Bill Otto James Burke Site

BILL OTTO’S EPISODE SUMMARIES:
Connections 1

The information featured below was rescued from a now-defunct website belonging to James Burke fan Bill Otto.

“James Burke seduced me into studying history by making me think I was learning about science. The original episodes of Connections have generous heaps of just plain history thrown in, but with a cynical view of western civilization for humour. Quite often it is dark humour, and often you will groan as “Galvani galvanized his audience” or someone “took to it with all the gay abandon of an achoholic in a brewery” is used for the sixth time. Some of Burke’s phrases are charming used once but a bit strained when used again and again, such as “a mere bagatel.”

However, we can easily forgive Burke because of his engaging enthusiasm for his work. And most viewers would not notice the re-used phrases, but having either viewed or listened to the original Connections at least 25 times – it really is good commuting material – well I have practically memorized the whole lot.

Burke loves to be dramatic. He tells about the development of the airplane as the camera pulls back to reveal he is standing on a Concorde. He travels to hundreds of locations in dozens of countries and uses a heap of BBC stock footage. Here follows a summary of the flow of each episode.”

Episodes:

(#1) – The Trigger Effect

(#2) – Death in the Morning

(#3) – Distant Voices

(#4) – Faith in Numbers

(#5) – The Wheel of Fortune

(#6) – Thunder in the Skies

(#7) – The Long Chain

(#8) – Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

(#9) – Countdown

(#10) – Yesterday, Tomorrow and You

The Trigger Effect – (#1)

In the gathering darkness of a cold winter evening on 9 November 1965, just before sixteen minutes and eleven seconds past five o’clock, a small metal cup inside a black rectangular box began slowly to revolve.

The plow, buildings, writing, taxation and astronomy interdependently all connect to bring us the story of BBC’s James Burke, of man’s dependence on a complex technology; each invention demanding a follow-up; each intellectual and economic advance creating a point of no return. Burke traces the incredible chain of events, the culmination to date, of which allowed Kuwait to make a single leap from ancient Egypt into a modern society in one generation.

In Upper Egypt, host James Burke explains how plowing, building, writing, taxation, and astronomy began and how they became interdependent. Man’s present dependence on complex technological networks is illustrated with a reconstruction of the New York City power blackout of 1965. The program ends in Kuwait, the nation which has moved from the technology of ancient Egypt to that of the modern world in a single generation.

how you are dependent on technology and do not think that much about it

network of technology
elevators
brakes on cars

New York City – technology island

the black out in New England, particularly New York

suppose the power were gone permanently

can you survive without technology
can you find a farm
can you defend the farm
can you find what to eat
can you plant crops
you need an old fashioned plow

ancient people had problem of climate change to hot & arid around Nile

used plow to feed the people
beginning of civilization
measurement to return land to farmer after annual floods
strong central government
pyramids

Saudi Arabia and the explosive infusion of technology without understanding it

each invention acts as a trigger for change which produces a new invention

each invention does not come out of thin air – the bits and pieces that arealready there come together in the right way

why does it begin 2600 years ago with a touchstone?

Death in the Morning – (#2)

Connect the year 2500 years ago, when the touch stone became a way of determining the purity of gold with the standardization of metals; Alexander the Great’s nautical library, and the discovery of the magnet and subsequently, the compass. This series of discoveries and inventions gave rise to worldwide commerce. Ships could sail at night and on cloudy days. Magnetism led to the discovery of electricity, radar and the awesome release of atomic energy.

Traces the connection between standardization of precious metals used in coins, the great commercial center and library built by Alexander the Great, development of the compass, and creation of the atomic bomb.

touchstone tells you that you can trust gold
accept metal and hence coins
trade stimulated
Alexander the Great and trade center
library of Alexandria
sailors coming in and out of Alexandria
navigation, maps, stars
square sails
700 AD – pirates
latine sail – more trade
stern post rudder
1453 Turks take over Constantinople (heavy cost to get goods through territory)
porta-land charts
magnetic compass
why doesn’t compass point true north
magnetism/metals
sparks, static electricity
vacuum
weather
high altitude balloons
Scottish highland weather study
Ben Nevis
a “glory”
cloud chamber
lightning
radio/atmospheric interaction
radar
nuclear reactors/bombs

Distant Voices – (#3)

The introduction of the saddle stirrup at the Battle of Hastings by the Normans, triggered a whole series of innovations in the science of warfare; the armor, the shield, the very concept of knighthood. The cannon and a silver strike, spawned the serendipities of Galileo. The vacuum pump and air pressure were discovered in Galileo’s attempt to extract silver from deep mines. Widespread experiments ultimately led to the discovery of magnetism, electricity, radio, radar and promise to help unravel the mysteries of deep space communications.

