James Burke : Connections, Episode 10, "Yesterday, Tomorrow and You", 5 of 5 (CC)

[chadpicard]

"Give everyone a computer and say 'help yourself'" That's basically what we've done, isn't it?

[BugsWisely]

There are people that believe it's their God given right to be condescended until the very instant they no longer want that from you. They are called women.

[BugsWisely]

Always the assumption that anyone cares who lives or dies. People do not understand their indifference let alone possess the intellect to care. What makes anyone think they are intelligent enough to care? Caring is nothing more than a fallacious figment bug in your imagination.

[AutodidacticPhd]

These ten minutes are dynamite when watched in the context of SOPA and PIPA protests.

[wanderliscious]

i love the last few minutes, such wise words. thank you very much for posting!

[V0N32]

This guy is amazing. I'd write out a comment maxing out the character limit and some complementing his work, but I don't even know where to begin. Absolutely now words can give this guy enough praise. Just how I wish he'd come back- and that these programs would resurface on prime time TV...

[bluygs]

A good question is not 'where is science programming like this today?', it's 'where is THIS program today?' Where - with the hundreds of channels available today - are all of Burke's series, Lord Clark's 'Civilisation', Bronowski's 'Ascent of Man', Sagan's 'Cosmos', Phillip Morrison's 'Ring of Truth', Adam Curtis' BBC works...

These, I should have hoped, would continue to inspire my children's generation as they inspired me. When I became a teacher, it was programming like this which lit my way.

[victorialucas38]

Profound, thought-provoking and inspired television from one of the genre's great communicators. James Burke was one of the first faces I ever saw on TV, watching the later moon-landings as a toddler, and I've been educated, informed and entertained over the past three days watching this series. This is the kind of thing I pay my licence fee for and rarely get in return. I just want to thank you for uploading it and wish Mr Burke had been a teacher at my school! I could watch it all over again!

[madmax200769]

The irony of the power of computers demonstrated by the specimen air booking is that whilst the technology can do it, it relies on dumb, lazy and often incompetent humans to implement the consequences.

Computers don't render that "sepcial assistance" or look after those "dietary needs". We now have that technology and it is delivered by surly operatives who care little if anything about customer service. That was the factor left out of any equation about the promise of technology.

[terrybeaton]

"we are on the verge of a revolution in communications technology". I think that's what he said. I wonder if he could have truly imagined. Now we are talking about the technological "Singularity" arriving in 40 or so years. The future seems like it's just about to sweep us up and away. Where will we be in just 100 years? Am I alone in feeling just a bit overwhelmed. And even frightened!

[smothaudio]

@terrybeaton Don't worry sir, humans will probably be extinct in the next 200 years. Look at what only 100 years of burning fossil fuels has done to the planet...

The future is very scary indeed.

[SamBlob]

@smothaudio Make that 200 years or more of burning fossil fuels. Don't forget the coal of the Industrial Revolution.

[jaymoe67]

Very well done, and I found answers to some of my previous questions. This series and others like it(thank you Carl Sagen as well) have a lot to do with why The Science channel, History channel, and others that exist today. And yet I don't believe any of the current programs that exist today on those devoted channels carry the power that this series does. The final episode weaves all the previous subject matters into clarity that applies 30 + yrs later...Scary. Bravo.

[Inediblehulk]

You are all links in history, neither at the beginning nor end but forever holding the two sides together and transmitting between. Not in a general way either; I'm talking to you in particular.

[strickenchord]

James Burke, thanks for providing this journey/perspective on the way things work. To think that the reason I learned about your show came from a simple click on reddit.

Your K-web system seems to be quite interesting too.

[Craigthepope]

Computers will probably never catch on.

[karmacop911]

Perfect closing line.

[jamesberge]

"Ask yourself if there's anything in your life that you want changed. That's where to start."

-James Burke

Our TV in rural Colorado couldn't pick up PBS. I just watched this for the first time, and at 40, this series has changed my paradigms.

