The electric world is the world of discontinuity, the world of resonating intervals, the world of involvement, the world of touch. Tactility is the world of interval. When you touch something, you do not create a connection; you create a space between you and it. It echoes, there’s the base of musical “beat.” That is where it’s at, this is the interface of change resulting from interval. The “missing link” was the greatest discovery of the 19th century. But it was not missing at all; it was an interface; it was where the new evolution began.
“The Hardware-Software Mergers: How Successful Have They Been?” Speech at a conference, Reappraisal of the Educational Technology Industry, University of Chicago, November 16-18, 1969; transcript, p 4
Year: 1969
Compiled by William Kuhns
© 2026, The Estate of Marshall McLuhan
© 2026, The Estate of Marshall McLuhan