I don’t know who discovered water but I know it wasn’t a fish.
Father John Culkin (1928-1993) of Fordham University
and a colleague of Marshall McLuhan
“This quote has often been attributed to Marshall McLuhan but the real author was Fr. John Culkin who was a colleague of McLuhan’s and a big force in the media world. This world was subsequently known as media ecology and is characterized by how media surrounds us and affects our thinking. Just like anything else in which we’re immersed, we can’t really see it until we have a different perspective. Visionary people are able to look at this world that we live in from outside and come to understand how it actually works. Much like a fish doesn’t know water because they don’t know anything but water. You have to somehow be aware of the other possibilities before you can understand what is so essential to your life. For instance, you don’t understand the family that you grew up in until you’ve left it and you see what other families are like. As the song goes, “You don’t know what you got til it’s gone.” We hope to be able to appreciate the things while we are here and while they’re still here. It’s so important to reach beyond and try to find different perspectives with which to see everyday phenomena that we take for granted that is essential to our lives.”
Anton Schwartz is a jazz musician and son
of the late media and communications pioneer
Tony Schwartz, author of the seminal book
The Responsive Chord: How Media Manipulates You…
What You Buy… Who You Vote For…and How You Think
