James Burke Conenction Newsletter

Welcome to:
THE JAMES BURKE CONNECTION NEWSLETTER 03 – MAR 2002:

This newsletter and previous ones are available on-line as web pages at:
www.palmersguide.com/jamesburke/burke_archive.html

Welcome to the third installment of the newsletter. I hope you are finding these of interest and value. I am certainly having a wonderful time learning more about Mr. Burke through the process of doing research on him and his materials.

First, I would like to thank all of you out there who have taken an interest in Mr. Burke’s Knowledge Web project and have volunteered to help him make it a reality. I anxiously await the results of everyone’s efforts.

Secondly, I have received several fascinating tales from subscribers who have shared their personal moments of enlightenment after being exposed to “Connections” or “The Day The Universe Changed”. Thanks much for those.

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this newsletter comes from a wide variety of sources and is selected for publication solely by the newsletter’s editor/creator Tom Palmer. Please be advised that James Burke does NOT necessarily endorse or associate himself with the information or organizations mentioned in the James Burke Connection website and periodic e-mail news updates. Likewise, the information contained in this publication does NOT necessarily represent the views and opinions of Mr. Burke.

JBC WEBSITE NEWS
———
Now, as for new items at the James Burke Connection website, there are plenty. At least my aching fingers tell me a lot has been done. During the month of February, I have started to build my Burke Resource Center for fans, teachers and researchers.

www.palmersguide.com/jamesburke/burke_resources.html

In this area you will find the chapter and episode titles to Mr. Burke’s books and videos, a growing list of books mentioned in Burke bibliographies, links to popular search engines so you can do your own Burke research, and links to libraries where James Burke books and videos might be found. In addition there are also links to science museums and history of science webpages.

Over time, I plan to add several more lists containing all of the people and important historic items featured in the indexes of Mr. Burke’s books. This may take a while. Please be patient.

Also new to the James Burke Connection site is an offshoot area featuring books and materials by other well-known presenters and authorities that may be of interest to you. At the moment, the only individuals featured in the “Great Explainers” library are Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku and Jacques Cousteau. However, as with most projects, this section will expand over time.

www.palmersguide.com/jamesburke/explainers

One last detail. Whenever you do a search for “James Burke” on the web or at the library, it’s pretty hard to avoid popular mystery writer “James Lee Burke”. So, I’ve put a link on the site for those surfers who are looking for him, but have mistakenly found their way to my site about our favorite techno-historian.

www.palmersguide.com/jamesburke/james_lee_burke

NEW WAYS TO COMMUNICATE
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In doing research on Mr. Burke I came across a couple of important web destinations: a newsgroup and a Yahoo bulletin board.

alt.fan.james-burke

groups.yahoo.com/group/connectionswithjamesburke

Since these areas have been set up for the expressed purpose of discussing Mr. Burke (which you all seem to like to do), please let me encourage you to take full advantage of these channels to “connect” with one another. I have posted a number of messages there for you to read and think about. I’ll be watching to see what you have to say!

WEBMASTER NEWS
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For those of you (including Mr. Burke) who might have an interest in news source links, I have created a new personal website listing a moderate number of international news sources. I think you might find these interesting, if not useful.

www.palmersguide.com/news

Also, for those of you who might be (or know) aspiring visual communicaters (graphic designers & advertising art directors), you might wish to take a peek at my own contribution to commercial art education.

www.palmersguide.com/student

BURKE NEWS
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An ongoing reminder –

Mr. Burke continues to look for help from Graduate Students and Academics in researching biographies for the online “Knowledge Web” project.

If you know anyone who would like to volunteer their time to this amazing project, please contact me (Tom Palmer) and I will pass along their request. e-mail at: info@palmersguide.com

———
I finally got a quick look at “Inventing Modern America”, a new book that James Burke has contributed to. I had to do this at the library, since copies of the book appear shrink-wrapped at every bookstore I have encountered it at.

Anyway, the book appears to be very good on the surface. Listed below is it’s table of contents. Mr. Burke has written a general introduction, plus one for each of the book’s five sections.