Thank you so much for posting this. You have no idea the changes within that the information in this series has caused. Thank you again.

[Krondelo]

@jamesberge Definitely man, James Burke is a genius and his way of thinking I don't think can be matched.

[ChurchOfKali66619]

"There is no God but Chaos and every Thing is to Her profit."

---Kalimite saying

[Gregorius144]

Wow, it's shocking how accurately he anticipated the "digital age" and it's effects, including the "digital divide".

[happyrobot42]

@Gregorius144 sure man, that digital divide ... horizontal rule ?

[happyrobot42]

@Gregorius144 angel headed hipsters, burning for the the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo of the machinery of night

[AlienRelics]

I love his wrap-up speech.

I love this series! I'm so happy that I can watch it again.

[laggist]

i loved the entire 1st series.. its relevance even today is startling. if looked through the lenses of the 70s, the revelations that this series brought is nothing short of revolutionary. bravo.

[mhwombat]

Wow.

I loved this series when I first saw it, and it's even more relevant today.

[MrBunnerabb]

W e l l

D o n e .

[SAHBfan]

Just stumbled across this by accident. It was a marvellous series - if fact everything James Burke did was quality television... I'm coming over all nostalgic, now :-o

Just subscribed - looking forward to watching lots more, thanks for posting.

[xRhythm]

Many thanks for posting this series.

[sneakyninjacrow]

Brilliant show.

[nNorthWestern]

thank you so much for posting the series

[CHANNELOMD]

great post its time for this to be shown again

[CHANNELOMD]

great post its time for this to be shown again

[ballerkingofVA95]

This has been one of the greatest things I've laid eyes on. Burke has opened my mind to a different view on change and makes me question certain things now. Thank you so so much

[30secondsflat]

Even though his view of the computer is slightly outdated ("give everybody a computer and say 'help yourselve'. Where would you even start?"...well, we're all starting now by virtue of the fact we're watching this on YouTube;)), he's right about the danger of technological complacency. Take a look at the internet: it has 2 bill. users, yes, but billions more not in the technology/knowledge loop. That's having repercussions on global development we're only now trying to anticipate.

[BrooklynNYC777]

this show was great really great

[billyensign]

Thank you very much.

For those of us who want to change the world we need to do as you recommend, earn a PHD availing ourselves to the latest technology and philosophy.

I wish the leaders of the world would be mandated to study these connections and stop engineering us into Babbitsville. They have the power to change the world with very powerful sciences and instead they micromanage the minutia.

We are awash in carbon and old technology.

I wish I had a college degree let alone a PHD

[wado1942]

You know, we have all this great information and it seems like we've done with it exactly what Burke said we would.... Switch off our brains and suck our thumbs. Just look at the crap the average person posts on You Tube! Virtualy nobody can speak or spell intelligably anymore and have no desire to learn anything that isn't imediately amusing. I guess our progress will ultimately destroy our ability to create progress.

[MrJivePirate]

Good god that is the best thing ever breaking shit with sledge hammers in slow motion with james burke

[soctu]

Interesting the Internet resolves his final inquiry. Its all there. And everybody (for the most part) does have access to computers either at home or public library or learning institution.

[TheLastBrainLeft]

Burke saw the profound effect of the internet and the digital revolution 20 years before anyone else. I would invest a lot of money in whatever Burke today sees coming in the year 2040 or so.

[amirtaaki]

James Burke is so unbelievably profound. The solution he should have stated was open access to ALL information. Open Source and Free Software is setting that example today. It is imperative that we don't engineer our technological society where it's impossible for anyone to understand how it works. That is a prescription for disaster.

[clray123]

@amirtaaki Open-shmopen. You can have all "free" access to everything, and then you realize you'd need, let's say, 5 years of study to understand that "open" piece of technology/scientific research you have "at your fingertips". Can you afford to take 5 years off? Do you even want to? That's what Burke meant.