Traces the connection between medieval advances in the science of warfare, the discovery of large silver deposits in Czechoslovakia, the discovery of natural laws, and the invention of modern telecommunications.

nuclear bomb
Battle of Hastings
stirrup
family name
identifying marks
Agincourt – Welch long bow
plow
crop rotation
gun powder
bell making
bombard
silver mines
tallers
water wheels
blast furnace
metal mining
sump pumps
vacuum study
barometer
electrical charges
Galvani
Volta
battery
electro-magnetism
telephone
inter-stellar communication

Faith in Numbers – (#4)

The organizations of systems, Burke says, in economics mechanics and electronics is examined with each interrelation to the Roman Empire, the monastery, the loom and tabulations to global communications. The rise of commercialism followed the Crusades; the plague Black Death, set the state for the invention of the printing press. How?

Shows how such inventions as the water mill, carillon, jacquard loom, and a global communications network were influenced by each other and by logic, genius, chance, and unforeseen events. Also deals with the inventions and events which gave rise to the printing press.

GPS satellite navigation
fall of Roman Empire
water power
mills, trip hammers, pumps
Midieval Industrial Revolution
Cistertian Monasteries
wool production
weaving loom
spinning wheel
cloth marketing
silk/international trade
investment capital agreements
plague
clothes boom
paper
printing
book boom
mechanical devices
jacquard loom
US immigration
census
punched card
computers

The Wheel of Fortune – (#5)

The Computer Age rested on discoveries 3000 years earlier by priests and astronomers who studied the moon to determine planting and harvest time. Discovery of a treasure trove of ancient Greek manuscripts led to a bursting spirit of inquiry. More precision devices were needed for navigation which prompted the development of the pendulum clock, the telescope, forged steel and the idea of interchangeable parts. Interchangeable parts! – the basis for modern industry.

Traces the connection between astrology, ancient Greek medical manuscripts, the need for precise measuring devices, and the invention of such things as the telescope, forged steel, and interchangeable machine parts.

computers
predicting astronomical events
using instruments for astronomy
discovery of planets
geocentric universe
books of ancient Greek knowledge
struggle of church against knowledge and discovery
problem of getting prayer at right time in the middle of the night
water alarm clock
verge and folliet
time controls work force
springs for portable clocks – Nuremberg egg
clock accuracy challenges geocentric universe
telescope
Jupiter has moons
Galileo also discovered pendulum clock
Huygens did astronomy and navigation with clock
sailors needed a clock as good as pendulum to navigate
need for good steel for springs for clocks
coke fired glass making furnaces
Huntsman’s steel
marking sextants accurately
precision machining
block and tackle making
factories and assembly lines
interchangeability
time motion study
production line system for democratized possessions

Thunder in the Skies – (#6)

A colder climate in the 13th century froze Greenland solid, produced icebergs in the north Atlantic; this situation in the next seven centuries changed the course of history. Buildings were erected for a colder climate; as wood became scarce, new sources of energy were necessary. The Industrial Revolution spurred advances in the steam engine and navigation, which in-turn transformed the face of the country. A pause in history later, the gasoline engine unveiled the heavens to humans.

Details many of the changes in building construction and energy usage which occurred when the climate of Europe changed dramatically in the 13th century. He shows how the scarcity of firewood contributed to the invention of the steam engine, which was the predecessor of gasoline-powered engines used today.

production line
tremendous variety
energy from single source – earth, electricity grid,
what if the cold comes as it did before
manor houses got chimneys
Hardwick hall
buttons, knitting, tapestries
plaster walls
intellectual activity enabled
privacy
indoor plumbing
glass windows
cutting down forests to make glass
save the forests for the Navy
glassmakers sent to America
bronze cannon
wool market need brass combs
coal used to make glass frees coke for brass
mines, flooding in mines
brewer’s boiler
steam engine water pump
Newcombman’s engine
boring cannons so they don’t blow up
industrial age
genetic mixing by transportation
Joseph Priestly discovers CO2 in brewer’s vat
soda water
sparks for gas investigation
marsh gases
capacitor
glass spark gun
malaria investigation
whale oil getting scarce
petroleum discovery
Daemler & Mabach internal combustion engine
add spark plug
scent sprayer becomes carburetor
Wilhelm Kress’s failed sea plane
jet plane

The Long Chain – (#7)

The British in the 1600′s vied for sea supremacy, induced America to produce pitch to protect their ship’s hulls. In 1776, the British sought other sources, especially coal tar. Subsequent experiments with coal tar yielded the gas light lamps, waterproof garments and brilliant dyes. In 1939, the first miracle plastic nylon was introduced. From coal tar! A whole plastic phenomena.

