This week's episode of Connections is called Distant Voices. Last week, James Burke took us on a journey that began with the discovery that first gave us coins as money, and finished with the development of the atomic bomb. Portable nuclear weapons are a breakthrough in military technology that completely change the balance of modern warfare.
For this week's episode, we'll travel back to a point in time when another breakthrough in military technology also changed the balance of warfare, and see where that journey led.
Following the video are links to further research on the major topics of this episode, with ones that reveal the ending purposefully left out. (Note: This episode does feature scenes of warfare and some brief nudity)
Links:
Nuclear weapon
Battle of Hastings
Senlac Hill, Battle Abbey (map)
Harold Godwinson
William I of England
Norman conquest of England
Stirrup
Knight
Jousting
Henry V of England
Battle of Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt (map)
English longbow
Mouldboard plough
Horse collar
Horseshoe
Crop rotation
Gunpowder
Tao
Shen (Chinese religion)
Dujiangyan Irrigation System
Bombard (weapon)
Jáchymov
Georgius Agricola
Evangelista Torricelli
Torricelli's letter to Michelangelo Ricci
Marin Mersenne
Blaise Pascal
Barometer
Jean Picard
Francis Hauksbee
Stephen Gray (scientist)
Leyden jar
Christian August Hausen
Jean-Antoine Nollet
Temple of Health
Luigi Galvani
Alessandro Volta
Hans Christian Ørsted
Electromagnetism
James Burke, one of my favs!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pi Guy. It's so mellow today, I may even have a chance to watch this!
ReplyDeleteOn the second videos now. Great post PG. One bitch tho. Where is the nudity? :)))
ReplyDeleteOK found the maidens bathing in the third.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear this is getting a good response!
ReplyDeleteDesert Dog - every Saturday at 1 pm PT, we have a complete episode of a James Burke series here. You can find the others by clicking here.
GENEVA — The U.N. Human Rights Council approved a U.S.-backed resolution Friday deploring attacks on religions while insisting that freedom of expression remains a basic right.
ReplyDeleteThe inaugural resolution sponsored by the U.S. since it joined the council in June broke a long-running deadlock between Western and Islamic countries in the wake of the publication of cartoons depicting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.
The resolution has no effect in law but provides Muslim countries with moral ammunition the next time they feel central tenets of Islam are being ridiculed by Western politicians or media through "negative racial and religious stereotyping."
American diplomats say the measure — co-sponsored by Egypt — is part of the Obama administration's effort to reach out to Muslim countries.
"The exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression is one of the essential foundations of a democratic society," the resolution states, urging countries to protect free speech by lifting legal restrictions, ensuring the safety of journalists, promoting literacy and preventing media concentration.
Rights groups cautiously welcomed the resolution as an improvement on earlier drafts, but said Egypt was in no position to lecture other countries about free speech as it has a poor record on the matter.
"Egypt's cosponsorship of the resolution on freedom of expression is not the result of a real commitment to upholding freedom of expression," said Jeremie Smith, Geneva director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies.
"If this were the case, freedom of expression would not be systematically violated on a daily basis in Egypt," he said.
Others warned that the resolution appears to protect religions rather than believers and encourages journalists to abide by ill-defined codes of conduct.
"Unfortunately, the text talks about negative racial and religious stereotyping, something which most free expression and human rights organizations will oppose," said Agnes Callamard, executive director of London-based group Article 19.
"The equality of all ideas and convictions before the law and the right to debate them freely is the keystone of democracy," she said.
Although the resolution was passed unanimously, European and developing countries made it clear that they remain at odds on the issue of protecting religions from criticism.
Some Asian and African countries had called for stronger condemnation of articles, cartoons and videos they believe defames Islam.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iRHXSIoJJdXQpG3kPrRO2LWMnWTAD9B2UIIG0
All jokes aside. Pi Guy this is a great post. I will be looking forward to the new ones every week. THANKS. :)
ReplyDeleteWoot, that mountain climb in a Renault 4 is hilarious!
ReplyDelete*grumble grumble* Remember to pack everything, except my foookin mouse. Afternoon all. Checking in here from Central Ontario. Looks like it's thundering outside at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the James Burke linkage Pi Guy. I have found his Connection and The Day the Universe Changed series to be great stuff.