[lumaix]

@clray123 With the knowledge there more people will allow themselves to be absorbed instead of garden fencing themselves off. Science is gaining balance as we stand up and wade nature's waters. Burke said we cannot let control fall away from people. People's minds are mesmorised and captured. Share your specialist knowledge and don't be elitist. Don't trust control by people who seek to concentrate that powerful knowledge, pull for freedom and open access. ~amirtaaki

[clray123]

@lumaix Look, it's not a question of attitude, it's more a question of human capacity to learn. As Burke pointed out, we can understand everything in principle. But better don't try this at home unless you want to leave this world as a poor "hobby scientist/philosopher/open source/social justice advocate".

[lumaix]

@clray123 Where is your proof of this supposed limit? From the first mass printed book people have been singing this old tune like a broken record for centuries.

[clray123]

@lumaix The proof is in facts that certain professions demand certain qualifications, which require long amounts of formal education. A medical doctor doesn't become an attorney doesn't become an engineer for good economical reasons. The same is true within a profession, you cannot easily substitute one expert engineer with another without losing productivity. Such economical barriers plainly reflect the limited human capacity to gain in-depth understanding of complex systems.

[lumaix]

@clray123 As a previous coder we broke down the complex ecosystem of software app into components. One coder, one component. A component too complex for one person breaks into two smaller simple pieces.

Maybe knowing about one component necessitates using another. Asbtract upwards; build mediator components. We, the components of society with a head full of smaller neuronic components can always grow our collective brain bigger. It might not be fast but it sure is huge.

[lumaix]

@clray123 Assume it will get to that point in the future. We're not there yet. Fundamental understanding is still graspable with effort. Instead we have engineered a society based on science & technology where almost nobody understands science yet speaks a second language. This is a prescription for disaster.

[OrganCat]

If I'd only had a history teacher like James Burke, my appreciation of history would not have had to wait until I was and adult. A brilliant man who can pass knowledge along while making it fun and fascinating, Burke put most teachers to shame.

[Drchainsaw77]

The music that closes this episode also closes episodes 4, 6, and 9..... but can anyone tell me what it is??? Help!

[Gary190tube]

there's a rule of thumb when it comes to documentaries: if the presenter is wearing a safari suit then you can bet it gonna be a good programme.

Completely true! Look at all those ground-breaking documentaries from the 70's and 80's. The presenters all wore suits like James's.

[jba1995]

Amazing and still relevant. I have watched this series three times in the last 15 years.

I wonder if JB's presentation will stil be relevant in another 15 years....somehow I think yes.

[clray123]

@jba1995 Maybe it is relevant or maybe it is just "revealing". It shows how little has changed in our collective thinking for the past 30 years or so. The pursuit of green sustainable energy? The idea of technocalypse? Tiredness with mass production and consumerism? Somehow after watching this show these concepts just seem increasingly boring rather than profound. So I guess the "solution" to the "big questions" he posed in this video is and will continue to be No. 4: "business as usual".

[TheRealGreg]

What a fantastic series! So relevant today. Thank you for creating this channel. Wish I could every person to watch.

[Bondianwolf]

If we can solve ONE major problem that confronts all of, then, by solving THAT problem, we will have solved almost all of the others. The problem? Populating beyond our resources.

Stop people from vaginally xeroxing themselves, and we will free up almost limitless energy that we can aim at solving other problems.

[Jcolinsol]

As far as I can observe, the universe is spinning structures, we were made by those structures, and we are collectively a structure, and the things we make are part of a structure.

This thing we are on now, the internet, is just the central nervous system of an evolving structure bigger than ourselves. Passing around signals, to cells.

[natmanprime]

yes! So's all techMOLOGIE

This being will see the world in more of a 4 dimensional shape, from the vantage point of the 5th dimension

[dsmith5167]

Superb.

[xyzpr11]

Outstanding series, Thanks.