Traces the connection between mercantile competition between the British and Dutch in the 17th century, the development of a coal-tar pitch to protect ship hulls, and the creation of waterproofed clothing, gaslight lamps, and nylon.

747 jet air freighter
compare to Flying Dutchman
shipping
insurance Lloyd’s of London
pitch for ship bottoms
cotton factories
coal gas lighting
copper boat bottoms
ammonia
naphtha
rubberized raincoats
nutmegs/spices
plantation building
malaria
quinine water
gin and tonic
artificial quinine
artificial dye
synthetic fertilizer
acetylene lamps
calcium carbide
artificial fertilizer (again)
German Navy
plastics

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry – (#8)

The introduction of the pike, a 14th century pointed weapon, led to the development of an infantry and subsequently to the landing on the moon. The infantry need food. Food spoiled. Bottles were sterilized. The British tried cans. Canned food spoiled. Gas could be stored in cans or thermos flasks, a device popular with polar explorers, brides and gas was “hot-stuff”. It propelled rockets! – because a pike was invented.

Traces the connection between military arms used during the time of Charles the Bold, canning, refrigeration, and modern space rockets.

plastic
credit
Dukes of Burgundy
country run on credit
Swiss pikes
Apomist gun
musket
bayonette, paper cartridge
bottled food
canned food
paper money
automatic paper mill
compressed air cycle air conditioning
frozen beef
brewing German lager beer at cold temperatures in summer
ammonia cycle refrigerator
liquefying gases for limelight, welding
holding liquid hydrogen in a Dewar
V2
Saturn V rocket to the moon

Countdown – (#9)

A carbon arc, a spoked-wheel, consecutive images and a reflector with billiard ball coating, combined with the mind of curious Thomas Edison and motion pictures emerge. George Eastman and slightly exploded gun cotton made celluloid to record pictures. Combine Eastman’s film and Edison’s motion pictures and a motion picture film of near permanence is the resultant product; now television.

Traces the discoveries and inventions which gave rise to the motion picture. Poses the question of whether we have become trapped by our own technology due to the power of the mass media.

Saturn V
cannon
fortresses
aiming the the guns with theodolites
Henry VIII divorce
surveying and mapping land confiscated from Church
limelight helps surveying
gun cotton
artificial ivory for billiard balls from celluloid
projector using limelight
horse bet – motion pictures
signals for railways using Morse telegraph
Edison makes a lightbulb feasible
Edison gets with Eastman to make motion picture film kinetiscope
sound on film through photocells
television
accelerated change through television

Yesterday, Tomorrow and You – (#10)

Why did we do it this way? Why did it happen to me? Burke asks, can the man on the street relate to the complexities around him? Can he maintain control of his destiny? How about the availability of information? Is man trapped in his complexities?

Presents essential moments from the previous programs in the series in order to illustrate common factors that make for change at different times and in different places. Also looks at the extent to which people are becoming increasingly incapable of understanding complex changes in the modern world. Points out a need for a radical change in the availability and use of information in the future.

change accelerates
the plow
craftsman
civilization
irrigation
pottery and writing
mathematics
floods – calendar
empires
modern world where change happens so rapidly you can’t keep up
several choices, but in the end it only makes sense to continue on

Notice from the Webmaster:

The material featured above was originally located on the web page “http://home.earthlink.net/~billotto/Connections.html” belonging to physicist/engineer Bill Otto. Mr. Otto’s website no longer appears to be in service. I felt that his information regarding James Burke’s television series was too valuable to be lost, so I used the “Wayback Machine” at “www.archive.org” to access a cached copy. This material was freely available to the public for a number of years, so I hope I am not causing too many problems by displaying it. If Mr. Otto wishes to contact me at “info@palmersguide.com” in order to have his writings removed, I will certainly do so.