ALPHABETICAL BRAIN® VOCABULARY HUMANIST GALAXY OF SECULAR SCIENCE STARS JAMES BURKE April 20, 2022 CONNECTIONS: From Ptolemy's Astolabe to the Discovery of Electricity: How Inventions are Linked and How They Cause Change Throughout History. by James Burke. Simon & Schuster; Illustrated ed 2007 [previous ed 1978, 1995] (320 pages) BOOK OUTLINE AUTHOR'S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (page vi) PREFACE (pages vii-ix) INTRODUCTION (pages xi-xiii) 1) THE TRIGGER EFFECT (pages 1-13) 2) THE ROAD FROM ALEXANDRIA (pages 15-42) 3) DISTANT VOICES (pages 45-79) 4) FAITH IN NUMBERS (pages 81-113) 5) THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE (pages 115-151) 6) FUEL TO THE FLAME (pages 153-183) 7) THE LONG CHAIN (pages 185-213) 8) EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY (pages 215-247) 9) LIGHTING THE WAY (pages 249-286) 10) INVENTING THE FUTURE (pages 287-295) FURTHER READING (pages 296-298) INDEX (pages 299-304) Cannon, evolution & development Clocks, alarm Clothing, trends in Communication systems Compass Coffee houses Colonies: development of Commerce, growth of in medieval Europe Electricity Food Fortification Gases Gutenberg, Johann Horse Hygiene Industrial revolution Innovation PICTURE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (pages 304) SUMMARY AND BOOK DESCRIPTION SUMMARY = James Burke brilliantly examines the ideas, inventions, and coincidences that have culminated in the major technological advances of today. His book is a brilliant examination of the ideas, inventions, and coincidences that have culminated in the major technological achievements of today. BOOK DESCRIPTION = In this highly acclaimed and bestselling book that is based on a popular TV documentary series, Burke has written a fascinating scientific detective story about the inventions that have changed history, including the surprising links that connect them. With dazzling insight, he untangles the pattern of interconnecting events: the accidents of time, circumstance, and place that gave rise to the major inventions of the world. He said, "My purpose is to acquaint the reader with some of the forces that have caused change in the past, looking specifically at eight innovations." They are [1] the computer; [2] the production line; [3] telecommunications; [4] the airplane; [5] the atomic bomb; [6] plastics; [7] the guided rocket; and [8] television. Burke claims that those eight inventions are the most influential technical innovations that have restructured our lives. Each one is a part of a family of similar devices, and is the result of a sequence of closely connected scientific experiments that extend from the ancient world until the present day. He believes that each one has enormous potential for humankind's benefit or destruction! REMEMBER ALWAYS: You Are Your Adaptable Memory! Click or Tap to Return to Humanist Hub RETURN TO THE HUMANIST HUB OF SECULAR SCIENCE STARS ALPHABETICAL BRAIN® VOCABULARY produced by Infinite Interactive Ideas®