They became what they beheldEdmund Carpenter
They became what they beheld
by Edmund Carpenter · first published 1970
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2015–2018first – last mentioned
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There is a beautiful introduction in the book They Became What They Beheld by Edmund Carpenter, who was a student of Marshall McLuhan back in the day. The relevant part I'm thinking of: > If you address yourself to an audience, you accept at the outset the basic premises that…
on “How I got my attention back” ↗…idea. (this may be good or bad, depending on the situation) Vi Hart has an amazing overview[1] of this concept, in which she discusses the very wise words of the Edmund Snow Carpenter in his[2] book "They Became What They Beheld". The trouble with knowing what to say and saying it clearly & fully, is that clear speaking is generally obsolete thinking. Clear statement is like an art object: it is the afterlife of…
on “Graphing when your Facebook friends are awake” ↗Vi Hart, taking a break from math/music, made a great video[1] on how artists (or "thought leaders", etc) create audiences. She quotes heavily from the forward to Edmund Snow Carpenter's book "They became what they beheld", which was probably written (or at least heavily influenced) by Marshall McLuhan. The main thesis is that old-media was about finding channels of distribution. If you didn't utilize existing media channels,…
on “The Rise of the Thought Leader” ↗> I would feel that it had connected far more and with far greater purpose and meaning. One of the better discussions of this topic is Vi Hart's explanation[1] of Edmund Snow Carpenter's[2] "They Became What They Beheld". [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm-Jjvqu3U4 [2] almost certainly written with Marshall McLuhan
on “Off the Grid” ↗https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm-Jjvqu3U4 Vi Hart's incredible explanation of the modern medium (youtube) and how it affects the message, and the wise words (probably written by McLuhan) in Edmund Snow Carpenter's "They Became What They Beheld".
on “HyperNormalisation by Adam Curtis (2016) [video]” ↗Reminds me a lot of a bit from Edmund Carpenter's anthropology book They Became What They Beheld (1970). I'll have to copy it out of the book so please forgive any transcription errors: "In the 1968 elections the McCarthy campaign staff was approached with a suggestion for crossing media. In the…
on “Boston’s most radical TV show blew minds in 1967” ↗https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm-Jjvqu3U4 While Vihart is talking about youtube in this video, her discussion of Edmond Snow Carpenter's "They Became What They Beheld" is very relevant to this situation as well. (note: Marshall McLuhan may have written an early version the book) Too much medium, not enough message.
on “Facebook and the Media Have an Increasingly Landlord-Tenant Style Relationship” ↗…a large audience can be useful, but it might not be worth the cost of using an established medium. From the forward - which was probably written by Marshall McLuhan - to Edmund Snow Carpenter's book "They became what they beheld": > If you address yourself to an audience, you accept at the outset the basic premises that unite the audience. You put on the audience, repeating cliches familiar to it. > Utilizing existing channels…
on “Ex-Google engineer describing the company's role in China censorship” ↗