Bias Against Print

“In cold print” is a phrase vividly summing up the distortion inherent in bookish contact with another human consciousness, but compared with the involving, immediate experience that is true personal contact, “in cold TV” and “in cold telephone” are apt phrases. As McLuhan pointed out, Aquinas applauded Christ’s oral teachings because it functioned solely on a person-to-person level, and disapproved attempting to teach through books alone. Would Aquinas or any other oral man praise teaching through TV and computer print out?” - Duffy, Dennis. Canadian Writes: A Subseries: Marshall McLuhan. McClelland and Stewart Limited: Toronto, 1967 pg 36

Yesterday’s post dealt with the telepathy between an author and a reader. I think that the way thoughts are transmitted over time and space from the author to the reader is nothing short of magic.

The above quotation illustrates a bias against print that many people seem to perpetuate. I don’t know why this bias continues to run rampant. Contact is made with another mind through books in a way that really isn’t comparable to anything else.