From stirrups to tele communications in 50 minutes. GREAT. I love this series. :))
ReplyDeleteI just watched the entire thing....I love that show! Thank you PiGuy!
ReplyDelete:)
ReplyDeleteWait until you see where an older communications network brought us to today! But then, that's next week's episode...
It really is amazing how he connects all these seemingly unrelated items and show how the lead to massive changes. The best part about it is that it is timeless. This Connections series was made back in the late 70's. I watched it in the mid 90's. And I watched it again a year ago. The only thing that makes you know it's out of date is the "modern" tech he shows.
ReplyDeleteI've seen these all many times...and the newer ones he did with the TLC a few years ago (not as good as these old ones though)
ReplyDeletePaladinPhil said...
ReplyDeleteIt really is amazing how he connects all these seemingly unrelated items and show how the lead to massive changes. The best part about it is that it is timeless. This Connections series was made back in the late 70's. I watched it in the mid 90's. And I watched it again a year ago. The only thing that makes you know it's out of date is the "modern" tech he shows.
That and the awful leisure suits!
Desert Dog said... That and the awful leisure suits!
ReplyDeleteROTF. Did someone mention Larry?
Desert Dog,
ReplyDeleteThat and the awful leisure suits!
---The awful leisure suit! Because throughout the program he wore that one suit.
Low budget from the BBC, eh? Only one awful leisure suit for you, James!
ReplyDeleteExcellente !!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pi Guy!
Thanks Pi Guy ! Great program.
ReplyDeleteI'm wearing my leisure suit right now.
ReplyDeleteploome,
ReplyDeleteGENEVA — The U.N. Human Rights Council approved a U.S.-backed resolution Friday deploring attacks on religions while insisting that freedom of expression remains a basic right.
Isn't that just freakin' peachy. :-(
This post is amazing! I will respect all the hard work you put into this by actually reading each link - which will take me into next week and beyond, but I will do it. ;-)
ReplyDeletesasquatchonsteroids said...
ReplyDeleteI'm wearing my leisure suit right now.
Is that really you, Larry? Dude it has been a long time. :)))
Desert Dog,
ReplyDeleteNot low budget concerning the traveling he had to do in order to get from Europe to China, back to Europe in various places and then to Arecibo .
Obama is a disaster in foreign affairs....that UN Human Rights Council resolution is a joke. Another outreach to the muslim world at the expense of everything else....Good job, Mr. President.
ReplyDeleteCallahan23 said...
ReplyDeleteDesert Dog,
Not low budget concerning the traveling he had to do in order to get from Europe to China, back to Europe in various places and then to Arecibo .
Maybe he had many different versions of the same one? Or, that was just "his favorite"?
Callahan: Yeah, his wardrobe took a hit, only way he could afford all that travel. :)
ReplyDeleteIs that really you, Larry? Dude it has been a long time. :)))
ReplyDeleteI'm blond today. WOOOSH.
Larry ?
ploome,
ReplyDeleteGENEVA — The U.N. Human Rights Council approved a U.S.-backed resolution Friday deploring attacks on religions while insisting that freedom of expression remains a basic right.
---
No more danish cartoons then, no more criticizing a religious group of wrong deeds,
say good by to free speech!
The modern version of Leisure Suit Larry and his sidekick, Kofi.
ReplyDeleteploome said...
ReplyDeleteSo the US has now replaced the NGOs as the norming pushers.
Unbelievable.
sasquatchonsteroids said...
ReplyDeleteIs that really you, Larry? Dude it has been a long time. :)))
I'm blond today. WOOOSH.
Larry ?
Leisure Suit Larry
So the question is, say a newspaper would want to reprint the Mohammed cartoons, would they run afoul of the government by doing so?
ReplyDeleteOkay, so there were maybe 3 papers in the U.S. that did. But what about a blog? There are plenty of blogs that published them and still have them in archives or front and center.
I mean, that was the purpose of this stupid resolution, right? ...to stop the publication of the Mohammed cartoons.
The modern version of Leisure Suit Larry and his sidekick, Kofi.
