Media, Mind, and Society: Introduction

Media, Mind, and Society: Introduction: "It is really not that surprising that artists rival with the military to be at the cutting edge of technological investigation. Both parties have a vested interest in understanding and exploiting the impact of the technology on the human sensorium. Both are concerned with issues of agression, as the artist is well aware of the destructive potential of a new technology when it invades the previous social order. The paradox, of course, is that the military has more money for R&D than any other institution, and the art world has the least. The military works in secrecy, while art tries its best to get out of obscurity. Having no access to military secrets, I have opted to go to the art of our time to find out about where we are going, trusting McLuhan's perceptive recommandation:
If men were able to be convinced that art is precise advance knowledge of how to cope with the psychic and social consequences of the next technology, would they all become artists ? Or would they begin a careful translation of new artforms into social navigation charts ? I am curious to know what would happen if art were suddenly seen for what it is, namely, exact information of how to rearrange one's psyche in order to anticipate the next blow from our own extended faculties "