'The future masters of technology will have to be light-hearted and intelligent. The machine easily masters the grim and the dumb.' (1969)
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Future leaders of technology need to be cheerful and smart, because machines will dominate serious and unintelligent people.
- In plain terms
- Tech leaders should be happy and smart so machines do not control them.
- What can you take from it?
- Stay light and smart to avoid being mastered by technology.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does your attitude affect your tech usage?
- Can you remain light-hearted while managing complex systems?
Another view
Seriousness and depth are also necessary for ethical technology governance.
More from Marshall McLuhan
Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication. (1967)
Permalink to quote #61 The American bureaucracy ... was set up for very slow speeds of the printed word and railways. At electric speeds, nothing in the USA makes sense. (1970)
Permalink to quote #63 Moral indignation is a technique used to endow the idiot with dignity. (1967)
Permalink to quote #60
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