Connections

Please borrow this series of BBC episodes, written and hosted by James Burke, from your local library. If they don't have it, ask them to order it.

This is the most eloquent presentation of the history of civilization that has ever aired on television or appeared in cinema. It should be required viewing for any English-speaking student. This series will powerfully enhance your perspective of history and your place in it, because you will understand why things are the way they are today.

Each episode is expertly crafted to a high standard that invites repeated viewing. You will be amazed.

The Connections series I, II and III are the most delightful and accessible approach to the history of the world and its' sciences since the Cosmos series. Compelling and Addictive... something on television that's truly worth watching. Companion books to the series are also available. The Connections series' blend of humor and Zen are incredibly entertaining--- Call it Life As We Know It 101.

Also recommended: The Day The Universe Changed series.

Did you know that the invention of nautical devices in the 16th and 17th century by European seafarers is a link in an historical chain that will directly lead to the Nuclear Age of the 20th century? That the invention of move-able type printing in the mid-15th century was in part due to the devastating plague of the 14th century? That Henry VIII's breaking from the Roman Catholic Church to form England's own church is a distant link that will eventually lead to the invention of limelight used to light theatre stages in the 19th century? That the need for tar for cargo ships in the 17th century will eventually lead to the invention of a new kind of fertilizer in the late 19th century? Or how innovations in the textile industries of the 18th and 19th century were an essential component for the beginning of Information Technology in the 20th century? Or, my favorite, how some exploding billiard balls of the late 19th century will become part of a puzzle that leads to mass media entertainment. These are just a handful of the strange seemingly unrelated "connections" between people, inventions, motivations, places and eras that have led to some of the most extraordinary innovations of the modern age. And yet, every link, every "connection", is not only essential but often had nothing to do with the original intent of the inventors and/or innovators at the time.

It is almost a cliché that most of the greatest inventions and innovations of the modern age were found by accident as a result of the inventor or innovator trying to solve an entirely different problem. History textbooks often present this material as a survey of end-products whose result was preordained: light bulbs, televisions, mass transit, and the like are often made to seem as inevitable outgrowths of linear progress. James Burke's "Connections" takes an entirely different route of explanation that is anything but linear. His hypothesis which is based on a vast assortment of historical record is that significant technological change is the result of a myriad of strange circumstances and unforeseen consequences throughout history in which, at the time, no one could have guessed the end result.

In the first episode, Burke outlines the form in which each of these "stories" will take place. The viewer will be a kind of detective along with Burke to discover the many twists and turns that will eventually lead to nine major scientific inventions of the 20th century. But the viewer will not know the invention with which the story will lead until the very end. And the beginning of the trail will seem very far from the end result. For example, the second episode begins with how people 3000 years ago began adapting metal for coinage as a better means to stimulate trade and commerce will eventually lead to an invention that Burke says "affects every man, woman and child on the planet." Another episode begins with seafaring in the ancient world. Yet another begins with medieval cannon balls.

Throughout his series, historian-commentator Burke takes us behind-the-histories of these greatest of innovations of the modern world. He often begins in the Middle Ages, sometimes earlier, in which people were simply trying to solve a particular problem at a particular moment. In one episode for example, Burke describes the European Ice Age of the Middle Ages which meant that castles and chateaus needed to be redesigned as an answer to the cold weather. Instead of large drafty high-ceilinged rooms, smaller rooms came into being along with central heating systems in which a fireplace could heat several rooms. And this also had an impact on culture. Indoor games like chess and backgammon, indoor art such as tapestries, and reading books came into vogue along with the physical stratification of the classes. Upper class people resided in the rooms upstairs while the working class occupied the lower rooms.

Burke takes the conventional wisdom of "history" which is too often presented as linear and inevitable and turns it on its head. This is possibly one of the most fascinating series of the late 20th century. And he also makes a "story" out of history. Only school textbooks could make a subject as fascinating as history so boring, and Burke shows us that this is not the case at all.

When I first saw this series on PBS it was mesmerizing. James Burke was (and still is) a dynamo of enthusiasm for forward thinking science and progress. In his series he does away with epochs and eras of revolutions, and shows us various butterfly effects and inspirations for a plethora of things that helped improve human society.

I have to admit that I was then, and am still now, awed and perplexed as to how one can make such linear connections without the human artifice of defining periods of when certain technological and social explosions and convulsions took place. I'm a throw back to the "it happened in this period" mindset. Burke says "No, it happened like this..." and shows us what invention or discovery did what and for whom, and how that changed human society as a whole (in particular Europe and the US).

We're shown vignettes that describe breakthroughs, inspirations, discoveries, and applications thereof. We're told and shown the social climate of the time, and how times changed and were altered by new innovations.

In short, Burke shows us the connections. He shows us minds of the elite and not-so-privileged making contributions, and how their ideas resonated with one another to create even newer inventions and so on.

Production Values; shot on 16mm, the props, costumes and demonstrations of various apparatus (old and new alike) are top notch, as are the locations. James Burke himself is very energetic and easy to listen to as he explains his logic and paths of reason. The only critique is that the material is dated, but in a good way. Being a product of its age, "Connections" shows us a slice of time I was involved in, when computers were still largely business and university electronic mechanisms, and high technology meant a pocket calculator to do your math homework. It shows us a time when social ignorance of a different sort because of lack of communication was very much prevalent because of the political polarization on an international scope; the US and its allies were 1st world countries, the Soviets and their sphere of influence were the 2nd world, and every other nation not aligned was "the third world", and how this fueled inspiration and connections. So it is that we can go with James Burke to Dubai, London, New York, and Berlin, but not Beijing nor Moscow.

If you're interested in how things got going, and how we in the 70s looked at tomorrow, then definitely give this series a look. You won't be disappointed.

In this amazing series, James Burke, discusses the amazing world of scientific inventions and discoveries and how they all relate to one another. It explores the historical and cultural implications on the things that we take for granted today. It might be old, but all of it is still relevant and damn interesting. James Burke is an excellent narrator and grips your attention throughout the series with his amazing findings about the man made world and how and why are things the way they are. I was always intrigued by the things all around us, and how we got from hunter gatherers to a space faring civilisation. This series beautifully answers that question while presenting you with extraordinary complex world which stan on seemingly simple incremental changes that got us where we are today.