ReplyDeleteLMFAO. You know he's standing on a stool.
PaladinPhil,
ReplyDeleteCallahan: Yeah, his wardrobe took a hit, only way he could afford all that travel. :)
---
But he definitely flew business class otherwise his crow's feet would have shown more. ;-)
Hi you guys! A drive bye, too good not to share (this is a translated version from a Copenhagen paper of the Obamoprah fiasco):
ReplyDelete"Hans Bonde, professor of sport history at the University of Copenhagen, told the newspaper: “Here come the more favor Obama just before the deadline and made showoff. He clearly won the battle in the media, but it turned out indeed to be indifferent. IOC members did not feel important, and they were indeed reduced to spectators and not players. So if he had come, he would have had time for a personal lubricant.”
OK, that last word likely is a poor substitute for what the guy said. (UPDATE: A reader said buttering up is likely what is meant.)
Obama was the first president to make such a plea. But Obama showed dumb diplomacy. He was ill-prepared and his staff failed to lay the foundation for his appearance. He came off as an ugly American who knew nothing about the territory and who felt the world somehow owed him something.
Lesson learned? I doubt it."
Read the rest. Too funny.
http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/789
Erik The Red said...
ReplyDeleteInteresting.
Obama's own arrogance did him in. Besides, those IOC guys want to see what goodies you bring. They are unimpressed with a speech from "The One".
ReplyDeletePersonal lubricant...
ReplyDelete/stop, littleoldlady! STOP!
littleoldlady: WRT the UN resolution, I only know of one religion that protests vocally and physically when ever it sees even the smallest slight. And it ain't the Amish....
ReplyDeletelittleoldlady said...
ReplyDeletePersonal lubricant...
/stop, littleoldlady! STOP!
Yeah, what are you doing infringing on the guys territory? Besides you would think he wouldn't need any, due to his slick and oily personality...
PaladinPhil said...
ReplyDeletelittleoldlady: WRT the UN resolution, I only know of one religion that protests vocally and physically when ever it sees even the smallest slight. And it ain't the Amish....
Baptists? Zoroastrians? Buddhist Monks? Satanists? Environmentalists?
Desert Dog said...
ReplyDeletePaladinPhil,
littleoldlady: WRT the UN resolution, I only know of one religion that protests vocally and physically when ever it sees even the smallest slight. And it ain't the Amish....
-----
Baptists? Zoroastrians? Buddhist Monks? Satanists? Environmentalists?
---
Atheists? People with a naturalistic world-view?
Hey, Useless Nations!
ReplyDeleteNews flash my rights are inalienable.
The 1st Amend makes sure everyone knows my speech is protected.
The 2nd, well that's the guarantee.
Need to scat for an hour or 2.
ReplyDeleteI should make it back to get f***ed up.
///
JCM,
ReplyDeletethat is your American take on it.
Here in Europe we have to make do with all sorts of variations of the 1st Amendment.
Ultimately one or the other government will 'harmonize' their laws with this crap coming from the shores of Lake Geneva the U.N. Human Wrongs Council (dominated by Arab money).
Callahan,
ReplyDeleteToo true, and we're headed that way.
Next up on China's list of sh*t to do:
ReplyDeleteTake Taiwan
Restoring the Military Balance in China-Taiwan Relations
There is growing evidence that China's military prowess is rendering U.S. and Taiwanese capabilities obsolete. Last month, the RAND Corporation released a study (.pdf) which shockingly concluded that, unlike a decade earlier, Beijing could now trump Washington in a simulated air war across the Taiwan Strait. According to the report, China's air and missile forces now so vastly outnumbered U.S. and Taiwanese capabilities that Beijing could take out much of the island's defenses before its opponents "had even fired a shot." Equally alarming are recent reports which indicate that Beijing is racing ahead to build an anti-ship ballistic missile (.pdf) that could deter U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups critical to Taiwan's defense. As Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently pointed out, these developments threaten "America's primary way of projecting power and helping allies [like Taiwan] in the Pacific."
Good think we have a clear thinking strong leader in the White House. Otherwise, Taiwan is screwed and so are we.
sasquatchonsteroids said...
ReplyDeleteNeed to scat for an hour or 2.