Enjoy the Rube Goldberg style in linking hisorical events. Meant to spark inquiry rather than provide pat answers.

Timeless wisdom as well.

Sadly, the constrictions of this time, in large disallow the individual to acheive the examples represented in the series. Would like to see how a future Burke could speak to this time.

Thanks Again for the post.

[Ducttape995]

I remember watching "The Day the Universe Changed" on PBS back in the 80's. I'm thrilled to have been able to see these. Thanks for posting - wonderful series.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

My pleasure. Enjoy!

[emkajii]

I'd kind of like to know what James Burke thinks of wikipedia. It seems a lot like his knowledge-web idea, from what I've heard of it.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Maybe you should ask him? I'm sure the people at k-web would be happy to pass on your question.

In fact maybe we can collect a selection of 10 or so questions to forward to Mr. Burke and see what he thinks. I'm sure he'd be delighted to answer.

- JBW

[Grak70]

I wonder if my iphone has more computer power than that BA computer. lol

[wegreenall]

watched the whole series. fucking best thing i've ever seen!

i also like the fact he's spent this whole series trying to educate us, but throws in some gratuitous destruction of things to appeal to our baser emotions perhaps

[ScottfromTexas]

Can I AGREE violently with his view of art? LOL!

[ScottfromTexas]

0:49 we see that the Brit's trend of prying in to personal details goes back a while. Give give me a ticket.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

haha

[fartamplifer]

My parents made my sisters and I watch this show when we were little and then they would talk about it with us.

I like to think that it's becuase of this series that I laways try and take a step back and think about how some new discovery or news story will impact "the bigger picture".

Thanks Mr. Burke! : )

[thehaircrow]

:~)

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Yes. Not that art isn't useful or interesting or worth studying or anything like that.

The point is that it isn't "empowering". Studying art does not help you in being involved with the kinds of things that will affect you profoundly in daily life. Being ignorant, in the scientific sense, amounts to a loss of any element of control over your future and putting it into the hands of "experts" whom you will simply have to trust based on *faith*. And that amounts to a kind of "science religion".

[ostrichspeed]

No, sorry but that's utter bullshit. There is no (informed) thinker who doesn't realize that the "march of progress"/science-technology fetishism narrative is part of an ideology that belongs to the late 19th/early 20th centuries (i.e. the same period responsible for the eugenics movement, phrenology, racial "sciences", Social Darwinism, etc.) To buy into Burke's spiel at the end (which is a sadness, because it was otherwise a really fascinating series) is to be profoundly ignorant of history.

[ostrichspeed]

Example: he's quick to ignore Beethoven's contributions while ignoring Romanticism's connection to nationalism and the subsequent intersection of nationalism and (often with great intervention by the (nation)-state) industrialization.

[ostrichspeed]

It boggles my mind that Burke has such a low regard for all human endeavor other than science when in earlier episodes he heavily implies what I just wrote: social attitudes towards politics, philosophy, economics are as crucial elements as technology in effecting the rise of the West compared to relatively less dynamic China in the early modern period.

[clray123]

@ostrichspeed His show's main theme was change. Change is not induced byany of the "cultural" and "social" bullshit. It suffices to look at some ancient tribal societies who have been cut off access to technology for thousands of years to notice how much "social cultural progress" they have managed. Burke's got it absolutely right - the "cultural" aspect is shaped by technological progress, not vice versa.

[ostrichspeed]

@clray123 You're presenting a false dichotomy. Material conditions determine the change Burke speaks about - these can be economic, technological, political, military, social, whatever. Burke's mistake, at least in this series, is stressing the technological to the point of dismissing the rest. It was perfectly possible for him to make a series documenting the serendipitous in the historiography of technological innovation without the smug natural science chauvinism.

