James Burke : Connections, Episode 5, "Wheel Of Fortune", 1 of 5 (CC)

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Episode 5 of James Burke's most well-known series "Connections" which explores the surprising and unexpected ways that our modern technological world came into existence. Each episode investigates the background of usually one particular modern invention and how it came into being. These explorations are an attempt to locate the "connections" between various historical figures who seemingly had nothing to do with each other in their own times, however once connected, these same figures combined to produce some of the most profound impacts on our modern day world; in a "1+1=3" type of way.

It is this type of investigation that is the main idea behind the Knowledge Web project; whereby sophisticated software is used to attempt to discover these subtle interconnections automatically. See http://k-web.org.

See channel page for purchase options.

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[drav1dan]

0:55 - "...in most people's everyday lives, the computer isn't much more than a fast adding machine..." - priceless! How much things changed from the 1970s, when this episode was filmed, to the 1990s!

[JamesBurkeWeb]

Yup. Only adds weight to the main point of the show.

If the series weren't packed with trivial anachronisms then it would, almost by definition, "be obsolete".

It isn't ;)

- JBW

[x002009]

Slightly off-topic: When the planetarium is first introduced, I would like to know the title of the background music that was played.

[JamesBurkeWeb]

I think that is answered in these comments somewhere no? Hmm, no.

Someone suggested Strauss.

[rnbwpnt]

I am *WILDLY* happy these things are here, and as I can afford them I'll be getting the DVDs for my kids. I watched these shows (except episode 5, which my parents missed recording on VHS) literally hundreds of times when in my early teens. I can still recite large portions and I've been looking for them again on and off for *YEARS*.

[ProfHoax]

@DanielDouradoF It is correct. A computer only adds and compare, nothing else.

[DanielDouradoF]

@drav1dan Even today, computer is nothing more than a fast adding machine... You can do wonders just by adding.

[er10b]

My favourite of these was the previous episode with a Hollerith tabulator.

I'd seen many drawings and pictures, even detailed explanations on the Internet but never a live demo by James Burke.

Thanks for the upload!

[cmonconan]

That was'nt a computer!! that was a monster!! lol

[lcvamp242]

When James Burke created the universe, do you think he also baked an apple pie from scratch?

[flitandersen]

One of the most fascinating series ever aired. Newton Minnow never would have gotten away with calling television a "great wasteland" if he'd seen this show.

Thank you, Mr. Burke!

[LaszloPanaflex]

"It tends to send you bills." Ain't it the truth.

[drav1dan]

@JamesBurkeWeb: What you said is not correct. We are much more dependent on computers now than we were in the 1970s. Back in the 1970s there were no computers in every home & low level government offices like drivers' license offices. Payroll in most medium & small organization was still manual. Small stores did not use computers for accounts. The awareness of people has also changed. Most people know about & use computers, even in 3rd world countries. They know how vital computers now are.

[DebbieinNH]

@drav1dan I LOL'd

[MrGarrahan]

Astronomy freak lol...