The Medium is the May Long

May Long Weekend in Alberta

Maria Bustillos, author of Dorkismo and Act Like A Gentleman, Think Like A Woman, both books that I have never read, has written an interesting post for The Awl titled Wikipedia and the Death of the Expert. This is my response/summary to the article and the ideas I am taking from it. I can tell it is a long weekend because I a) have time to catch up on articles from the Awl that I have been meaning to read and b) I also have time to blog about it. 

Holy McLuhan, it is time to revisit the original in the Gutenberg Galaxy and maybe even the revamped in the The Medium and the Messenger. I've already placed a hold on these at Edmonton Public Libraries, so you will have to wait your turn. In the meantime try this out the medium is the message. 


Such big ideas, and I have to try to condense them into something short and appealing in order to build and maintain readership, but like anything experienced in this summarizing and refelctive practice, at least I get to learn something, whether I am read or not.

The premise of the article can probably be guessed from the title, but what it came down to was this, "if I wanted to understand the significance of wikipedia, I should read Marshall McLuhan." Alright no problem, go and do that. Go to your libraries website and search up the Gutenberg Galaxy or the Medium is the Massage or even just McLuhan and place a hold (Do you see what I am doing here?)

The reason we should all read McLuhan, and also the reason why we should understand Wikipedia is because of the massive shift away from the need for authrotative knowledge and the shift towards colllaborative knolwedge. We don't need an expert to tell us something interesting. Anyone can be intelligent and thought provoking and interesting, that is the big shift. Hence wikipedia is completely valid and the change is relevant for everyone, especially educators.

I may have posted about it before (May 2nd actually), but compare how people (me) reacted to the recent news items i) Canadian federal election ii) death of Osama. For both event I was involved in creating content and meaning. Interest and conversation was happening in a whole variety of media, and the most effective was the one in which I could play an active role. I, in turn, learned more about my political views from some non-authority on twitter that was challenging my position on issues. Thank you @susanfelicity for being ignorant and mean enough to teach me many things (there I did it again.)

The point is, the collaborative nature of knowledge in the internet mediated realm of communication and thought is fundamentally different than the individual expert based approach of the print controlled era that preceded it! NOW HOW DOES EDUCATION DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY?


It looks like the head in the sand approach is the most commonplace reaction. Message to teachers - stop being scared, it is not that hard to do. Trust me, you will catch on, and if you aren't willing to try, then think about changing jobs. 


I said I would sometimes be controversial, but it is not fair to the students that you are not able to do it. Neither was I, it only took a few months for my practice to change, and I am still growing because of that willingness. 


Time for a random interesting quotation from Maria's article:

Go back and study the shift in human communication, what McLuhan called 'the shift to print,'" he said. "The place where an idea could be owned by a single person. One of McLuhan's genius insights was his understanding of how the shift from an oral culture to one based on print gave rise to our modern notion of the individual as the originaator and owner of particular ideas."

I'm not quite done, but I will try to be nicer. Here,

According to McLuhan, Bob explained, "the ownership of an idea" was made inevitable by the invention of printing; it is this era that we are outgrowing, as McLuhan foresaw. "If the printing press empowered the individual, the digital world empowers collaboration."

That's right, empower collaboration! My school can't afford to have the 1 computer per student scenario, but everytime students look to each other for support, interest, knolwedge, understanding, or an answer to their questions, instead of you as the teacher that is winning. 

Empowering collaboration means the answer is not in the textbook or in the teacher's head. Hell, it may not even be online. The answer is the question, the thoughtfulness, the ability to find out from others and then to give back to that knowledge community with your own ideas. 

I clearly don't fully understand - please comment (there it is again, but no really, can you be the first person to comment on my blog?)

Back to the article:

McLuhan's chief insights centered around the idea that technology strongly affects not only the content of culture, but the mind that creates and consumes that culture. He maintained that technology alters cognition itself, all the way down to its deepest, most elemental processes.

BTW - confirmed by current understanding of neurology. We are talking about a change in how our brain works and navigates information, understanding, itself and other people.

The article that I read, and this blog post are not necessarily cheerleaders for technology. I am in fact a little frightened about where this path will take our species, especially if you are following this guy, who I happen to consider a prophet, if there is such a thing for our age he would be it. We are not saying "this is so great, now buy-in." We are simply saying, this is the world, we all have to navigate it. As teachers we have to show students how to navigate this world. Not the post-printing press world, but the post-internet world (last time I will do that thing I have been doing).

I want to close with a quote that does paint this idea in a positive light because with the openness of information creation, the breakdown of "expert knowledge" as the only legitimate source of knowledge is that it turns us all into potential poets, constructive creators, media mediators, technological teachers, innovative inventors, and economically energetic entrepreneurs (sorry). 


Here is that quote I was talking about, think of it as a palate cleanser for your mind after that last paragraph, "we are all of us becoming scientists in this way, entering into a democracy of the intellect."

I've never read this book .

and really what is better than democracy?