The Catholic Church does not depend on human wisdom or human strategies for survival. All the best intentions in the world can’t destroy the Catholic Church! It is indestructible, even as a human institution. It may once again undergo a terrible persecution and so on. But that’s probably what it needs. – Marshall McLuhan Precision This is a […]
Archives for March 2014
Did McLuhan’s Deeply Held Roman Catholic Convictions Bias His Scholarship?
March 31, 2014 By
“He was a very religious man and, as a matter of fact, that was the only thing that helped him through the 15 months after his stroke. That was the core of his being – his religious strength. – Corinne McLuhan, Marshall’s wife (McLuhan, C. 1988).” McLuhan’s religious beliefs did not bias his scholarship or […]
McLuhan and Lent
March 31, 2014 By
This is a very special week for us. Here’s the tweet that started it all: Press Release: Introducing the new online journal, Second Nature http://t.co/90KXk629Jq #newmedia #christian #tech — SecondNature Journal (@SecondNatureJrn) April 1, 2013 We launched with five articles and a vision to become a place to encourage critical thinking about technology and new […]
On Noise and Meaning
March 26, 2014 By
Part four in our Lenten series on technology and spirituality. This year, I gave up the radio for Lent. It’s not the first time I’ve given it up, but I always find it to be a beneficial experience. Like most Americans, I spend a decent amount of time in my car alone and most of […]
The Railing Principle
March 24, 2014 By
Who was that guy—that first guy who thought, “I’m going to use my roof as a second floor”? When did it occur to him that the ceiling over his head could become a new floor beneath his feet? Was he lying in bed in the pre-dawn? Was he staring up at the ceiling with his […]
Surveillance, Wearables, and Confirming Mediocrity
March 24, 2014 By
Yesterday morning, one of my favorite twitter acquaintances tweeted a quote from an article on the future of web publishing: “You are what you measure” — Will the sunset of the pageview change what we create for the web? http://t.co/esQyeHUDqb — Christopher Mims (@mims) March 23, 2014 “You are what you measure.” And while the […]
Facebook and the False Self
March 19, 2014 By
Part 3 of our Lenten reflections on technology and spirituality. I think it’s time for Christians to give up giving Facebook up for Lent. While I realize that the intention behind giving up Facebook–or any other digital social network–for Lent is good, I think that just deactivating or uninstalling Facebook for 40 days can be […]
Paranoid Narcissism, Anxiety, and Embodiment in a Digital Culture
March 17, 2014 By
There are so many different sources of anxiety. I’m anxious about you reading this post and you’re probably anxious about wasting time reading this post. This week, Mark Zuckerberg got so anxious that he called President Obama to chat about some NSA activity he didn’t particularly like. This week, Dostoevsky has some advice for us […]
Weapons of Self-Restraint
March 12, 2014 By
Part 2 in a series of Lenten reflections on technology and spirituality. On Ash Wednesday, we prayed this collect at the beginning of our church service: Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed […]
Through the Looking Glass of an iPhone
March 10, 2014 By
The call of Pope Francis to take the Gospel to the streets also includes the digital ones. The first message of Pope Francis for World Communications Day is consistent with the Holy Father’s concern for reaching individuals where they are. Today that often means the virtual confines of the digital environment. The Holy Father’s message […]
Recent comments