American poet, novelist, social, and cultural commentator Charles Bukowski was perhaps best known for being what Time magazine called “a laureate of American lowlife,” whose writing focused on the most ordinary and mundane aspects of life.
An intellectual is someone who says a simple thing in a difficult way. An artist is someone who says a difficult thing in a simple way.
While considering whether or not to attend a book reading by Steve Jobs biograher Walter Isaacson tonight in Toronto, I was reminded of the above quote from Bukowski. It defines Steve for me perfectly, and equally contrasts with McLuhan, who most would say falls into the opposite camp of people who expressed simple ideas in a complex way. I like to think McLuhan just made you work a bit to understand.