--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Physiologically, man in the normal use of…" description: "\"Physiologically, man in the normal use of technology (or his variously extended body) is perpetually modified by it and in turn finds ever new ways of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3e/marshall-mcluhan-641_bees_physiologically-man-in-the-normal-use-of_2384089.jpg" --- # Physiologically, man in the normal use of technology (or… ![“Physiologically, man in the normal use of technology (or his variously extended body) is perpetually modified by it and in turn finds ever new ways of modifying his technology. Man becomes, as it were, the sex organs of the machine world, as the bee of the plant world, enabling it to fecundate and…” quote by Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3e/marshall-mcluhan-641_bees_physiologically-man-in-the-normal-use-of_2384089.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3e/marshall-mcluhan-641_bees_physiologically-man-in-the-normal-use-of_2384089.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3e/marshall-mcluhan-641_bees_physiologically-man-in-the-normal-use-of_2384089.jpg) > “Physiologically, man in the normal use of technology (or his variously extended body) is perpetually modified by it and in turn finds ever new ways of modifying his technology. Man becomes, as it were, the sex organs of the machine world, as the bee of the plant world, enabling it to fecundate and to evolve ever new forms. The machine world reciprocates man's love by expediting his wishes and desires, namely, in providing him with wealth.” [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. Technology continuously reshapes humanity, which in turn reshapes technology, creating a feedback loop of mutual evolution. **In simple terms:** Tech and humans co‑evolve. Key Takeaway Adapt to and shape technology consciously. Themes technology human evolution feedback loops Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - business strategy - personal health - education - environmental design Key Concepts media theory cybernetics Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of life should stay human? - How can we keep tech serving us? A Different Perspective Overreliance may reduce autonomy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bees/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Modifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modifying/) [Organs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organs/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Use of technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use-of-technology/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [It will not be a world of man versus machine. It will be a world of man plus machines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginni-rometty/it-will-not-be-a-world-of-man-versus-machine-it-will-be-a-world-of/) [Ginni Rometty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginni-rometty/) > [We are too much in the machine world today. Even here in Tuva we've got every year more and more cars and other technologies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-kuvezin/we-are-too-much-in-the-machine-world-today-even-here-in-tuva-we-ve/) [Albert Kuvezin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-kuvezin/) > [“I mean, how strange is that we bring plant sex organs to people we’re attracted to? What’s up with that? It’s a weird sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/i-mean-how-strange-is-that-we-bring-plant-sex-organs-to-people-we-re/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“What do you do?” “I make custom penises.” Casey tapped the palm of his hand, beaming Paladin the address of a server packed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annalee-newitz/what-do-you-do-i-make-custom-penises-casey-tapped-the-palm-of-his/) [Annalee Newitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annalee-newitz/) > [“Why the testicles are we listing sex organs?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-r-smith/why-the-testicles-are-we-listing-sex-organs/) [Benjamin R. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-r-smith/) > [When a man of normal habits is ill, everyone hastens to assure him that he is going to recover. When a vegetarian is ill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/when-a-man-of-normal-habits-is-ill-everyone-hastens-to-assure-him/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Revolution is man's normal activity, and if he is wise he will grade it slowly so that it may be almost imperceptible - otherwise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/revolution-is-man-s-normal-activity-and-if-he-is-wise-he-will-grade/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [“I used to think every fool was out of his senses, but now I see that lack of sense is a man's normal state,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/i-used-to-think-every-fool-was-out-of-his-senses-but-now-i-see-that/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“No man is normal without a tinge of madness in him! Madness in a person is a sign of intelligence, whoever they are. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fahad-basheer/no-man-is-normal-without-a-tinge-of-madness-in-him-madness-in-a/) [Fahad Basheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fahad-basheer/) > [“Being unique is what's cool man. Being normal? What's that? That's a setting on a washing machine. Nobody wants to be that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-purdy/being-unique-is-what-s-cool-man-being-normal-what-s-that-that-s-a/) [Ashley Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-purdy/) > [I don't think that anything of any consequence is known a priori: all our knowledge is built up by modifying the lore passed on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/i-don-t-think-that-anything-of-any-consequence-is-known-a-priori-all/) [Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/) > [Art today is a new kind of instrument, an instrument for modifying consciousness and organizing new modes of sensibility . . . . Artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/art-today-is-a-new-kind-of-instrument-an-instrument-for-modifying/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [When people can say to themselves - "What I'm doing is justified," there is little chance of their modifying a behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanton-peele/when-people-can-say-to-themselves-what-i-m-doing-is-justified-there/) [Stanton Peele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanton-peele/) > [An order given in battle, an instruction issued by the master of a sailing ship, a cry for help, are as powerful in modifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bronislaw-malinowski/an-order-given-in-battle-an-instruction-issued-by-the-master-of-a/) [Bronislaw Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bronislaw-malinowski/) > [At thirty most men have prejudices rather than opinions-that is to say, rather than judgments-and few men have lived to be sixty without materially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/at-thirty-most-men-have-prejudices-rather-than-opinions-that-is-to/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) ## 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 Bees quotes > [Those who have not been stung will hardly fear a bee the same as those who have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/those-who-have-not-been-stung-will-hardly-fear-a-bee-the-same-as/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Arouse a bee and it will come at you with the force of a dragon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takeda-shingen/arouse-a-bee-and-it-will-come-at-you-with-the-force-of-a-dragon/) [Takeda Shingen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takeda-shingen/) > [Pray look upon the plants and birds, the ants, spiders, and bees, and you will see them all exerting their nature, and busy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/pray-look-upon-the-plants-and-birds-the-ants-spiders-and-bees-and-you/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [You see, years ago I was just an ordinary bee minding my own business, smelling flowers all day, and occasionally picking up part-time work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/you-see-years-ago-i-was-just-an-ordinary-bee-minding-my-own-business/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [As the bee collecteth honey with great zest, so the fool collecteth wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir/as-the-bee-collecteth-honey-with-great-zest-so-the-fool-collecteth/) [Kabir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir/) > [It is hard to imagine a world without bees. It would be even harder to live in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gardiner/it-is-hard-to-imagine-a-world-without-bees-it-would-be-even-harder-to/) [Barry Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gardiner/) > [When I heard that the bees were in trouble, the fact that they're disappearing and not coming back to the hive, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-schwartzberg/when-i-heard-that-the-bees-were-in-trouble-the-fact-that-they-re/) [Louie Schwartzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-schwartzberg/) > [Precise, graceful, and generous, the poems in SuperLoop, seem to be born out of a deep, careful attention and a profound compassion. Sometimes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-limon/precise-graceful-and-generous-the-poems-in-superloop-seem-to-be-born/) [Ada Limon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-limon/) > [The little bee returns with evening's gloom, To join her comrades in the braided hive, Where, housed beside their might honey-comb, They dream their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-tennyson-turner/the-little-bee-returns-with-evening-s-gloom-to-join-her-comrades-in/) [Charles Tennyson Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-tennyson-turner/) > [“This time of year, the purple blooms were busy with life- not just the bees, but butterflies and ladybugs, skippers and emerald-toned beetles, flitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/this-time-of-year-the-purple-blooms-were-busy-with-life-not-just-the/) [Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/) > [“Bees chase flowers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-l-shreve/bees-chase-flowers/) Tracy L. Shreve > [My banks they are furnish'd with bees, Whose murmur invites one to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/my-banks-they-are-furnish-d-with-bees-whose-murmur-invites-one-to/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/there-are-certain-pursuits-which-if-not-wholly-poetic-and-true-do-at/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Bee Gees are a fly-by-night sort of group.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gibb/the-bee-gees-are-a-fly-by-night-sort-of-group/) [Barry Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gibb/) > [“I don't like to hear cut and dried sermons. No—when I hear a man preach, I like to see him act as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-don-t-like-to-hear-cut-and-dried-sermons-no-when-i-hear-a-man/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 770 Bees quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bees/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Physiologically, man in the normal use of technology (or his variously extended body) is perpetually modified by it and in turn finds ever new ways of modifying his technology. Man becomes, as it were, the sex organs of the machine world, as the bee of the plant world, enabling it to fecundate and to evolve ever new forms. 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