I should make it back to get f***ed up.
///
Planning on starting a fight in the Pub tonight? I am on your side. :)))
Callahan: Yeah I hear what you are saying. We don't really have a "First Amendment" here in Canada. Hate speech legislation is really scary stuff. It seems only a few select groups are singled out for punishment. The Canadian Human Rights Commissions are nothing more than PC kangaroo courts. The accusers don't pay a dime, while the accused pay through the nose to defend themselves. Mark Levin being one of the big names up here that fought them and actually won.
ReplyDeleteAhmadinejad to Obama: You Made Big Mistake
ReplyDeletePresident Mahmoud Ahmadinejad challenged that view in a speech Saturday, saying that Iran voluntarily revealed the facility to the IAEA in a letter on Sept. 21. He said that was one year earlier than necessary under the agency's rules.
"The U.S. president made a big and historic mistake," Iranian state TV quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. "Later it became clear that (his) information was wrong and that we had no secrecy."
Desert Dog,
ReplyDeleteNext up on China's list of sh*t to do:
Take Taiwan ...
---
Oh, ohhh! With that World Leader™ ????
JCM I love the first two amendments.
ReplyDeleteRule one: Say what I want.
Rule two: I canz have guns.
If you don't like rule one see rule two.
ETR: Constitution for dummies. :)
ReplyDeleteOur Masters have spoken! Time to act!
ReplyDeleteOnly 10 days left for climate deal, U.N.'s Ban says
I am glad the UN is on top of all this stuff. What would we do without them?
PaladinPhil,
ReplyDeletemy point, 'xactly!
I followed those cases brought before those Canadian Human Rights Commissions i.e. kangaroo courts very closely and was elated that both Levin and Steyn persevered.
But it was a close call no less and the lessons learned fell on deaf ears. How many of the 'intelligenzia' were actually criticizing too much freedoms.
*spit* only contempt for them reserved!
PaladinPhil said...
ReplyDeleteETR: Constitution for dummies. :)
Yep. I am just a right wing dummy, clinging to my guns and religion. :)))
Only the Useless Nations could think a piece of paper would change the climate.
ReplyDeleteOoops, cut it a little close here. Just put dinner in the microwave to heat up. My ride to my mom's concert will be here in 25 minutes. o_0
ReplyDeleteWhat caused Chicago to lose the bid for the 2016 Olympics?
ReplyDeleteThe arrogance of President Obama? Nope?
The fact that South America has never hosted an Olympic Games? Nope?
The Chicago contingency ran into someone even more corrupt than they are? NOPE?
No, it was none of those, it was....drum roll, please: ding, ding, ding GEORGE BUSH - of course!
Chicago torpedoed by anti-U.S. sentiment?
Some Chicago officials say anti-American resentment likely played a role in Chicago's Olympic bid dying in the first round Friday.
President Obama could not undo in one year the resentment against America that President Bush and others built up for years, they said.
ETR,
ReplyDeleteYeah, but are you BITTER? Clinging ain't nothin' 'less you're BITTER!
JCM: The UN thinks strongly worded letters will fix a lot of problems....
ReplyDeletePaladinPhil,
ReplyDeleteenjoy your meal and the concert. Later!
oh I'm still here. For a little while.
ReplyDeletePaladinPhil,
ReplyDeleteoh I'm still here. For a little while.
---
So you are eating infront of the keyboard and screen? Tsk, tsk, tsk.
;-)
Let me see...
ReplyDeleteWhich will protect my rights better...
Option A?
or
Option B?
I don't know, JCM.
ReplyDeleteThose paper cuts hurt like hell....
JCM,
ReplyDeleteETR,
Yeah, but are you BITTER? Clinging ain't nothin' 'less you're BITTER!
Erik ain't bitter, this is too much of a give away
---> :)))
Well, I just got my five minute warning. See you folks all later. Probably be online a bit tomorrow morning/afternoon. Have a good night and don't give Brandy a too hard time.
ReplyDeletePaladinPhil,
ReplyDeleteas I said earlier. Enjoy your meal and the concert. Later! :-)
Dancing Flames - Mannheim Steamroller
ReplyDelete