ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Marshall McLuhan

Marshall McLuhan was a very smart man who lived a long time ago and he was interested in how people communicate with each other. He thought that the way we communicate can change how we understand the world around us.

He had a neat idea that talked about how the form in which a message is delivered is just as important as the message itself. Imagine you’re getting a letter from your best friend. The words on the letter are important because it’s your friend telling you about what happened at school. But, the way your friend writes it, with all the capital letters, the smiley faces, and the dots, that can also tell you how they are feeling about what they are writing.

He also had another cool idea that said the media we use to communicate can change how we think about things. Imagine you’re watching your favorite TV show. You see the world through the eyes of the characters, so you understand what’s happening to them better.

Overall, Marshall McLuhan just wanted us to think about how we talk to each other and what tools we use to do it.