--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The new media and technologies by which…" description: "\"The new media and technologies by which we amplify and extend ourselves constitute huge collective surgery carried out on the social body with complete..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c4/marshall-mcluhan-641_amplify_the-new-media-and-technologies-by-which_1822731.png" --- # The new media and technologies by which we amplify and… ![“The new media and technologies by which we amplify and extend ourselves constitute huge collective surgery carried out on the social body with complete disregard for antiseptics.” quote by Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c4/marshall-mcluhan-641_amplify_the-new-media-and-technologies-by-which_1822731.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c4/marshall-mcluhan-641_amplify_the-new-media-and-technologies-by-which_1822731.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c4/marshall-mcluhan-641_amplify_the-new-media-and-technologies-by-which_1822731.png) > “The new media and technologies by which we amplify and extend ourselves constitute huge collective surgery carried out on the social body with complete disregard for antiseptics.” [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 reshapes society like surgery, altering the collective body without proper safeguards. **In simple terms:** Tech changes society dramatically without safety measures. Key Takeaway Implement ethical tech practices. Themes technology society media ethics Mood concerned analytical Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - social media platforms - AI deployment - digital health initiatives Key Concepts media theory collective impact Questions to Reflect On - What ethical guidelines should govern new tech? - How can societies adapt to digital transformation? A Different Perspective Rapid change can outpace regulation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amplify](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amplify/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Collective Surgery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collective-surgery-2207765/) [Collectives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collectives/) [Disregard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disregard/) [Disregard Antiseptics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disregard-antiseptics-2207766/) [Huge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/huge/) [Huge Collective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/huge-collective-2207768/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [New media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-media/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Surgery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surgery/) [Technologies Amplify](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technologies-amplify-2207767/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [We need to invest in technologies that amplify human capacity, not replace it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reid-hoffman/we-need-to-invest-in-technologies-that-amplify-human-capacity-not/) [Reid Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reid-hoffman/) > [New media is like a megaphone. It amplifies your ability to reach more people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-batterson/new-media-is-like-a-megaphone-it-amplifies-your-ability-to-reach-more/) [Mark Batterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-batterson/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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 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/) > [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/) > [Crystals are amplifying minerals. You have a crystal in a radio - it amplifies the sound waves. You have a crystal in a television…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/crystals-are-amplifying-minerals-you-have-a-crystal-in-a-radio-it/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > […he is unlike the other customers. They sense it too, and look at him with hard eyes, eyes like little metal studs pinned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-is-unlike-the-other-customers-they-sense-it-too-and-look-at-him/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Money is neither good nor bad. It simply amplifies what is in the heart of the one who controls it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-avanzini/money-is-neither-good-nor-bad-it-simply-amplifies-what-is-in-the/) [John Avanzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-avanzini/) > [Social media is not just another way to connect feminist and activist voices - it amplifies our messages as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/social-media-is-not-just-another-way-to-connect-feminist-and-activist/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) ## 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 Amplify quotes > [Social media is not just another way to connect feminist and activist voices - it amplifies our messages as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/social-media-is-not-just-another-way-to-connect-feminist-and-activist/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [Money is neither good nor bad. It simply amplifies what is in the heart of the one who controls it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-avanzini/money-is-neither-good-nor-bad-it-simply-amplifies-what-is-in-the/) [John Avanzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-avanzini/) > […he is unlike the other customers. They sense it too, and look at him with hard eyes, eyes like little metal studs pinned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-is-unlike-the-other-customers-they-sense-it-too-and-look-at-him/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Crystals are amplifying minerals. You have a crystal in a radio - it amplifies the sound waves. You have a crystal in a television…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/crystals-are-amplifying-minerals-you-have-a-crystal-in-a-radio-it/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [Weapons compound man's power to achieve; they amplify the capabilities of both the good man and the bad, and to exactly the same degree,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/weapons-compound-man-s-power-to-achieve-they-amplify-the-capabilities/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [The most transformative experiences people have - bliss, devotion, self transcendence - are currently anchored to the worst parts of culture and to ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-most-transformative-experiences-people-have-bliss-devotion-self/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [In film, life-and-death struggles make you sit up, lean forward a little bit. They amplify things happening, in smaller ways, in all of us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/in-film-life-and-death-struggles-make-you-sit-up-lean-forward-a/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [Most quarrels amplify a misunderstanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/most-quarrels-amplify-a-misunderstanding/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [To amplify our efforts, USDA is joining with First Lady Michelle Obama in aggressively promoting the 'Let's Move' campaign, which will combat the epidemic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/to-amplify-our-efforts-usda-is-joining-with-first-lady-michelle-obama/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [When I'm writing, I need to amplify my thoughts and feelings on just a conversation that I might have had with somebody - somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bay/when-i-m-writing-i-need-to-amplify-my-thoughts-and-feelings-on-just-a/) [James Bay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bay/) > [In an era of billion-person countries and trillion-pound economies, we need to find ways to amplify our voice. We are most likely to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-alexander/in-an-era-of-billion-person-countries-and-trillion-pound-economies-we/) [Douglas Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-alexander/) > [Our experience of love is more of a measure of whether we're connected with the universal source of this energy. In other words, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-redfield/our-experience-of-love-is-more-of-a-measure-of-whether-we-re/) [James Redfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-redfield/) > [A face is a road map of someone's life. Without any need to amplify that or draw attention to it, there's a great deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/a-face-is-a-road-map-of-someone-s-life-without-any-need-to-amplify/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [If we need simple narratives so people can amplify and spread them, are we forced to engage only with the simplest of problems?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-zuckerman/if-we-need-simple-narratives-so-people-can-amplify-and-spread-them/) [Ethan Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-zuckerman/) > [But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/but-race-is-an-issue-that-i-believe-this-nation-cannot-afford-to/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) [Browse all 97 Amplify quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amplify/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The new media and technologies by which we amplify and extend ourselves constitute huge collective surgery carried out on the social body with complete disregard for antiseptics.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marshall McLuhan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-new-media-and-technologies-by-which-we-amplify-and-extend/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Amplify" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-new-media-and-technologies-by-which-we-amplify-and-extend/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c4/marshall-mcluhan-641_amplify_the-new-media-and-technologies-by-which_1822731.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c4/marshall-mcluhan-641_amplify_the-new-media-and-technologies-by-which_1822731.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c4/marshall-mcluhan-641_amplify_the-new-media-and-technologies-by-which_1822731.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The new media and technologies by which we amplify and extend ourselves constitute huge collective surgery…” — 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": "The new media and technologies by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-new-media-and-technologies-by-which-we-amplify-and-extend/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-new-media-and-technologies-by-which-we-amplify-and-extend/#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 } } ] } ```