I came across a great find today on iTunes. I’ve recently finished re-reading Plato’s Republic and was thinking of moving next to rediscover Descartes, when I got one my favorite quotes of all time stuck in my head, James Burke’s infamous line “…and that brings us to a guy named Descartes, on whom I blame everything.” The point he makes is with regards to reductionism and James goes on to note a friend of his who has a degree in Milton’s use of the coma, so on and so forth. But it’s great historical introspections like these that make you love James so much, to get you to re-examine that which you know into something greater and more profound, and even to be entertained in the process.
When I was in high school I first saw the “Connections” 10-part series that James did. The last part of that series “Yesterday, Tomorrow, and You” was, to me, profound. That one hour of video, made in 1978, did in fact change my life in 1992. In fact, looking at my youth, that series, and in particular that last episode, had as much impact on my life and its direction as the first BBS that I logged into which led me to a SunOS system for USENET, which turned me into the SA that I am today. And to point out just how unbelievably ahead of his time James was in that episode, he said the following in the least minute or two:
“We’re on the edge of a revolution in communications technology thats going to make that [access to knowledge] more possible than ever before. Or, if thats not done, to cause an explosion of knowledge that will leave those of us that don’t have access to it as powerless as if we were deaf, dumb, and blind.”
James was so ahead of his time it’s scary. Those words accurately describe the world in which we find ourselves today.
I’m lucky to say that one of the great honors of my life was getting to meet Mr Burke myself after he gave a keynote presentation at JavaOne several years back. Afterwards I stood around and was lucky enough to get in a quick “Hello and thank you for your work.” with a handshake. Someone nearby had several questions for James and since he needed to grab some lunch before flying out of San Francisco extended an offer to anyone that wanted to join him. It’s one of the greatest regrets of my life that I didn’t attend. Passing up lunch with a hero leaves a mark.
Anyway, to the point of all this. If you search iTunes for “Connections” you’ll find a Podcast… a video podcast. Its proper name is “Connections [ClickCaster.com]“. Under that podcast you’ll find the 10 episodes of the original 10 part 1978 Connections series including the episode that had so much impact on me. If you’re a fan of the show, I recommend grabbing it and adding it to your library. If you’ve seen some Connections (2 or 3) series before I recommend checking it out. And most of all, if you’ve never seen it, I highly recommend that you sit down with some coffee and a desire to learn and soak it up.
UPDATE: sfire||mouse and craig (see comments) were kind enough to point to the source, which provides Connections for both streaming and MP4 download, as well as The Day the Universe Changed, a series I’d heard of but never been able to see before. *score!* Get them here: http://clickcaster.com/users/jamesburke.
nice, downloading them now, looking forward to it, thanks…
http://clickcaster.com/channel/rss/connections should be the feed for the show
They also have `The Day the Universe Changed`, available at http://clickcaster.com/channel/view/daytheuniversechanged, which was another Burke documentary in the mid-80′s.
Classic TV! This is just the sort of production that makes the openness of the BBC video/audio vaults critical for all …
My wife and I always loved Connections. Thanks for posting the podcast link, Ben!
I remember a few years ago James Burke was in SF for a conference of some sort, and Ben was within feet of him and James went out of his way to shake his hand….that’s all I heard for days. He’s an outstanding man and thinker; great man to have in the world!
Great find Craig! I’ve heard of ‘The Day the Universe Changed’ but never seen it. Sweet. Not being at the mercy of TLC or BBC’s US programming schedule rules.
OK, you get extra credit for reading “The Republic”.
Wonderful find, although I wonder if Mr Burke would be appreciative of your gushing adoration if he knew how many glaring grammar mistakes were in your post. I’m typically not a member of the “grammar police”, but the confusion of “your” and “you’re” is particularly unacceptable to me. Whenever I’m reading an article or post and come across this nails-on-the-chalkboard mistake I immediately move on. In this case the mistake was towards the end of your article, so I was able to experience most of the other errors.
Kirk… I gladly accept patches in unified diff format. All other bitching from whiney readers is ignored.
Seriously, get a life. This is a personal blog, if you dont’ want to read my stuff just don’t read it. Whine whine bitch bitch. Try doing something productive and positive with your life.
And, incidently (notice please that this is misspelled for your benefit), anyone that says “I’m typically not…” typically is.
Okey, maybe that response was a bit over the top, but using lines like “particularly unacceptable to me” is just picking a fight. A more polite comment would have gotten a more polite response.
Unaware of just how bad some of the post was I’ve done an unusual thing and edited it. FYI: I as a policy don’t have time to edit or proof read things. I post and forget. This isn’t a commercial blog, and like all blogs, read it or don’t, I’m not losing revenue become someone doesn’t like my terrible grammar.
Ben,
Thanks for reminding me how great these were … I’d forgot how influential Connections (and James Burke’s style) were in forming my approach to technology and innovation.
Re-watching them now is proving very revealing: as I can recognise facets of my understanding and much more interestingly even aspects of my delivery of material as an instructor (one role!) as Burkean style.
I knew that cross-fertilised and connective links were a huge driver in my acquisition of new knowledge but until watching these again I’d not realised the critical role that my early years wih Burke had played!!
My kids are in for a treat (and a few laughs at the 70s styles!) …
Thanks
Craig
If you liked Mr. Burke’s writings, you should also check out Dr. John Lienhard’s “Engines of Our Ingenuity” series from the University of Houston. He has a 2x daily read of his “Engines” articles broadcast on KUHF radio in Houston. Here is the link to the transcripts of his radio show: http://www.uh.edu/engines/epiindex.htm
The one I like best is his discussion of bubble gum and Panch Villa. Enjoy!
Gene Beaird
Sorry, that should be ‘Santa Ana’ Episode 963
I first saw the Connections series back in the early 80′s. Absolutely loved them. Since then I’ve tried getting VHS or DVDs without any luck. Your post was like getting a late birthday gift. Now I can actually show people what I’ve been going on about for all these years.
Thanks for sharing.
Ray
Both of these are great series. Burke is a genius. Sadly, they have been removed from the clickcaster.com website.
thanks for the Connections info. It seems the Clickmaster link is no longer available. Any news or info where Connections can be purchased or accessed? I actually have the original Connections series on VHS, but the quality has erroded, and I’d love to have a better version for my kids. Any help would be most appreciated.
Donald
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The first Connections episode was based on the Twin Towers, called Triggering Effect. It features a segment on an aircraft Scandinavia flight 911.
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