The designer and systems thinker Bob treats as one of the channels feeding McLuhan — a candidate source of the key term "extensions," and the origin of the image of the satellite as an extension of the terrestrial environment. Fuller recurs as a supplier of McLuhan's vocabulary rather than a figure in his own right. New to it — start with dialogue 13 for the satellite-as-extension.
Across the dialogues
Enters as a candidate source for McLuhan's "extensions" — alongside Emerson and Edward Hall, "extensions of our faculties"
Bob floats Fuller (with Emerson and Edward Hall) as a source of McLuhan's key term "extensions" — the reach of the faculties McLuhan built his media theory on.
"extensions of our faculties"Bob Dobbs, The Resonant Interval, Dialogue 7 (24 Dec 2020), 1:18:11
Cited on satellite surveillance — Fuller's 1970s remark to McLuhan that satellite cameras could already read license plates
Bob relays a mid-1970s Fuller remark to McLuhan — government satellite photographs already sharp enough to pick out a single car — as the origin of what he calls "solar government" and secret satellite surveillance.
"they're going to be able to see the license plates on your car."Bob Dobbs, The Resonant Interval, Dialogue 10 (14 Jan 2021), 1:26:13
Supplies the satellite-as-extension — the satellite as extension of the terrestrial environment, Bob's "encapsulated anti-environment"
Bob credits Fuller for the image that sparked his own cold-fusion-era insight — the satellite as the merger of first and second nature, a survivable capsule one carries into hostile space.
"the satellite was an extension of our terrestrial environment."Marshall McLuhan, read by Bob Dobbs, The Resonant Interval, Dialogue 13 (11 Feb 2021), 56:44
Connections
Bob names Fuller (with Emerson and Edward Hall) as a candidate source of McLuhan's "extensions," and the satellite-as-extension image.