- – - – - – - -
Medicine and Healthcare

Raymond Damadian: MRI scanner, magnetic resonance imaging (1977)
Thomsa Fogarty: balloon embolectomy catheter (1961)
Wilson Greatbatch: implantable cardiac pacemaker (1958)
Dean Kamen: portable medication technology (1970s)
Mary-Claire King: advances in the treatment of breast cancer (1990)
Robert Langer: biomedical applications of polymers (1980s)
Rosalyn Yalow: radioimmunoassay (1959)
- – - – - – - -
Consumer Products

Leo Baekeland: Bakelite, the first modern plastic (1907)
Harold “Doc” Edgerton: stop-action photography (1931)
Philo T. Farnsworth: electronic television (1927)
Stephanie Kwolek: Kevlar (1964)
Jerome Lemelson: apparatus for driving tape in a cartridge (1972)
Jacob Rabinow: self-regulating clock (1954)
Percy Spencer: microwave oven (1947)
- – - – - – - -
Transportation

Ole Evinrude: outboard boat motor (1907)
Henry Ford: assembly line (1913)
Robert Goddard: liquid-fueled rocket (1926)
Paul MacCready: human-powered airplane (1977)
Garrett Morgan: traffic signal (1923)
Elmer Ambrose Sperry: gyrocompass (1911)
- – - – - – - -
Energy and Environment

George Washington Carver: industrial applications for agricultural products (1910s)
Carl Djerassi: nontoxic pest-control products (1960s)
Sally Fox: naturally colored cotton (1989)
Buckminster Fuller: geodesic dome (1950)
Ashok Gadgil: ultraviolet water purification system (1993)
Stanford Ovshinksy: mass production of photovoltaic cells (1983)
John Todd: ecosystems for combating pollution (1984)
- – - – - – - -
Computing and Telecommunications

Nolan Bushnell: video game (1971)
Douglas Engelbart: computer mouse (1968)
Al Gross: walkie-talkie (1937)
Erna Schneider Hoover: computerized telephone switching system (1965)
Grace Murray Hopper: computer compiler (1952)
Raymond Kurzweil: optical reading machine for the blind (1976)
Carver Mead: very-large-scale integrated circuits (1971)
Steve Wozniak: personal computer (1976)
- – - – - – - -
“Inventing Modern America” is available at this link:
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0262025086/thejamesburkecon

TV SCHEDULE (UPCOMING)
———
The Connections 2 & 3 series continue to be rebroadcast on Discovery Science through March!

Connections 2 – Discovery Science Channel – Now thru at least Mar. 30, 2002
science.discovery.com/schedule/series.jsp?series=47
FYI – series beginning = “Revolutions” (Mar. 15 & 30), series conclusion = “Flexible Response”

Connections 3 – Discovery Science Channel – Now thru at least Mar. 27, 2002
science.discovery.com/schedule/series.jsp?series=388
FYI – series beginning = “Feedback” (Mar. 11 & 12), series conclusion = “In Touch”

Note: I do not know if either Connections series will be played in proper sequence or if the final episodes scheduled will be the final episode for each series. Therefore, if you are planning to videotape these programs, don’t necessarily wait for the beginning episodes to cycle through.

———
science.discovery.com

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS (UPCOMING)
———
If have have to urge to attend Mr. Burke’s lectures in April at U.S. universities, you might start thinking of making travel plans or penciling the dates into your personal reminders.

———
3/7/02: Veritas Conference & Incentive Management Services (Cisco Systems – Networkers Conference – Brisbane, Australia)
www.juicemedia.com.au/cisco/networkers2002/speaker3.htm

4/9/02: College of Arts & Sciences, University of North Carolina @ Greensboro
www.uncg.edu/iss/incredible.html

4/10/02: University of Minnesota (James Ford Bell Trust)

4/11/02: Rice University
www.ruf.rice.edu/~events/pls/james.html
“No special arrangements are necessary to attend the James Burke lecture. The lecture will begin at 8:00 p.m., but seating opens at 7:00 p.m. I would recommend getting to the lecture a little early in order to get a good seat.”

