DRS_Education
12 HN recommenders · recommended in 16 months, 2019–2026
49:22 · 765K views · Jan 16, 2019
The first episode of James Burke's 1978 BBC series Connections traces modern dependence on complex technological networks, starting with the 1965 New York blackout, and moves through ancient agriculture to Kuwait's oil-driven leap.
Heavily recommended as a masterpiece of popular science and the classic illustration of how fragile interdependent systems are, trotted out in every blackout or supply chain thread.
18 comments from Hacker News
For the uninitiated, Connections is a documentary series from the seventies exploring the interconnectedness of technology. In the first episode, titled "The Trigger Effect" [0], Burke shows that if electricity were taken away from us, we'd be sent back to the plow. It's a little dated (1978), but it's an excellent watch even today. [0] this video
Years back I was introduced to a terrific BBC show called Connections with James Burke (1978). The first episode, available on YouTube [0], is all about the world's reliance on power and that within a short period of time we'd be catapulted back to the plow. [0] this video
Connections is one of the greatest shows in television. The pilot episode is amazing, highlighting the problem with dependence on technology that we don't understand. "Never have so many people understood so little about so much." Even more true today. this video
^^^ Thank you! ^^^ Came here to reccommend Connections by James Burke and glad to see someone else has mentioned it. It's a masterpiece of popular science production made better with the grainy film patina of the 70s and 80s. this video
I highly recommend James Burke's Connections (the original series if this kind of thing interests you) this video