Connections Episode 1: The Trigger Effect (1978) [video] | Hacker News Reader

Connections Episode 1: The Trigger Effect (1978) [video]

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191 pointsitronitron39 comments

Utterly brilliant. If you haven't seen it before then do watch the whole series. It may be over 40 years old, but its still as relevant as ever.

The opening piece about the fragility of our modern technostructure was eye-opening when I first saw it and still packs a punch today. And especially right now.

Spooky co-incidence: the initial pieces to camera were made from the World Trade Centre. Then in the sequence on the power cut he talks about Scandinavian Flight Nine-Eleven being in danger of hitting the towers of down-town NY.

Also in Episode 4, look at the size of that military sat-nav! For bonus points, type the coordinates into Google Earth to see where he is sitting.

Is it really that old? I remember seeing it in the 90s and it didn't look that old. I loved it, I wish there was a remake or something similar more current. May be someone can add commentary on the old series updating it with current knowledge. I would watch that.

There was a Connections 2 series in 1994 which is the one I remember watching and loving as a teenager: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0370117/

Connections 2 wasn't a patch on the original. Connections 3 was just milking a dead cow.

However The Day the Universe Changed is very good.

+1 for "The Day the Universe Changed", I watched it a few years back and I loved it (and my wife too).

According to Wikipedia 1978 is correct.

There were also two sequels, Connections2 and Connections3, made in 1994 and 1997 respectively.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connections_(TV_series)

Undoubtedly James Burke is the reason I give a shit about history at all today (without which one cannot really have a meaningful grasp on the current world or its inhabitants, IMO). I was lucky enough to be exposed to these at a young age.

I have a directory on my file server with local copies of everything he ever released.

If you’ve never watched this or The Day The Universe Changed, please do. (I say this as someone who hates TV.)

For those who are interested in The Day the Universe Changed, you can find copies of the episodes at the internet archive or on Dailymotion. It really is well worth watching.

What do you mean by TV in this context?

Edit: oops, hit reply by mistake.

I cannot stand having my television viewing experience interrupted by irrelevant advertising, and because of this I do not have anything in my house that connects to the antenna on the roof the previous occupant(s) of this dwelling installed.

Television shows themselves, or whether they’re called? Series? Damn there are some good ones!

The first time I saw Connections it was broadcast by the local PBS station. No commercials.

> Television shows themselves, or whether they’re called? Series? Damn there are some good ones!

I find the vast majority of content produced for TV, even without ads, even so-called "good" entertainment/series, to be unimportant.

Another wonderful series is "The Secret Life of Machines". Cartoonist Tim Hunkin explains how machines work, with lots and lots of models and cut-aways of real life devices. And animations! And moving sculptures! His humor is pervasive and a delight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baFaEvBywGc

These overviews give you just enough knowledge to start debugging a broken household machine. I love it. If anyone's looking for more videos from this series here's a playlist of the complete series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDpNQQqdSh8&list=PLByTa5duIo...

I always wondered why "The Way Things Work" TV show never took off?

James Burke, and Richard Rhodes as well, are the reason I began to see history as something important and useful, a way of understanding both "how science happens" as well as "why our society is the way it is".

This knowledge, in the way it is presented, leaves the viewer or reader with a sense of agency, that what they do can either intentionally or not cause outcomes with great consequence.

It leaves one feeling one can do important things.

Thanks for mentioning Richard Rhodes. I highly recommend his book The Making of the Atomic Bomb to anyone who is interested in a mix of science and history.

Yes, so much good stuff in this series. Sagan must have been inspired when he released his "Cosmos" a year or two later.

But this one has that central thesis that ties all the episodes up with a bow.

Not sure I cared as much for Burke's follow-on series but maybe I need to give them a second watch. They probably couldn't measure up to his original "Connections" masterpiece anyway though.

Funny enough but, there was just a Reddit front page gif clip of Burke narrating his Connection with a perfectly timed NASA rocket launch. Nice to see him introduced to a new generation and some of the commentors miss the cold War referances. "The difference between a Moon Rocket and an ICBM is the top 15 feet"

[1] https://v.redd.it/p8mc0yjzu4s41

Another link with all 3 seasons included: https://archive.org/details/ConnectionsByJamesBurke

p.s. Like many of you here, this show deeply influenced how I look at the world. This content should be shared far and wide.

I remember, when I was a child, my father brought the Connections video game home. It was one of the first games I played on our home PC. The game was similar to Myst, but had a lot of nice explanations and history lessons in there.

How timely. I found this series after watching The Ascent of Man, which I found after watching Cosmos. Highly recommend all three, especially the Ascent of Man.

James Burke has a way of conveying a sort of fundamental optimism about society that I find invigorating. I remember listening to an interview with him from the past couple years and after all this time, he still sounds as sharp as ever.

I'm typing this comment atop a 1978 fourth printing of CONNECTIONS I just pulled off my shelf, after seeing this post. A prized possession, found used in rough shape. It was printed in the US, by Little Brown.

I've got a first printing from new. Nyaah!

No dust cover though.

Brilliant series. I remember watching it when it was released. Recommended.

His Scientific American column was pretty good too.

He did a good TV special on climate change around 1989-90 that’s on YouTube somewhere

Here's Burke's version of wikipedia, for those interested: https://webbrain.com/brainpage/brain/C6015FA0-82BF-F1FA-9D05...

To me, Tom Scott is the person best taking up Burke's torch.

At least as of a couple years ago this was available on netflix too. We used it in homeschooling, wonderful series.

Other shows from that era worth a watch:

The Ascent of Man

Civilisation

There's also Connections series 2, although it is not as good.

Plus any of BBC Adam Curtis documentaries...

One of my favourite shows. Found their copy of the best documentary ever created "Dangerous Knowledge", but it's incomplete:

https://archive.org/details/DangerousKnowledge_201903

Burke’s After The Warming, 1989

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfE8wBReIxw

Connections was such a great show. Thx for this. Wish I could find the old black and white Dr Who episodes on YouTube as well.

We had a teacher in the 8th grade that basically forced us to watch the whole thing. I liked it then. Love it now.

How hard would it be to restore the video quality? Could it be done with consumer software?

Thanks, just watched two of them... gotta be careful or I will lose my whole Saturday!

Fascinating and timely. I've always loved the series.

Yay I love this series!

As a side question:

I remember seeing a TV science series in the 80’s that had Richard Feynman explaining how a 30k calorie pyramid of jelly donuts on a barbecue grill was the equivalent energy a Tour de France cyclist expends in a day.

What show was that? I can’t find anything.

Maybe PBS "The Ring of Truth” - not Feynman though, Philip Morrison.

https://youtu.be/Nk8CQNThbc0

Thank you! That’s it at 32:20. He and Feynman look similar, and it was 30+ years ago.

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