[lumaix]

@ostrichspeed You seem a bit hurt. No matter what though any comfortable lie is no substitute for the cold hard truth. Art and culture have a place and yet, we live in a technological SCIENCE based society. Our society is science based. Nothing can change that. When he held those two pictures, the amino acids are far far more profound with deep implications- alien life, our origins, immortality? A weaker mind would find the other more compelling. What are the messages? It doesn't compare...

[ostrichspeed]

@lumaix You apparently have a long way to go in your understanding of history and art appreciation.

[Grak70]

Every example you listed was an example of a dogma which was unquestioned at the time or, if it was questioned, shouted down. All of them, we now know to be false. Not thanks to philosophy, politics, religion, or ideology, but to science.

[ostrichspeed]

That's nice and all, but on the other hand, recorded history.

In all the things I mentioned, progress occurred as a direct result of social pressure and moral outrage which triggered reevaluation and reform. At no point were scientists a significant part of the equation.

Next you'll tell me the one about how population genetics did more for race relations than the civil rights movement.

[Grak70]

It's not a question of progress. It's a question of substantiation. I was pointing out that your examples weren't good ones. You're ready to lay blame on science and then have progressive white knights save the day. Well, I'm sorry, but the truth has nothing to fear from being investigated. The issue is corruption by dogma, not discovery of facts.

Natural selection isn't not true because some asshat decides to debase it as eugenics. You may as well blame the post office for letter bombs.

[ostrichspeed]

Cool, you're shifting goalposts, misreading my position and pretty much avoiding my main argument all the while nitpicking about the examples while proposing some cute ahistorical nonsense instead - which scientists made Social Darwinism unfashionable? Furthermore, you're presenting this dichotomy between science and "progressive white knights" - you're aware that people can engage in rational inquiry and give solid arguments without literally being scientists, right?

[clray123]

@ostrichspeed Haha, nice example! Indeed genetics did more for race relations that the civil rights movement, for if you know the facts of identical genetic make-up of different races, there is no ground left for your socio-cultural "disputes". They simply become obsolete with progress in science, whereas they could have persisted for the NEXT thousand of years otherwise.

[ostrichspeed]

@clray123 You're merely repeating the other poster's weak argument. Even a cursory glance at the historical record on this point proves you wrong.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Ok then, how does knowledge of the fine arts (as in painting, music, literature and so on) help to empower yourself as things move forward? I mean, it's fine to say it does, but can you be more specific? I'd love to forgo a large portion of technical knowledge and spend more time examining the artistic side of things, but I fail to see how that will help me in making decisions about who I should vote for, what power systems are safe for my children (and theirs) and so on. How does it help?

[ostrichspeed]

I already gave a specific example atleast insofar as art has its own part to play in concretely shaping the world we live in and I can give plenty of others if you want.

Raw scientific knowledge won't give you any more political insight than raw artistic knowledge. You want to read about history, political science and philosophy if you want to work towards a world where disparities of power are levelled.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Ok then, based on raw artistic knowledge, what is safer, a plutonium based reactor or a uranium based one? If I am to cast a vote and one side tells me plutonium is the way to go and the other says uranium, which of the following fields of study would provide me with the knowledge I need in order to cast my vote?

1. Music Theory

2. Visual arts / Sculpture

3. Physics / Mathematics

4. French Literature

5. Chemistry

6. Biology

I'm guessing you take the question as being sarcasm of some sort?

[ostrichspeed]

I'm sorry, I thought you meant "power" in the philosophical/political sense especially since you also brought up voting.

Obviously, for democracy to function smoothly citizens need to stay informed and do a bit of research on what's being voted on.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

I did, I chose power as an example but it could have been to do with health care / medical research, engineering projects, hi-tech research and development, bio engineering, space research and so on.

It turns out (don't blame me) the average person is given a handful of choices every once in a while on the direction these projects will go (if at all). So knowledge in these technologies amounts to a *minute* measure of control over your future. Not much, I admit, but it's something.

- JBW

[ostrichspeed]

Fine, but that applies to (surprise, surprise) other, non-scientific aspects of life.