5/18/02: Virginia Commonwealth University

———
For information on scheduling James Burke for a future speaking engagement, please contact his lecture agent Royce Carlton.
info@roycecarlton.com
www.roycecarlton.com/speakers/burke.html

SEARCH ENGINE FINDS (CURRENT)
———
Every time I do a search for James Burke on the web, I produce dramatically different results, depending on the keywords I select. This month I used “James Burke Axemaker”, “James Burke theme” and “James Burke music” as my search parameters. — What follows are the results, a number of which are lists of recommended books that include James Burke titles. So if you like books that generally have to do with “Burke” topics, dive in to the links below. As you can see, I have sorted the pages into various categories. (Please forgive me if there are any repeats from previous newsletters.) Happy Surfing!
———
found with Google – Feb. 24, 2002:
www.google.com

and a couple from Abacho – Feb. 09, 2002:
www.abacho.co.uk/

———
GENERAL BURKE ITEMS

Musical Theme to The Day The Universe Changed
www.earthstation1.com/TV_Themes_C-D.html

Technology – Interview with Educom Review
www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/5148/burke_james_technology.html

Government For A World Long Gone – Interview with Government Technology
www.govtech.net/magazine/visions/feb98vision/burke.phtml

e-mail message thread – Purdue
www.soe.purdue.edu/restru/0522.html

small bite about an Internet World article – 1996
sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/Cites/961110.html
sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/1996/cc96.7.11.html

message thread at Slashdot
slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=6476&cid=945607
slashdot.org/articles/00/07/10/1729215.shtml

———
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS & PRESS RELEASES

Univ. of N. Carolina — Greensboro
www.uncg.edu/iss/incredible-02.html

Ball State University – Sept. 16, 2000
www.google.com/search?q=cache:p9ltediNP_IC:www.bsu.edu/news/ . . . . . .

Franklin & Marshall College – Mar. 20, 1995
www.fandm.edu/Departments/CollegeRelations/PressReleases/ . . . . . .

Marshall University – Oct. 12, 1998
www.marshall.edu/parthenon/archives/19981006/NEWS1.HTML
www.marshall.edu/parthenon/archives/19981006/NEWS5.HTML

Burke bio, speech (The Legacy of Science) and Q&A session – Rutgers
info.rutgers.edu/Library/Reference/ . . . . . .

Truman State University – Oct. 2, 2001
www.truman.edu/vscholar/burke.html

Cameron University – Nov. 1, 1996
www.cameron.edu/festival/speakers/burke.html

Portland Center/ISEPP – Oct. 5, 2001
www.pcpa.com/events/shows/oct5.html

GTC – Feb. 15, 1995
www.govtech.net/publications/gt/1995/jan/burke.phtml

PalmSource Conference 2000
www.palm.com/about/pr/2000/103100.html
www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml . . . . . .

Educom 98 – Oct. 14, 1998
www.educause.edu/conference/e98/speakers.html

Cameron University – Festival IV – Sep. 14, 1999
www.cameron.edu/festival4/speakers.html

———
INTERESTING ESSAYS THAT MENTION JAMES BURKE

Hodges’ Health Career Model and the Multicontextual Nature of Health
www.p-jones.demon.co.uk/contexts.htm

Galilero: The Creation of a Heretic
www.bootheel.net/~mbranum/galileo.html

Burt Humburg – On the Color Changes in the “Great Work”
www.levity.com/alchemy/humburg.html

New England Journal of Skepticism – Razor in the Toolbox
www.theness.com/newsletter.html

History and the Theory of Media
cci.wmin.ac.uk/cmp/y1/htm.html

The Terrible Truth About Truth
dharma-haven.org/science/terrible-truth.htm

Water Hyacinth
www.angelfire.com/mac/egmatthews/geotherapy/hyacinth.html

The Silicon Axemakers
www.gulker.com/ra/silicontools.html

Y2K: Benefits, Lessons, and Vulnerabilities
www.cisp.org/imp/july_99/07_99langston-insight.htm

