--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With the arrival of electric technology…" description: "\"With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. To the degree tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/697/marshall-mcluhan-641_arrows_with-the-arrival-of-electric-technology_24560.png" --- # With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended… ![“With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. To the degree that this is so, it is a development that suggests a desperate suicidal autoamputation, as if the central nervous system could no longer depend on the…” quote by Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/697/marshall-mcluhan-641_arrows_with-the-arrival-of-electric-technology_24560.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/697/marshall-mcluhan-641_arrows_with-the-arrival-of-electric-technology_24560.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/697/marshall-mcluhan-641_arrows_with-the-arrival-of-electric-technology_24560.png) > “With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. To the degree that this is so, it is a development that suggests a desperate suicidal autoamputation, as if the central nervous system could no longer depend on the physical organs to be protective buffers against the slings and arrows of outrageous mechanism.” [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. McLuhan warns that technology externalizes our nervous system, turning it into a fragile extension that can no longer rely on the body’s protective functions, implying a self‑destructive reliance on machines. **In simple terms:** Technology becomes an external nervous system, exposing humanity to new vulnerabilities. Key Takeaway Externalizing cognition risks self‑destruction. Themes technology human cognition dependence vulnerability media theory Mood cautious critical reflective Type philosophical critical theoretical When to use this quote - designing AI interfaces - evaluating societal impact of tech - educational curricula on media literacy Key Concepts externalization of mind human‑machine integration psychological risk Practical Applications - critical media analysis - designing resilient tech systems Questions to Reflect On - How does externalizing cognition affect personal agency? - What safeguards can prevent technology from becoming a liability? A Different Perspective Some argue that technology amplifies human capabilities rather than diminishing them, suggesting a symbiotic rather than suicidal relationship. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Central nervous system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/central-nervous-system/) [Desperate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperate/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nervous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nervous/) [Nervous system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nervous-system/) [Organs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organs/) [Slings and arrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slings-and-arrows/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [The electric age ... established a global network that has much the character of our central nervous system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-electric-age-established-a-global-network-that-has-much-the/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [You cannot intellectualize the Divine. You have to experience it on your central nervous system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/you-cannot-intellectualize-the-divine-you-have-to-experience-it-on/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [He smiles so much, I don't think he has a central nervous system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/he-smiles-so-much-i-don-t-think-he-has-a-central-nervous-system/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [The experience of truth has to be felt on the central nervous system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/the-experience-of-truth-has-to-be-felt-on-the-central-nervous-system/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [The deep secret of the brain is that not only the spinal cord but the entire central nervous system works this way: internally generated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/the-deep-secret-of-the-brain-is-that-not-only-the-spinal-cord-but-the/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [Perhaps of all the most basic elements of music, rhythm most directly affects our central nervous system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-crumb/perhaps-of-all-the-most-basic-elements-of-music-rhythm-most-directly/) [George Crumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-crumb/) > [The alphabet and print technology fostered and encouraged a fragmenting process, a process of specialism and detachment. Electric technology fosters and encourages unification and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-alphabet-and-print-technology-fostered-and-encouraged-a/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The medium, or process, of our time - electric technology is reshaping and restructuring patterns of social interdependence and every aspect of our personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-medium-or-process-of-our-time-electric-technology-is-reshaping/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The computer is the most extraordinary of man's technological clothing; it's an extension of our central nervous system. Beside it, the wheel is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-computer-is-the-most-extraordinary-of-man-s-technological/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Since with electricity we extend our central nervous system globally, instantly interrelating every human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/since-with-electricity-we-extend-our-central-nervous-system-globally/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The wheel is an extension of the foot, the book is an extension of the eye, clothing an extension of the skin, electric circuitry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-wheel-is-an-extension-of-the-foot-the-book-is-an-extension-of-the/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Further study of central nervous action, however, finds central inhibition too extensive and ubiquitous to make it likely that it is confined solely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-scott-sherrington/further-study-of-central-nervous-action-however-finds-central/) [Charles Scott Sherrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-scott-sherrington/) > [“Harmony is everything, your central nervous system can bear witness to that in every area of your life...if you let your soul step to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-bond/harmony-is-everything-your-central-nervous-system-can-bear-witness-to/) [Tracey Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-bond/) > [It's not telepathy. It's not the Borg. But we created a new central nervous system made of two brains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-nicolelis/it-s-not-telepathy-it-s-not-the-borg-but-we-created-a-new-central/) [Miguel Nicolelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-nicolelis/) > [Freedom is when you really get your own powers which are within you. In your central nervous system and in your conscious mind, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/freedom-is-when-you-really-get-your-own-powers-which-are-within-you/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) ## 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/) > [“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. 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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/) > [“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 Arrows quotes > [Pure essence, and pure matter, and the two joined into one were shot forth without flaw, like three bright arrows from a three-string bow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/pure-essence-and-pure-matter-and-the-two-joined-into-one-were-shot/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [I did archery when I was in high school. In our gym class we had two weeks of archery, and I remember taking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrowman/i-did-archery-when-i-was-in-high-school-in-our-gym-class-we-had-two/) [John Barrowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrowman/) > [Game of Thrones. I'm all about it. I watch Arrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-r-mcqueen/game-of-thrones-i-m-all-about-it-i-watch-arrow/) [Steven R. McQueen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-r-mcqueen/) > [I have shot mine arrow o'er the house And hurt my brother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-have-shot-mine-arrow-o-er-the-house-and-hurt-my-brother/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I had a map on my wall that had a circle around Lubbock and then giant arrows pointing toward New York City and Los…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-corbin/i-had-a-map-on-my-wall-that-had-a-circle-around-lubbock-and-then/) [Barry Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-corbin/) > [An arrow may fly through the air and leave no trace; but an ill thought leaves a trail like a serpent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mackay/an-arrow-may-fly-through-the-air-and-leave-no-trace-but-an-ill/) [Charles Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mackay/) > [If you shoot an arrow and it goes real high... Hooray for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorian-corey/if-you-shoot-an-arrow-and-it-goes-real-high-hooray-for-you/) [Dorian Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorian-corey/) > [Our present time is indeed a criticizing and critical time, hovering between the wish, and the inability to believe. Our complaints are like arrows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/our-present-time-is-indeed-a-criticizing-and-critical-time-hovering/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [You took a poison arrow and you aimed it at my heart. It's heavy and it's bitter, and it's tearing me apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/you-took-a-poison-arrow-and-you-aimed-it-at-my-heart-it-s-heavy-and/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [How long the thick dark clouds can prevent the truth from shining? The truth is an arrow that can pass through any shield!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/how-long-the-thick-dark-clouds-can-prevent-the-truth-from-shining-the/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Vasic said the words on Aden’s tongue. “The Arrows expect mercy from no one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/vasic-said-the-words-on-aden-s-tongue-the-arrows-expect-mercy-from-no/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [Follow your arrow / Wherever it points,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kacey-musgraves/follow-your-arrow-wherever-it-points/) [Kacey Musgraves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kacey-musgraves/) > [If the errors of my life have profited me one great truth it is this: believe. Believe in your destiny and the star from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/if-the-errors-of-my-life-have-profited-me-one-great-truth-it-is-this/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [Philosophy alone makes the mind invincible, and places us out of the reach of fortune, so that all her arrows fall short of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/philosophy-alone-makes-the-mind-invincible-and-places-us-out-of-the/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Children are arrows in a quiver, and they are to be trained as missionaries and shot at the Devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-elliot/children-are-arrows-in-a-quiver-and-they-are-to-be-trained-as/) [Jim Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-elliot/) Browse all 481 Arrows quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. 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