We can't have a serious conversation about "technology + society = ?" by acquainting ourselves with mere technical know-how - the conversation has to bring in disciplines Burke brushes off as mere "products of human emotion".

[JamesBurkeWeb]

We most certainly can. I'm not against increasing our knowledge to include as many possible disciplines as possible. Just that I don't see the "interpretable" disciplines as being essential knowledge in forging one's future. You can't have an opinion about that which can be demonstrated one way or another. It's either true, or false.

Yes, we need people to interpret the world and (hopefully) discover ways in which we can all live peacefully together for example. Problem is coming to agreement.

[ostrichspeed]

No, we can't. Sorry, but that's quite an arrogant statement to make and I don't think you fully grasp the scope or limits of the fields we're talking about. Hint: it goes deeper than just "opinion".

The conception of the natural sciences as our only epistemological terra firma is a naive and untenable one.

[JamesBMotion]

Well, I'm sorry if I sound (or am being arrogant) it is not my intention and I do not wish to diminish the importance of the arts in human knowledge.

I made a point in the best way I know how. If that doesn't satisfy then I guess it doesn't and we'll have to leave it at that. I have nothing further to add.

In any case, I hope you enjoyed the series even if you happen to disagree with Mr. Burke's closing remarks.

- JBW

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Haha. too funny. I didn't realize I was signed in as my alternate "artistic side" channel when I responded!

[carlories]

Prophetic words from James Burke about the information revolution that was to come (from his 1978 perspective).

Brilliant show!

[Narxysus]

"...maybe a good start would be to recognise within yourself the ability to understand anything, because that ability is there, as long as it's explained clearly enough, and then go, and ask for explanations."

If only society in general were more in tune with this statement. I think too many of us are stagnant with the belief that we can't learn, and that even if we could, there's no point. But that just isn't true. Life should be an unending quest for knowledge - what else is the brain for?

[JamesBurkeWeb]

I agree.

Though there are examples of people who can't learn certain things because of some cognitive defect [say, "Down syndrome" and so on], I think that most people *do* have that ability (of course that's is just a belief!).

- JBW

[Hentaikid]

Wonderful stuff, reminds me of Sagan's Cosmos. Should have a lot more views

[JamesBurkeWeb]

It does have lots of views. YouTube is simply broken and doesn't count views of non-partner channels anymore.

My channel page view count for instance, is nearing my video view count even though "insight" reports over 3000 video views daily.

I had another channel that had some popular videos (#2 and #3 spots for common search phrases). Within *one week*, those videos fell off the search results forever ( > #100). So I simply deleted the videos as they are not findable by search.

- JBW

[chickenlampbrent]

Growing up in England in the seventies I was riveted to this show. Only after watching them all again have I realized how much Mr. Burke influenced my thinking at a formative stage and how lucky I was to have had him as a mentor. His clarity of thought is truly formidible.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Agreed. Well put.

[BadGuyCOOP]

This show is by far one of the best i have ever seen, it is a great moment when you know something is "going on" and there is someone there to explain it in a way that everyone can understand. Especially now-a-days where lack of interaction, interest, understanding...etc are degrading the minds of the people who need this more than ever.

Thank you, JBW for uploading this TRUE work of greatness.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

You are very welcome. I believe that these works aught to be available to everyone on the planet, regardless of income or location. The central theme this series: Access to and ability for information to spread *is* empowerment in every sense of the word.

In TDTUC E10P5 Mr. Burke puts forth a possible future where everyone's voice can be heard; where the Himalayas and Manhattan were only a split second apart. In there "them" and "us" are reversed. I find it interesting from here in Phnom Penh.

[midwife61]

Isn't interesting that by episode 10 the discourse here has evolved from "dude that was creepy" to something that resembles an intelligent dialogue....and that it has taken the 30 years since this was produced for the public dialogue to start addressing these issues. This series should be required viewing especially by the numbnuts in Washington.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

You can say that again...