Thank The Ludd
www.qconline.com/myword/ludd.html

Information Technology: Searching For a Definition
www.libsci.sc.edu/dan/2001/sep2399.html

From Movable Type to Data Deluge
www.rand.org/multi/parallels/gehl.html

Lisa Squad – Explain the Subject-object metaphysics
www.moq.org/old_lilasquad/9804/0048.html

Drawing Sea Serpents: Searching For the Big Picture
www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue3_5/cox/

Altruism, Empathy, the Superorganism, and the Prisoner’s Dillema
www.lucifer.com/virus/virus.97/2974.html

Chaos, Complexity, and the Promise of Information Warfare
www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/jfq_pubs/07_15.pdf

———
CRITIQUES OF JAMES BURKE & HIS WORK

Engines of our Ingenuity 1617
www.uh.edu/engines/epi1617.htm

TV Cream
tv.cream.org/arkc2.htm

Review of “The Axemaker’s Gift” by Skepticism.net
www.skepticism.net/articles/2000/000018.html

Tight Form and Aesthetic Impact – Hipbone Games
home.earthlink.net/~hipbone/Tight.html

More Connections coming to TLC – Canoe
www.canoe.ca/TelevisionShowsC/connections3.html

———
PERSONAL BOOK LISTS THAT INCLUDE JAMES BURKE BOOKS

Jimka’s Book Collection
www.rdrop.com/~jimka/text/books

Reviews: Books, Journals – Christopher S. Rollyson
www.rollyson.net/public/reviews.html

Ron Nicholson’s Recommended Book List
www.rahul.net/rhn/books.txt

Lobue: Enterprise Evolution – Recommended Reading
www.lobue.com/enterprise_evolution/knowledge_reading.html

Dave Lash & Co. – Terrific Resources for Personal Growth
www.davelash.com/biblio.htm

You Are What You Read – Elias Wakan’s Reading List
www.island.net/~prp/reading.htm

Brain, Mind, Computer References – Nat. Info. Tech. Forum
www.sn.apc.org/nitf/mindcomp/tsld043.htm

———
CLASS NOTES FEATURING BURKE

Media Power & Culture – Kent State
www.jmc.kent.edu/mpc/notes03_universechanged.htm

History of Technology – University of Alaska Southeast
www2.jun.alaska.edu/edtech/tat/history/histtop.html

The Power of Perspective – State Univ. of NY College at Oneonta
www.oneonta.edu/faculty/farberas/arth/ARTH200/Perspective.html

Writing Across Engineering – S.U.C.C.E.E.D.
www.succeednow.org/content/ . . . . . .

Technology & Society – Gonzaga University
www.gonzaga.edu/doctoral/dp/ls707/f016.html

Worlds Without End – (excerpt by Burke??) – UCSD
www-cse.ucsd.edu/users/goguen/courses/275/Burke.html
www-cse.ucsd.edu/users/goguen/courses/275/hw.html
www-cse.ucsd.edu/users/goguen/courses/275/
www-cse.ucsd.edu/users/goguen/courses/275/s1.html
www-cse.ucsd.edu/users/goguen/courses/275/readings.html

Generic Antropology Syllabus – CSU, Chico
www.csuchico.edu/~curban/syllabi/SYL_Generic.html

The Bicycle: Vehicle for Societal Change – Babson College
faculty.babson.edu/petty/bsyllabus.htm

Science & Technology: Catalysts for Change in Society – Univ. of New Mexico
www.unm.edu/~abqteach/multi_disc/01-05-01.htm

Effects of Technology through History – Univ. of Minnesota, Morris
cda.mrs.umn.edu/~waibelc/IS1091/IS1091techeffects.html

———
CLASSES THAT USE BURKE AS A TEXTBOOK

History of Philosophy of Technology
www.stark.kent.edu/~lheaphy/Fall%202001/HISTORYPT.htm

Ascent of Humanity – Pennsylvania State University
www.courses.psu.edu/courseweb/courses/ . . . . . .

