--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If, as Marshall McLuhan once taught us…" description: "\"If, as Marshall McLuhan once taught us, the medium is the message, then Derfner's medium-this lovely, discursive amalgamation of wit and smarts-is inde..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/028/philip-gambone-79233_amalgamation_if-as-marshall-mcluhan-once-taught-us-th_2689600.jpg" --- # If, as Marshall McLuhan once taught us, the medium is the… ![“If, as Marshall McLuhan once taught us, the medium is the message, then Derfner's medium-this lovely, discursive amalgamation of wit and smarts-is indeed his message about how to stay happy, sane, and honest in whatever situation one finds oneself in.” quote by Philip Gambone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/028/philip-gambone-79233_amalgamation_if-as-marshall-mcluhan-once-taught-us-th_2689600.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/028/philip-gambone-79233_amalgamation_if-as-marshall-mcluhan-once-taught-us-th_2689600.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/028/philip-gambone-79233_amalgamation_if-as-marshall-mcluhan-once-taught-us-th_2689600.jpg) > “If, as Marshall McLuhan once taught us, the medium is the message, then Derfner's medium-this lovely, discursive amalgamation of wit and smarts-is indeed his message about how to stay happy, sane, and honest in whatever situation one finds oneself in.” Philip Gambone ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The medium used to convey ideas shapes the ideas themselves, suggesting that the style of communication reflects the content. **In simple terms:** How you say something is part of what you say. Key Takeaway Choose mediums that match your message. Themes communication media authenticity Mood analytical critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - public speaking - writing - social media - teaching Key Concepts message theory self‑expression psychology Questions to Reflect On - Does your medium enhance or distract from your message? - Can style ever fully represent substance? A Different Perspective May overlook content depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amalgamation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amalgamation/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Messages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messages/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) [Stay happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stay-happy/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) ## Related quotes > [If you go with Marshall McLuhan's theory that the medium is the message, as soon as you're hosting a blooper show, you're done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-saget/if-you-go-with-marshall-mcluhan-s-theory-that-the-medium-is-the/) [Bob Saget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-saget/) > [“The medium is the message. -Marshall McLuhan The message is the marketing. -Gideon Stevens”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gideon-stevens/the-medium-is-the-message-marshall-mcluhan-the-message-is-the/) Gideon Stevens > [“Whatever emotional state you’re in while you’re parenting conveys more to your child than the content of what you're doing with them, no matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-y-simon/whatever-emotional-state-you-re-in-while-you-re-parenting-conveys/) Michael Y. Simon > [“To bring order into this jangled sphere man must find its centre" Marshall McLuhan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/to-bring-order-into-this-jangled-sphere-man-must-find-its-centre/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“For some hippies, this vision could only be realised by rejecting scientific progress as a false God and returning to nature. Others, in contrast,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-barbrook/for-some-hippies-this-vision-could-only-be-realised-by-rejecting/) Richard Barbrook > [“Psychosis, it seemed to some, was in the air. One unhappy host played Phil a copy of Marshall McLuhan's 1968 LP The Medium is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-davis/psychosis-it-seemed-to-some-was-in-the-air-one-unhappy-host-played/) Erik Davis > [Marshall McLuhan is absolutely right, we are always looking in the rear view mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/marshall-mcluhan-is-absolutely-right-we-are-always-looking-in-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [There's always been an incredible amount of junk music, and junk everything. Marshall McLuhan said that a medium surrounds a previous medium, and turns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-bone-burnett/there-s-always-been-an-incredible-amount-of-junk-music-and-junk/) [T Bone Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-bone-burnett/) > [“For no medium is excessively dangerous if its users understand what its dangers are. It is not important that those who ask the questions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/for-no-medium-is-excessively-dangerous-if-its-users-understand-what/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [It's time for a recovery and reassessment of North American thinkers. Marshall McLuhan, Leslie Fiedler and Norman O. Brown are the linked triad I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/it-s-time-for-a-recovery-and-reassessment-of-north-american-thinkers/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [John Kenneth Galbraith and Marshall McLuhan are the two greatest modern Canadians that the U.S. has produced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/john-kenneth-galbraith-and-marshall-mcluhan-are-the-two-greatest/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [ We are now in the midst of our first television war ... the television environment \[is\] total and therefore invisible. Along with the computer,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/we-are-now-in-the-midst-of-our-first-television-war-the-television/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Sometimes I'm trying to communicate a feeling. Sometimes I can't piece it together into any kind of coherant thesis. I'm just trying to evoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-newman/sometimes-i-m-trying-to-communicate-a-feeling-sometimes-i-can-t-piece/) [A.C. Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-newman/) > [“Although a youth culture was in evidence by the 1950s, the first obvious and dramatic manifestation of a culture generated by peer-orientation was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/although-a-youth-culture-was-in-evidence-by-the-1950s-the-first/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [Marshall McLuhan prediction was some kind of electronic communication technology would emerge to instantaneously connect the world so much so that the whole globe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramesh-srinivasan/marshall-mcluhan-prediction-was-some-kind-of-electronic-communication/) [Ramesh Srinivasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramesh-srinivasan/) ## More by Philip Gambone > [For more than thirty years, Joe Eck and Wayne Winterrowd have been gardening with extraordinary, indeed legendary, results. Part memoir, part omnium-gatherum of horticultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gambone/for-more-than-thirty-years-joe-eck-and-wayne-winterrowd-have-been/) Philip Gambone > [Clyde Phillip Wachsberger's delightful memoir about tending beds of flowers as compensation for a lonely middle age only to find unexpected romance along the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gambone/clyde-phillip-wachsberger-s-delightful-memoir-about-tending-beds-of/) Philip Gambone Explore all 3 Philip Gambone quotes ## More Amalgamation quotes > [The cosmos is a complex amalgamation of sounds. One of the key sounds through which you can experience the cosmic nature of creation is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/the-cosmos-is-a-complex-amalgamation-of-sounds-one-of-the-key-sounds/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [ The interesting thing about a song like 'Bulletproof Heart' - it was \[originally\] called 'Trans Am' - the interesting thing about the amalgamation of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikey-way/the-interesting-thing-about-a-song-like-bulletproof-heart-it-was/) [Mikey Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikey-way/) > [In fact, everywhere in the world there has been a flux between big and small societies. Big political units are constantly being formed, later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/in-fact-everywhere-in-the-world-there-has-been-a-flux-between-big-and/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [“There are certain natures of which the mutual influence is such, that the more they say, the more they have to say. For these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/there-are-certain-natures-of-which-the-mutual-influence-is-such-that/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [I think that's really the beauty of life, like, we're this collection of moments, this collection of experiences that we've had, or little tics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-iero/i-think-that-s-really-the-beauty-of-life-like-we-re-this-collection/) [Frank Iero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-iero/) > [We are sufficiently conscious of this dimension or quality of Brazil as a melting pot, as a culture and a nation that is being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilberto-gil/we-are-sufficiently-conscious-of-this-dimension-or-quality-of-brazil/) [Gilberto Gil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilberto-gil/) > [“Merger of plans and actions determine the amalgamation of goals and acquisition of success in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/merger-of-plans-and-actions-determine-the-amalgamation-of-goals-and/) [Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/) > [I'm an amalgamation of what I've needed to be. Part scholar, part rebel, part nobleman, part Mistborn, and part soldier. Sometimes I don't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/i-m-an-amalgamation-of-what-i-ve-needed-to-be-part-scholar-part-rebel/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [It's the coolest part about writing music. I don't know how other people work, but so much is derived from some amalgamation of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-ruess/it-s-the-coolest-part-about-writing-music-i-don-t-know-how-other/) [Nate Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-ruess/) > [Out of association grows adhesion, and out of adhesion amalgamation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/out-of-association-grows-adhesion-and-out-of-adhesion-amalgamation/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [When we separate the word business into its component letters, B-U-S-I-N-E-S-S, we find that U and I are both in it. In fact, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/when-we-separate-the-word-business-into-its-component-letters-b-u-s-i/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [There is a natural disgust in the minds of nearly all white people to the idea of indiscriminate amalgamation of the white and black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/there-is-a-natural-disgust-in-the-minds-of-nearly-all-white-people-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [There is no process of amalgamation by which opinions, wrong individually, can become right merely by their multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/there-is-no-process-of-amalgamation-by-which-opinions-wrong/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“World praises the amalgamation of unconscious & conscious, History is the testament.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shreyansh-jaiswal/world-praises-the-amalgamation-of-unconscious-conscious-history-is/) Shreyansh Jaiswal > [You can begin to see an amalgamation of cultures, the real beginning of one world. Ten years ago, it would have been impossible to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/you-can-begin-to-see-an-amalgamation-of-cultures-the-real-beginning/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) [Browse all 30 Amalgamation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amalgamation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If, as Marshall McLuhan once taught us, the medium is the message, then Derfner's medium-this lovely, discursive amalgamation of wit and smarts-is indeed his message about how to stay happy, sane, and honest in whatever situation one finds oneself in.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Gambone" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gambone/if-as-marshall-mcluhan-once-taught-us-the-medium-is-the-message-then/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Amalgamation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gambone/if-as-marshall-mcluhan-once-taught-us-the-medium-is-the-message-then/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/028/philip-gambone-79233_amalgamation_if-as-marshall-mcluhan-once-taught-us-th_2689600.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/028/philip-gambone-79233_amalgamation_if-as-marshall-mcluhan-once-taught-us-th_2689600.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/028/philip-gambone-79233_amalgamation_if-as-marshall-mcluhan-once-taught-us-th_2689600.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If, as Marshall McLuhan once taught us, the medium is the message, then Derfner's medium-this lovely…” — Philip Gambone", "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": "Philip Gambone", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gambone/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If, as Marshall McLuhan once taught...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gambone/if-as-marshall-mcluhan-once-taught-us-the-medium-is-the-message-then/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gambone/if-as-marshall-mcluhan-once-taught-us-the-medium-is-the-message-then/#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 } } ] } ```