I mean really, you *can* say that again.

Maybe we should start sending telegrams to the Whitehouse, they either turn into responsible human beings or give back the car keys so to speak ;)

- JBW

[falcon02012]

i love James Burke show.

thank you for posting

[JamesBurkeWeb]

You're very welcome. Hopefully I'll be all back up and running soon ;)

- JBW

[Keylimedelight]

It sounds to me that what he was pleading for at the end of this *brilliant episode* has to some degree been fulfilled by social media and wikipedia.

I don't think he would have believed you back then if you confronted him with the rates (growing rates) of computer literacy that define the latest generation.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

I'm not so sure that computer literacy is on the rise. Quite the opposite really if you look at the rising demand for skilled programmers which far outweighs the supply.

However, *use* of computers (just as use of automobiles) has increased tremendously even though those users don't understand they underlying technology.

The dangling question "in who's hands" refers to control over computing *as a resource* to be exploited for various gains. That question remains just as relevant IMHO.

- JBW

[5r22]

What Keylimedelight is saying though is that today, if you don't know something or want to gain knowledge in a particular subject, there are vast quantities of information about every subject only a few clicks away from a search engine.

Even my grandma can use google and wikipedia.

Or take for instance the two chemicals in part 4 of 5 of this program. I was curious as to what they were, so all I did was google both of them, and all of a sudden I knew all i wanted to about them.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Sure. Like I said, "use of" computers has ballooned. "Understanding of" has not.

- JBW

[jkforde]

Thank you very very much for making these available - if only we had people of his calibre and vision in positions of decision (I hate the term 'power'). He's right about knowledge and communication and since communication these days is so closely linked to the net and wikiing, the next essential skill will be software programming so I'm off to learn... Python?!

[JamesBurkeWeb]

I would suggest Physics if anything. At least 6 or 7 years worth of it (ie. a Masters). It's not till you reach the post-graduate level that things really start to fall into place.

All else follows quite easily from there.

- JBW

[Drumspiracy]

It amazes me that in that BA computer room, all those mainframes could probably be put on three power laptops now....

[10mintwo]

Try maybe one iphone instead. A single flash drive the size of my pinky (truth be told the storage area is on a flake of Si the size of a fingernail) now holds over ONE THOUSAND TIMES as much data as that enormous hulking HDD JB holds up. The Cortex A8 in an iphone is capable of executing calculations at a rate of 2 GFLOPs. As fast as the fastest supercomputer in the world 6 YEARS after this program first aired.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

And in 3 years your comment will look just as ridiculous as that stack of disks Mr. Burke holds up containing ONE MILLION CHARACTERS!!! (sry for caps ;)).

I find it strange how we all seem to get a kick out of "taking the piss out of the past" as it were. Don't forget, we'll be in it soon.

Oops, we already are!

- JBW

Note: This comment is meant to be taken jokingly.

[10mintwo]

I know that 'taking the piss' (oh you English and your colo(u)rful idioms) out of technology of the past and marveling at the rate of scientific progress can often look the same. But I am old enough to remember using 5.25 inch 720Kb floppies, trust me, you can rest assured my comment was of the latter variety.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Sure. That's why I tried to make sure that my response was noted as a joke.

[10mintwo]

In any case, I need mention of course that we are all in your debt for having uploaded this series. Many thanks.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Not at all. My pleasure.

[douchebagmoore]

What a tremendously well done series. I am awestruck by the end of it. I was made aware of it shortly after the "Northeast Blackout of 2003" during an Industrial Organizations class for an Economics major I was undertaking. The professor had suggested viewing the first episode of the first series, which we had in class. I had gotten them all eventually but had not had the time until now to view them.

I will be passing on the series to others. I believe it to be of universal interest.

[turnertalking]

So few views for such inspirational info.Got to be a way to the word out.

