A tribute to and a lament for Marshall McLuhan. Five days a week, Tuesday through Saturday, I present one of McLuhan’s observations and talk about its relevance today. 300 ideas. 300 days. 300 posts.
The terrors of television
Marshall McLuhan (March 15, 1976, age 65). Dear Eric:
As you know television exerts a far more insidious affect on the minds of children than it does on adults. Promise me you will be careful to limit your daughter’s (my granddaughter’s) exposure to not more than one hour a week. More than this and it is doubtful her nervous system can develop undamaged. If she protests tell her I will pay her a dollar a day for each television-free day.  Â
Me (December, 2010, age 58). McLuhan never spoke this way about television in public
Was the private McLuhan closer to the truth than the public McLuhan?
Cordially, Marshall and Me
Reading
Philip Marchand, Marshall McLuhan: The Medium and the Messenger, 1989, p. 69.