James Burke : Connections, Episode 1, "The Trigger Effect", 5 of 5 (CC)

[earsonsounds]

One of my favorite shows ever. Up there with MST3K. I think that both may have helped inspire this bit of doggerel. Ode to a Chamber Pot Primeval Plumbing, Invention for the Ages Servant to both the fools and sages Accessorized with pipes and fittings A porcelain throne for many sittings With us you'll always find a place Created in cave adapted for space Servant so meek yet never blushing But your duty is your flushing Ha ha. You said butt and dooty.

[ajb7876]

I watched this show avidly when it was first shown,and the point about the technology trap becomes more relevant every year.

seems to me that the Amish have it right,just enough technology to live fairly well but not so much that you become vulnerable to a system wide crash.

[az99920]

Kuwait's right! Beautiful :)* الكويت جميل

[steeveep2006]

No idea what effect the plow had. Though I do recall the impact of the plough was considerable. . . .

[Opedanderson]

I love this program but I think its a stretch to claim that the plow triggered these great structures and the civilizations that built them. 

[DoctorEeam]

@Opedanderson Its much more of a stretch to actually believe that someone exists who did not understand Burke's explanation for this. Yet there you are showing all the world that you do exist and actually know how to type too. That's a thing of amazement unto itself..

[stevebritgimp]

Great programme - always like James Burke - and now we have a technology that let's us watch these programmes on demand. Came here (again) via clips on the BBC's Horizon Guide: Moon, and James was the lead presenter for the Moon Landings.

[oregonnich]

thank you very much for uploading this. . . i'd purchase this but it's so damn expensive. . .

[weavehole]

Standing on the shoulders of... some other folk.

[KatchooFrancine]

Thanks for posting this & starting this channel! I look forward to watching more. I discovered this episode through the "related vids" area after I finished "The Story of Science: Power, Proof, and Passion". I HIGHLY recommend that series! The eps "What is the Secret of Life?" and "Can We Have Unlimited Power?" are particularly interesting. So much I didn't know about the history of science! (And I watch documentaries all the time!) Anyone who likes James Burke's series will like them!

[neocoders]

Donald Trump doesn't have a pyramid....hah!

[3231brianw]

Thank you for putting this series on. I watched it when it was first broadcast in 1975, I was only about 12 but I was absolutely captivated by it!

[highart2003]

Kuwait City look a little different now doesn't it

[ElTorroXL]

These episodes make great things to write about!

[slojefe]

"Because at no time did an invention come out of thin air into somebody's head like that. You just had to put a number of bits and pieces that were already there together in the right way."

This quote changed the way I think about a lot of things

[nebby6]

@slojefe Me too. When I was a kid, I thought complex inventions were instantly dreamt up. I was intimidated by the process and thought it required sheer genius. Then I was taught that it's actually a process of iteration and augmentation. Thankfully, most things aren't as dauntingly complex as I thought they were. :]

[l337z0r]

1 person was disappointed when that Kuwaiti man didn't turn up for Christmas.

[MrBunnerabb]

It ain't exactly Maury Povich, is it? : )

We need more stuff like this on TeeVee addressing modern constructs from this POV.

Or is that some sort of domestic insurgency?

I wish there was something even vaguely this good on network or cable.

[mikegLXIVMM]

I can still remember being "glued to the TV" when this show came out in my High school days. Such a great series! 

[matatan69]

A muslim Arab spending Christmass in New York.?? looks soooooo weird to me..

[S2Sturges]

I grew up watching Dr Burke and before him Sir Kenneth Clarke, still in the new millennium, both programs are still relevant. Dr Burke should be made compulsory viewing in schools, as a exercise in awareness and human frailty

[jttrumpet55]

Thank you for posting this very well done video. Facinating! I accidently came upon your You-Tube information while posting my trumpet solo on composer James Burke's composition (Any relation?). Glad I found your presentation. JT....

[shampoovta]

I saw James Burke at a lecture years ago in SF. He said he got the idea for Connections while sitting in the bathroom thinking about were toilet paper came from. It turned out it was the invention of the stirrup for horse riding that kicked it off. Stirrup gives you grip so you can stab a dude with a lance. So now horses could be used for war. Which meant the king needed land for his war horses and it just so happened the church had a lot of land and it went from there. JB ROCKS!!

[FLTlingit]

Well sone sir! Connections is my all time favorite series!

[dogskull79]

Wow this is class, tnx for posting

[harryshand]

Excellent, thanks for posting and thanks to whoever posted the link on the Word magazine website.

