MediaAndMaterials

Context : OnMedia

According to ASocialHistoryOfTheMedia (page 6), HaroldInnis thought that different materials that made up the media could bias its development :

• heavier materials (stone, clay) biased it towards time / religion
• lighter materials (papyrus) bias it towards space / politics

Why? Because lighter materials are portable and can be used to send messages greater distances, but heavier materials sit in one place but last longer.

It's an amazing kind of constraint, isn't it.

On wikipedia

Maybe there's a good analogy with Catholic use of paintings and stutuary (CatholicChurch), and Protestant use of printed word? (Reading Catholic to be more like traditional religion, and protestant to be a very contemporary, political kind of religion.)

Interestingly, JulianAssange references these effects of materials on communication in his introduction to TheWikiLeaksFiles ... the leaked US Diplomatic Cables.

http://gizmodo.com/gizmodo-exclusive-read-julian-assanges-introduction-to-1726605781

See also :

• DoArtifactsHavePolitics?
• MediaInConflict,
• PrintingAndUniformity
• http://www.bricklin.com/newcarriers.htm
• (WarpLink) WatchingAnts (scroll down)
  • a point more interestingly made on StigmergicSystems ?
• (WarpLink) Would be interesting to compare the time-frames of media in WorldsWithinWheels