Media are environments, not neutral channels; each medium reshapes perception, social organisation, and what counts as knowledge.
McLuhan and Postman's tradition, and its sharp claim is that the medium determines what counts as knowledge — print rewards sequence and argument, television rewards image and immediacy.
In practice
- Print rewards sequence and argument; a feed rewards immediacy and image, and a parliament debating in each produces different politics.
- A profession that moved its deliberation from journals to conference talks changed what counts as a contribution, without discussing the change.