[HawaiiPB]

I'm so glad i know how to do some farming, fish and field dress an animal

[kurt30001]

WOW ! 1978 ! Now that 2008 is history and we are in 2010..This "old" science programme is no less awsome !! I remember watching this programme with joy at the age of 11..It´s still amazing TV series ! Is James Burke still alive ?

[VanielDonovan]

@kurt30001 Yeah, Burke is still alive.

[kokopelli314]

James Burke has always inspired my view of history and society. Its refreshing to see an alternative to the state centered narrative.

Thank you for this

[ayndxo]

I just discovered this program and James Burke -- thanks for putting it up for my generation to learn! This series is sheer quality.

[heardworld]

ooh...edgar varese soundtrack. nice! thanks for posting these, just started snowing outside, and now i know how to spend the afternoon!

[JamesBurkeWeb]

You're very welcome!

[DanteForever20XX]

Nice show. I've never heard of it before and I seem out of place with everybody else here who used to watch this a long time ago. I'm only 22 though so I guess this was just a BIT before my time....

Still interesting to watch though and still very relevant.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

That's why I threw this channel together (to expose James Burke to *this* generation).

It's more relevant today than it ever was IMHO.

- JBW

[porusmetro]

Hi,

Why James is mentioning the whole trigger of starting a fire started just 2600 years ago .Earlier plough was invented around 12000 years ago was another point he made. I wanted to know exactly when the oldest civilization started.can you tell me if u know ?

[oker59]

@DanteForever20XX

I remember reading someone comment how Afganistans read Isaac Asimov's "foundation" and found support for their terrorist thoughts; it's amazing how people think they're intellectual; i mean i went to a brainiac dating service, and guess who thinks they're intellectual? They're all christians!

People think Isaac Asimov was a a-hole; the truth is that early in his life, he tried to communicate curiosity, but found the thinking of those around him so anal, he just decided

[oker59]

to stop talking to people about his work. And his famous quotes like "standing on the shoulders of giants' and 'i'm just like a little boy on a seashore picking up a few polished stones' suggests to me a rational mind who becomes a bit disturbed about the general psychology of the humanity surrounding him.

People think they're living in a sophisticated society; and people will think they're living in a sophisticated society in the coming technological revolutions, but the people . . .

[oker59]

are not as mature as they or most people who think they are mature.

[adamthestimator]

Thanks for putting this up! I still love this program as much as when I first saw it!

...but I can't stop looking at James' high-water bell-bottoms! ;-)

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Not at all. Enjoy

[velcroshow]

cant thank you enough!

amazing tv series!

[hilzberri]

Thanks a million for posting them so professionally. The public school kids could definitely benefit from these video. I know mine will thanks to you.

Appreciate it.

[sandtoftfield]

I realise how much work has gone into this...

Really most appreciated! Just superb!

[JamesBurkeWeb]

You're welcome. Too bad much of that effort was for naught as it is now impossible to place more than a sound bite anywhere unless you like reading upside down and typing in 200 sound bites in reverse order.

[heatherrose2006]

I am sorry to hear that you are having those kinds of problems.

I was just going to ask how I am supposed to get any

sleep knowing that you have posted all of these

wonderful videos here and being able to watch

them over and over again. Thank- you. If it wasn't

for the way my job situation is I would buy them.

Thank-you again = )

[JamesBurkeWeb]

You can sleep easy. Putting up the site was a "labor of love" so to speak. I don't, or rather didn't mind doing it one bit.

I just wish I could have some dynamics happen on the channel page like the features and puzzles I used to put up now and again. I can't see a way of doing it unless perhaps by re-interpreting "comments" as "JBW-s comments" and then having an icon for a feature". But... as luck would have it the cost to add 1 more icon adds a dreadful looking scroll bar...

[JamesBurkeWeb]

and that scroll bar is so wide that it wipes out the text descriptions of the various series. So I can't add 1 more icon because 1 more icon is about 2 or 3 pixels too high to fit into the box.

:'(

- JBW

[heatherrose2006]

I do have one question for you Mr. Burke.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Then you aught to address it to Mr. Burke! I am not he...

I thought it should be obvious since I'm constantly referring to Mr. Burke in the 3rd person, but still the channel name confuses people sometimes; it used to be JamesBurkeFan but I closed that channel for reasons that needn't be discussed here, and rebuilt it again (another 200 hours labor) after discovering that there are no other video sharing sites on "Terra".