[turnertalking]

At 7:30 he speaks to the masses.Not the most original thing to say but who do you think I am James Burke? I will dig for it myself but which episode describes the passage of time as it relates to a painting of a volcanoe then to show how old the volcanoe is they he shows sea shells from underneath it as evidence that there once was a sea where the volcanoe is now.I hope that made sense.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

That's TDTUC episode 8 "Fit to Rule", parts 2 and 3 of 5 (it splits segments just as he's describing that business with the sea shells).

- JBW

[waltdkidd]

I had the good fortune to be with James in Antarctica when he was filming a show for "Tomorrow's World". I was always amazed at his ability to memorize long segments of dialog in a very short time and rarely ever needed a second "take". Also, his unique segues that brought two ideas together were a joy to watch.

Thank you so much for bringing us these great programs and for providing, for me, a nostalgic look back. Do you think it would be possible to retreive any of those old Tommow's Worlds?

[JamesBurkeWeb]

First, you're very welcome. I'm glad you're enjoying re-watching the shows.

Second, I've searched and searched and all I can find on YouTube is one clip (which I have downloaded but it's already up somewhere so not much use re-uploading it).

I'll do a search on the torrent portals. Maybe enough people are interested in that show that it would show up.

- JBW

[ScottfromTexas]

Thanks, waltdkidd - great insight.

[Zoetroper]

brilliant, thanks so much for posting it, will redirect friends here.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Thanks! These are shows that everyone should (or at least deserves to) see, I think.

- JBW

[AntiMusick]

almost everybody has a computer.

that edge is here and it's been here for over ten years now.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

BTW. This show was made in 1975, almost 35 years ago. In those days there were no such things as microcomputers, so what he's referring to is one of those gigantic things that would fill your entire house! In that case, "where would you know to start?". Also, no internet, no digital manuals, no search feature, no google etc...

His views on the subject did change quite dramatically from this episode to 1985 (when MSoft was a startup) see: TDTUC E10 closing remarks.

- JBW

[AntiMusick]

75 78 does it matter. But yes there were microcomputers for home use in the very late 1970s. Apple II, TRS-80, Atari 400. and even in the early 1980s people were connecting to computer BBS with an acoustic coupler.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

My point is that *that* isn't the kind of computer he's talking about here. Those home computers (Atari, TRS-80 or whatever) were considered (properly) to be little more than toys. He's talking about a computer that "gives you power", which is the kind of thing behind him in that room. If you'd walked up to someone in 1975 and said that in a few years the British Airways computer would fit on a wristwatch and be connected to any other computer on the planet you'd simply be laughed at.

- JBW

[AntiMusick]

electronic engineers they would know about even older computers made with vacuum tubes that took up buildings and once the transistor came to be computers started to get smaller and more powerful in processing.

This show was shot in 1977 because the Apollo program ended in 1975. The launch pad looks like it's been unused for years when they filmed him on that location. At the time of filming this many brands of Personal Computers were coming out on to the market.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Yes, I stand corrected. Actually it was later: 1978.

I thought it was 75 because someone else commented that the issues he "raised here in 1975" are becoming more and more relevant etc...

But I just checked wiki, and the show was actually produced in 1978. Date wise here's the breakdown:

Connections (1978)

The Day the Universe Changed (1985)

Connections² (1994)

Connections³ (1997)

- JBW

[gzacto]

This series really holds up. Great work.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Ya, great stuff! To me it's interesting in 3 ways:

1. That he constructs said possible future with a lot of qualification: "it looks increasingly like..." and so on

2. He simply admits he cannot offer any specific answers to the problem of taking control of one's future.

3. His view towards the effect of the computer on the future changed radically between this series and TDTUC (see closing remarks there), completely consistent with these remarks (ie. we simply have to wait and see)

[smichael61]

Very Very Good. Thank you so much for making this available. I watched this series when it was first aired and have never forgotten about it. Kudos, Mr. Burke.