James Burke : The Day The Universe Changed: "Matter Of Fact", 1 of 5 (CC)

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Episode 4 of James Burke's ground-breaking series "The Day The Universe Changed" which explores the evolution of Western Scientific thought starting from the fall of Rome. See channel page for purchase options.

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[RedDaVincy]

I don't miss the cheesy introduction, but glad to be watching the oldies.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Not THAT old!

[LisaNShawn]

Thank you for posting this online. I have been showing the video of this episode in a college class on "Literacy, Technology, and Culture" for about ten years, but it's much easier to see it here--plus I expect the poor, worn VHS to give out any day. The students love this show, BTW, even with its dated 80s-isms like the giant computers and floppy disks.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Personally, I think the anachronisms only add weight to the point he's trying to make. One of the great things about these shows is that the older they get the more you can see the point he's trying to make "directly" through your own experience.

- JBW

[acolytexiv]

Not to nitpick, but he said not Leeds lord, but liegelord, that is the lord to whom you have an oath of loyalty. To wit, King Edward.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Repaired.

[greymattersblog]

You need to get the full version of the programs. I note this Science Channel version jumps from the Ralph's inheritance case right to the wandering troubadours. In the full version, there's a lesson in "memory theater" inbetween. Original viewers will remember the medieval arts course subjects: "Knight Study? Astronomy. Adder? Arithmetic. Ruler? Geometry. Puzzles? Logic. Scales? Music. Sentences? Grammar. Horn? Public speaking."

[dreasim]

i adore these shows. they really are like a course of lectures.

[memelvin1]

The farmer's computer was pre-Internet but we know where it was all going anyway.

[TheWhisperingCactus]

@JamesBurkeWeb Face it, 26 years is a long time.

[warraghiyagy]

JBW: Thank you for archiving this great series.

Some help:

At 09:05 the rhyme captioned as "Completely inaudible" is "Ne'er cast a clout , 'til May be out." This health-related "memory rhyme" admonished peasants to keep wearing their warm winter clothing straight through the month of May.

A good idea, since Britain was dealing with the aftereffects of the mini-Ice Age, Even today, late Spring cold weather spells can occur in Britain through April and into May.

[GPRvids]

if ever asked "which famous/significant person would you like to have dinner with?", anyone not answering "James Burke" isn't think hard enough...

[Topkickcat]

Wonderful job .I'm an Arborist. I think from ground up.Dirt is my teacher.

[DaveKovacs82]

Oops, I think I meant to post this comment to a different episode; but my point stands.

I think Burke knows this (he has alluded to it in interviews), but our understanding of the Middle Ages is now much different than it was even when he was making this series.

[DaveKovacs82]

Burke's treatment of Aristotelianism pre-Galileo is too over-simplified. Aristotle was anything but infallible by that time; over 200 of Aristotle's claims were condemned by the Church in 1277.

In the book DTUC, Burke cites William Wallace in the bibliography. One of his main points is that Galileo's discovery about the gravitational constant was already known since the 1300s, discovered by theologians at Merton College. But they did not have the means to quantify it (they tried); Gal did.

[Scientior]

Your "completely inaudible" at 9:05 is "Ne'er cast a clout till May be out", meaning "keep wearing your warm clothes until the end of May"