To say that "the camera cannot lie" is merely to underline the multiple deceits that are now practised in its name.
Marshall McluhanRead
All words, in every language, are metaphors.
Interpretation
Words represent ideas and concepts, but they do so indirectly, like metaphors.
Marshall McLuhan's assertion that all words are metaphors highlights the idea that language is a system of symbols that stand in for deeper meanings and concepts. This perspective encourages us to understand that words are not just literal but also carry connotations and implications that shape our perception of reality.
In practice
In a discussion on linguistics, you might quote McLuhan to emphasize the complexity of language.
To say that "the camera cannot lie" is merely to underline the multiple deceits that are now practised in its name.
A point of view can be a dangerous luxury when substituted for insight and understanding.
In big industry new ideas are invited to rear their heads so they can be clobbered at once. The idea department of a big firm is a sort of lab for isolating dangerous viruses.
The news automatically becomes the real world for the TV user and is not a substitute for reality, but is itself an immediate reality.
Faced with information overload, we have no alternative but pattern-recognition.
The poet, the artist, the sleuth, whoever sharpens our perception tends to antisocial; rarely 'well adjusted,' he cannot go along with currents and trends.
And what do you wish?' he said at last. 'That what should be shall be,' she answered.
Let no man be called happy before his death. Till then, he is not happy, only lucky.
Not by accident, you may be sure, do the Christian Scriptures make the father of knowledge a serpent - slimy, sneaking and abominable.
By adopting the control strategy, the nation's environmental program has created a built-in antagonism between environmental quality and economic growth.
The emotions aren't always immediately subject to reason, but they are always immediately subject to action.
We're setting up mechanisms where we can kill human beings with drones and missiles where you're sitting at a console and pressing the button. We never have to hear their whimpering, or hear them begging for their mother, or dying in horrible realities around us. I don't know if that's necessarily such a good thing.
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