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The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of the Typographic Man

work by McLuhan

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The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man is a 1962 book by Marshall McLuhan that explores how the invention of the printing press and the rise of typography transformed human consciousness and society. McLuhan argued that the shift from oral traditions to a print-based culture created a more individualistic and linear way of thinking, which he termed "typographic man".12

This transition, according to McLuhan, led to a fragmentation of experience and a decline in the interconnectedness found in oral cultures. He posited that the dominance of print fostered a detached, visual, and analytical mindset, setting the stage for the electronic age, which would later reintroduce a more holistic, "global village" sensibility through new media.21

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  1. Marshall McLuhan
  2. global village

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