A dictionary of Marshall McLuhan’s quotations

Each technological extension involves an act of collective cannibalism. The previous environment is swallowed by the new environment and reprocessed for whatever values are digestible. Thus, Nature was succeeded by the mechanical environment and became what we call the “content” of the new industrial environment.
“Notes on Burroughs”, 1964, p 517
Year: 1964
Chapter: Media Effects
Compiled by William Kuhns
© 2026, The Estate of Marshall McLuhan