HS-120 – Montgomery College
www.mc.cc.md.us/Departments/hpolscrv/andersonsyll120.htm

Technology and Social Change – University of Montana
ssrl.soc.umt.edu/richards/Soc465/Tech-syl.htm

Heuristic Decision Making – Univ. of Minnesota – MS Word document
legacy.csom.umn.edu/wwwpages/faculty/PJohnson/ . . . . . .

———
CLASS READING LISTS

Core 100 Supplemental Reading List – College of Saint Benedict
www.csbsju.edu/accounting/Classes/Core100SupplementalReadings.htm

The McKinnon Institute of Prof. Massage & Bodywork
www.mckinnonmassage.com/articles/bibliography/cognitive_sci.html

History of Science and Technology – Georgia Southern University
www2.gasou.edu/library/broch_ref/scitech_bib.html

Reading the History of Western Science – Univ. of Washington
depts.washington.edu/hssexec/library_list.html

Educating in a Technological Society – Bethel College & Seminary
www.bethel.edu/Academics/Faculty/Bush/book_list.html

References For The History of Psychology – Univ. of New Brunswick
www.unb.ca/psychology/likely/headlines/refrnces.htm

Complexity & Human Learning Series – Bailiwick: Univ. of Iowa
bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/complexity-studies/20prnx.html

———
RESOURCES FOR EDUCATORS & RESEARCHERS

Education World
www.educationworld.com/

Net-Quest Science Links
www.dharma-haven.org/search/science.html

Geometry, the online learning center – educational subject links
www.j4.com/index.html

Internet History of Science Sourcebook
www.fordham.edu/halsall/science/sciencesbook.html

ReadersRemote – Science Books
science.readersremote.com/

———
GENERAL ITEMS OF INTEREST

NASA JSC Digital Image Collection
images.jsc.nasa.gov/

NASA Photo Gallery
www.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/index.html

Apollo Lunar Surface Journal
www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/

Interesting religious page with statistics – techno heavy
gem-werc.org/adgm/adgm54.htm
gem-werc.org/adgm/adgm.htm
gem-werc.org/

———
COOL PRODUCTS

Think Geek – Stuff For Smart Masses
www.thinkgeek.com/

Zome Toys
www.zometool.com/

EBAY LISTINGS (CURRENTLY UP FOR SALE)
———
– As found on eBay Feb. 28, 2002
———
VIDEOS

Connections 2 – 1 copy
Connections 3 – 1 copy

———
BOOKS

The Day The Universe Changed – 2 copies

———
CD-ROM GAMES

Connections: A Mind Game – 2 copies

DVD, VIDEO, BOOK, AUDIOBOOK LIST (ORDER ON-LINE)
———
DVDS

Connections 1

Connections 2

Connections 3

———
VIDEOTAPES

Connections

Connections 2

Connections 3

After The Warming

———
BOOKS

The Axemaker’s Gift: Technology’s Capture and Control of Our Minds and Culture

Circles: Fifty Round-Trips Through History, Technology, Science, Culture

Connections – (out of print)

The Day the Universe Changed

The Knowlegde Web: From Electronic Agents to Stonehenge and Back–And Other Journeys Through Knowledge

The Pinball Effect: How Renaissance Water Gardens Made the Carburetor Possible and Other Journeys Through Knowledge – (paperback)

The Pinball Effect: How Renaissance Water Gardens Made theCarburetor Possible and Other Journeys Through Knowledge – (hardcover)

Twin Tracks: The Unexpected Origins of the Modern World

———
AUDIOTAPES

The Axemaker’s Gift: A Double -Edged History of Human Culture

Connections

The Day the Universe Changed

The Pinball Effect: Journeys Through Knowledge – The Extraordinary Patterns of Change That Link Past, Present, and Future

———
DIGITAL AUDIO CLIPS

audible.com

VISIT PALMER’S JAMES BURKE FAN COMPANION WEBSITE
www.palmersguide.com/jamesburke

SEND COMMENTS AND NEWS ITEMS TO:
info@palmersguide.com

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TAKE CARE UNTIL THE NEXT ISSUE – TOM P.