Now this site is being demolished so I'll leave it to YT from here on in

[Pearlwig]

May I thank you for uploading this series.Brings back so many good memories.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Hopefully not of disaster scenarios!

[maxspal]

Thank you for putting this on YouTube. I have been wanting to revisit the shows for years now, especially Connections I. It is completely absorbing. All history should be taught this way.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

You're very welcome.

[mccoix]

i've been wanting to rewatch this show for years. i wish there was a youtube site just for documentaries :p

[JamesBurkeWeb]

I think there's something called "Groups" maybe where you can group related channels.

I've never used to feature so I don't know how it works.

- JBW

[verstwo2]

such a shame channels like TLC stopped airing show of this caliber in favour of 'reality' based programming. Such a shame.

Thanks for posting. I remember watching this show as a youngster and since then I've seen few science shows that can compare.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Agreed.

And you're welcome. Enjoy!

- JBW

[madmarionuk]

Having seen this terrific series 30 odd years ago and wanting to try to get hold of a DVD/video without success, I stumbled upon this here. If there was an Oscar given for inspirational TV series this would win it! Many thanks for uploading it JBW.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

You're very welcome. Enjoy!

- JBW

[kewlmynd99]

Oh why, pray tell, do they not make television like this anymore?

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Too many reasons to go into. Sure would be nice though ;)

[digitaldropouts]

this was amazing! never seen it before. thank you so much for uploading!

[JamesBurkeWeb]

My pleasure. Enjoy!

[midwife61]

This was the best and most informative series ever. Thanks for posting!

[ACTORnSCREENWRITER]

Oh man, I remember this guy, I really enjoyed this.

Thanks for the upload

[JamesBurkeWeb]

You're very welcome. Enjoy the shows.

- JBW

[bearwrassler176]

Absolutely wonderful to see these again after so long. My father taped this off TV, and I grew up watching it over and over, and it contributed a great deal to how I view history and the world around me. Now that it is available again, I look forward to sharing it with my students. Thank you, James Burke! Also, I remember the part at the very end where he says "imagine a world where being in debt all the time is normal." Sadly, that time was not far off; now I can't imagine it any other way.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Episode 8, part 1 @ 00:03:52.015

- JBW

[GordonMorrice]

I love the relentlessness of this series, the torrential flow of fascinating information, often startling and enlightening. One of the greatest moments in television history, along with Carl Sagan's, "Cosmos" from the same year, 1978.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Agreed. I can't think of anything else besides the two.

Well... maybe Colombo. ;) That was a pretty good science show too. They had to disguise it as a murder mystery series, but it's all really about using the scientific method.

- JBW

[longliveameridiots]

Thanks. Will watch for sure. I'm hooked.

[longliveameridiots]

What is the last thing James holds in his hand, which he rubs? Never understood what it was. Is it a rock?

[JamesBurkeWeb]

He explains that in the next episode. It's called a "touchstone". But I won't give away what the relevance of that is here. You'll have to watch the episode to find out!

- JBW

[lupocephalic]

Well done. Many thanks!

[kadathdreamques]

I watched this series when it was first broadcast. It has always been one of my favourite, and (70's styling apart) one of the best produced of the tech shows.

Thanks for posting it!

[JamesBurkeWeb]

My pleasure. Thanks for watching.

[prenduzal]

Putting these up was a real public service. I am overseas in a location where I have decent Internet but no real TV options. Finding this was like unearthing a favorite treasure from my long ago past in a land far, far away. Thanks.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Yes, that's precisely the reason I posted these. Universal access to educational material such as this is (in my mind anyway) mandatory if humanity is to progress beyond our current level. And by that I mean basically what Mr. Burke referrs to in the last segment of TDTUC. A global community, where everyone has instant access to knowledge, individuals and the resources necessary to harness their own abilities to their full potential. Basically, a wikiworld if you want ;)

- JBW

[ianduckworth]

One of my favourite series ever. Great phrase making, required watching for our times or any time.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Agreed. These series are excellent.

[dtt1900]

I've waited 20 years for this. World History teacher in HS would use these videos. i didn't get it then but I did later.---THANKS!

[JamesBurkeWeb]

You're quite welcome. That's a long time to wait... I hope it was worth it!

[Igor340]

Thank you, thank you!

I have waited patiently for 30 years to see Connections this episode of once again. Hopefully more will follow. . .

[JamesBurkeWeb]

They're all there. Just go to my playlists page for every episode of every series (minus 2, and will be completed tomorrow).