A dictionary of Marshall McLuhan’s quotations

But the TV image is the first technology by which man has outered his haptic, or tactile, powers. Its effects, therefore, on the balance or ratio among our senses. Since at all times consciousness involves a ratio among the senses, any alteration of intensity in any of our senses causes an immediate "closure" or completion of pattern.”
“The TV Image: One of Our Conquerors,” February 22, 1962, in Letters of Marshall McLuhan (1987) p 286
Year: 1962
Chapters: Balance | Television
↪ Also at #605, #6744
Compiled by William Kuhns
© 2026, The Estate of Marshall McLuhan