The preface to a new book of mine begins, “All of man’s artifacts, of language, of laws, of ideas, hypotheses, tools, clothing, computers - all of these are extensions of our physical bodies.” This power to extend ourselves was used as a theme by Hans Hass in his book The Human Animal. In it he considers this human ability to create additional organs as “an enormity from the evolutionary standpoint - an advance laden with unfathomable consequences.” My own Laws of the Media are observations on the operation and effects of human artifacts on man and society, or, as Hans Hass notes, a human artifact is “not merely an implement for working upon something, but an extension of our body effected by the artificial addition of organs; an advance to which, to a greater or lesser degree, we owe our civilization.” Hass considers our bodily extensions as having these advantages: (a) they have no need of constant nourishment, thus they save energy; (b) they can be discarded or stored rather than carried around, a further saving of energy; (c) they are exchangeable, enabling man to specialize, to play many roles, so that when carrying a spear, he can be a hunter or when using a paddle he can move across the sea. All of these instruments can be shared communally. They can be made in any community by specialists, giving rise to handcraft skills.
我的一本新书的媒介是如许开头的，“人类全部的人造物，全部说话，全部执法，全部头脑、条件、东西、打扮、盘算机——这些当中的每一样都是我们肉身的延伸。”我们自身的延伸这种本领，被汉斯·哈斯在他的书《人这种动物》中用作一个主题。在书中，他以为人类制造附加的器官这一本领是“从进化看法来看意义深远——一个满盈了不行了解的紧张性的前进”。我本身的《前言定律》便是基于人造物对人和社会的作用和影响的观看，大概，如汉斯·哈斯所说，一种人造物“不但是一种用来做某事的东西，照旧一种因人为的器官附加而实现的我们身材的延伸；这是我们的文明或多或少都应该归功于此的一个前进。”汉斯以为我们的身材延伸具有以下长处：（a）它们不必要连续的营养，是以它们节约能源；（b）它们可以被抛弃或存储而不是随身携带，进一步节约能源；（c）它们是可变更的，使人可以或许专攻、可以或许饰演很多脚色，是以，在拿上一支矛的时间他可所以一位猎人，大概在用一支桨的时间他可以穿越大海。全部这些东西都可以共享。它们可以在任何社区由专家制作，从而孕育发生手工技能。
按：技能和东西是人身材的延伸，这一想法的弊端在于全部延伸都在人身上汇总。究竟上，就算都是人的延伸，技能是在人体外总括的，如许的总括对人、对社会的作用和影响，不以人的意志为转移，不行计划。
人群构造中的软件如说话、执法、头脑、条件等，都不是人体的延伸，而是硬件延伸总括形成的旁效征象。
口语文化里也有专家，但这不是职业，而是脚色。如许的专家是团体场配景的一个组分，不是表面。
