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Flinch

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If you feel like taking a break from the usual mindless Youtube videos then I recommend that you watch two amazing educational mini-series from the 1970s. If you can survive without HD then you'll find that these programs have a lot to offer. Both of these programs offer something that seems to have been lost as even the scientific programs on TV have begun to rely more on flash than substance.

First:

Connections (1978)

With James Burke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgOp-nz3lHg

"An Alternate View Of Change"

The first series of three with James Burke is a fascinating look at the history of technology. The first episode explains Burke's thesis and the rest of the series follows a specific pattern. In each episode Burke leads the viewer through something of a detective story that shows how one object or piece of technology lead to some other completely different piece of "modern" technology. I say "modern" because some of the value in watching this series is that it is almost 35 years old... many of Burke's predictions about the direction of technology was heading at the time of broadcast seem to be coming true.

James Burke is witty, intelligent, and a fascinating presenter of his own work. This series of Connections spawned two more in the mid 1990s. Unfortunately, in my opinion, those later works seemed to try too hard to pander to an American audience and placed more value on Burke's "gimmick" established in this series rather than having a solid thesis. Therefore, dated as it is, Connections 1 is the most engaging of the three.

Second:

Cosmos: A Personal Journey (1979-1980)

With Carl Sagan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClPShKs9Kr0&list=PL474A7F1BA0FCEF8C&index=1&feature=plpp_video

If you allow yourself to forgive a questionable music score and dated computer graphics I guarantee that at some point Cosmos will blow your mind. Carl Sagan's 13 episode series manages to make the universe accessible in ways that no other series has quite managed to replicate in the thirty-odd years since it was broadcast. Much like Burke's programme the first episode is meant to set up the rest of the series. By the time you reach the second episode Sagan is really diving into the meat of the subject. Cosmos is broad-reaching but Sagan's main motivation appears to be encouraging viewers to investigate just what their place is in the universe. Somehow he makes us feel both insignificant and profoundly special at the same time. I strongly suggest that if you don't know who Carl Sagan is that you at least read his Wikipedia page to understand that he isn't just some talking head hired by a public broadcaster to do a science program.

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