tetrad
| McLuhan proposed the tetrad as an alternate
means for discussing the effect of technology on society. Instead of using
a model based on causality, the tetrad organizes an artifact as a "resonating
interval": an object which transcends time; and is affected by both its
own attributes and the environment which surrounds it. As McLuhan and Powers
explain:
...the tetrad performs the function of myth in that it compresses past, present, and future into one through the power of simultaneity. The tetrad illuminates the borderline between acoustic and visual space as an arena of spiraling repetition and replay, both of input and feedback, interlace and interface in the area of imploded circle of rebirth and metamorphosis. (p.9) The main thrust of the tetrad is to create a "comprehensive awareness" of both the artifact and its surroundings. Creation of tetrads requires the user to strive for a mental balance between acoustic and visual space, requiring the cognitive power of both left and right hemispheres of the brain. |