easy for me to see what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/one-of-the-things-that-i-m-really-proud-of-is-that-i-have-really-good/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [Hoover also loved new media the way Millennials do now. He was the first person to ever appear on television. As commerce secretary, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-hoover/hoover-also-loved-new-media-the-way-millennials-do-now-he-was-the/) [Margaret Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-hoover/) > [“New media is the modern day gold rush.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-leigh-mercree/new-media-is-the-modern-day-gold-rush/) [Amy Leigh Mercree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-leigh-mercree/) > [On my end, I am still surprised that many media organizations are unable to adapt to new media formats and, more importantly, new network…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/om-malik/on-my-end-i-am-still-surprised-that-many-media-organizations-are/) [Om Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/om-malik/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [“Language is metaphor in the sense that it not only stores but translates experience from one mode into another. Money is metaphor in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/language-is-metaphor-in-the-sense-that-it-not-only-stores-but/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) [Explore all 433 Marshall McLuhan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## More Media quotes > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [“She realized that the photograph had caused his reaction. It came to her almost as a revelation. Think of it: a photographer presses a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soheir-khashoggi/she-realized-that-the-photograph-had-caused-his-reaction-it-came-to/) [Soheir Khashoggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soheir-khashoggi/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I do have opinions. Fortunately, I neither Twitter nor Facebook. My daughter forbids me to go on social media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-lipman/i-do-have-opinions-fortunately-i-neither-twitter-nor-facebook-my/) [Maureen Lipman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-lipman/) > [This is what I say about the scorn of the media elite: I wear their scorn as a badge of honor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-quayle/this-is-what-i-say-about-the-scorn-of-the-media-elite-i-wear-their/) [Dan Quayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-quayle/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [The fog of illusion, the fog of confusion is hanging all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/the-fog-of-illusion-the-fog-of-confusion-is-hanging-all-over-the-world/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [If enough money is involved and enough people believe that two plus two equals five the media will report the story with a straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-enough-money-is-involved-and-enough-people-believe-that-two-plus/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [We witness anti-Semitic attacks in the heart of Europe. We hear anti-Semitic slanders in European media. We feel anti-Semitic hatred in the continent that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-shaked/we-witness-anti-semitic-attacks-in-the-heart-of-europe-we-hear-anti/) [Ayelet Shaked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-shaked/) > [I hate being on TV, hate dealing with media on TV. All that stuff, I don't like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyronn-lue/i-hate-being-on-tv-hate-dealing-with-media-on-tv-all-that-stuff-i-don/) [Tyronn Lue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyronn-lue/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Browse all 8,440 Media quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) ```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 o", "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/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Media" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-codes-of-transmission-for-older/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/marshall-mcluhan-641_media_new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-co_84635.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/marshall-mcluhan-641_media_new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-co_84635.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/marshall-mcluhan-641_media_new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-co_84635.png", "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/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-codes-of-transmission-for-older/#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 } } ] } ```