Of mind and media: how culture's symbolic forms affect learning and thinking.(Cognition and Representation)(Cover Story) From: Phi Delta Kappan | Date: January 1, 1997| Author: Salomon, Gavriel | COPYRIGHT 1997 Phi Delta Kappa, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Mind and technological media are inextricably intertwined in that the workings of the former is heavily influenced by the latter. Media's symbolic forms shape the way people form meanings, use their mental capacities and view the world.

Media's symbolic forms of representation are clearly not neutral or indifferent packages that have no effect on the represented information, Mr. Salomon points out. Being part and parcel of the information itself, they influence the meanings one arr...