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Chances
Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1992
30 people want to read
About the author
James Burke
22 books273 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
James Burke is a Northern Irish science historian, author and television producer best known for his documentary television series called Connections, focusing on the history of science and technology leavened with a sense of humour.
James Burke is a Northern Irish science historian, author and television producer best known for his documentary television series called Connections, focusing on the history of science and technology leavened with a sense of humour.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 25, 2021
Honestly i think this one of Burke's better books after he got lazy.
I think he carefully handpicked some really interesting statistics, and while not as good as the Book of Lists (all three books), as a skimpy book it's quite fine.
---
I just remember being disappointed with Burke's sequels, like The Day the Universe Changed, and how he went into limbo.
---
Connections and it sequels
are really the only essential ones
[and some still wonder of the weakness with those sequels, I think that if the illustration is entertaining, and educational, it works. And it's a lot easier for Burke to have fewer mistakes when dealing with technological history, than the philosophical stuff which i quote below)
Connections (1978)
Connections 2 (1994)
Connections 3 (1997)
ReConnections (2004)
---
I don't think many have noticed that
The Real Thing from 1980 about human perception
connects nicely with The Day the Universe Changed in 1985.
'The title comes from the philosophical idea that the universe essentially only exists as one perceives it through what one knows; therefore, if one changes one's perception of the universe with new knowledge, one has essentially changed the universe itself. To illustrate this concept, James Burke tells the various stories of important scientific discoveries and technological advances and how they fundamentally altered how western civilization perceives the world.'
Some feel that Burke's Day the Universe Changed is a simplication of the invention process, and it dimisses how many inventors and inventions fail, and how development of any invention can take quite a number of people, and considerable amount time and effort to get things workable. Let's not even talk about how it might end up a flop on the marketplace.
Does Burke turn invention into a magic trick, where in each case, the magician pulls a rabbit out of a hat?
And does Burke overstate the positives, as well as the actual technology?
And does Burke distort history (and then does it even more with that perception stuff), and cherry pick the implications of technology?
A lot of this is a paraphrase of some of the reviews and reddit discussions i've seen about Burke.
just link everything together!
changes happenned so simply!
things are so easily connected!
one screwed up fact, definately hurts 'The Connection'
I think Deborah Fitzgerald in Isis summed up the Day the Universe Changed nicely:
"there are few ambiguities, false starts, errors of omission, or losers to progress"
So i think even with some flaws, Burke's Connections is worth it, but not much of his other stuff...
and that goes for his books
the scary thing is some reviews of Connections you get creepy comments like:
"history books will soon be rewritten to include these patterns of interconnecting events, inventions and discoveries leading to technological change"
---
And well I think Burke fails when he tries too hard to force history into some 'cohesive whole'.
I think he carefully handpicked some really interesting statistics, and while not as good as the Book of Lists (all three books), as a skimpy book it's quite fine.
---
I just remember being disappointed with Burke's sequels, like The Day the Universe Changed, and how he went into limbo.
---
Connections and it sequels
are really the only essential ones
[and some still wonder of the weakness with those sequels, I think that if the illustration is entertaining, and educational, it works. And it's a lot easier for Burke to have fewer mistakes when dealing with technological history, than the philosophical stuff which i quote below)
Connections (1978)
Connections 2 (1994)
Connections 3 (1997)
ReConnections (2004)
---
I don't think many have noticed that
The Real Thing from 1980 about human perception
connects nicely with The Day the Universe Changed in 1985.
'The title comes from the philosophical idea that the universe essentially only exists as one perceives it through what one knows; therefore, if one changes one's perception of the universe with new knowledge, one has essentially changed the universe itself. To illustrate this concept, James Burke tells the various stories of important scientific discoveries and technological advances and how they fundamentally altered how western civilization perceives the world.'
Some feel that Burke's Day the Universe Changed is a simplication of the invention process, and it dimisses how many inventors and inventions fail, and how development of any invention can take quite a number of people, and considerable amount time and effort to get things workable. Let's not even talk about how it might end up a flop on the marketplace.
Does Burke turn invention into a magic trick, where in each case, the magician pulls a rabbit out of a hat?
And does Burke overstate the positives, as well as the actual technology?
And does Burke distort history (and then does it even more with that perception stuff), and cherry pick the implications of technology?
A lot of this is a paraphrase of some of the reviews and reddit discussions i've seen about Burke.
just link everything together!
changes happenned so simply!
things are so easily connected!
one screwed up fact, definately hurts 'The Connection'
I think Deborah Fitzgerald in Isis summed up the Day the Universe Changed nicely:
"there are few ambiguities, false starts, errors of omission, or losers to progress"
So i think even with some flaws, Burke's Connections is worth it, but not much of his other stuff...
and that goes for his books
the scary thing is some reviews of Connections you get creepy comments like:
"history books will soon be rewritten to include these patterns of interconnecting events, inventions and discoveries leading to technological change"
---
And well I think Burke fails when he tries too hard to force history into some 'cohesive whole'.
Displaying 1 of 1 review