>TECHNOLOGY:
>
>Connections
> and
>The Day The Universe Changed
>
>by James Burke
>
> Both these books combine history with a description of the impact of
>technology on society/culture. The Day the Universe Changed analyzes
>these topics by investigating the origins of several common but
>significant technological advances; computers, atomic weapons, the
>printing press. His thesis is that these inventions literally "changed
>the universe" it that they completely changed how people though about
>the world. Very significant if combined with the concept of memetics
> If you're interested in finding out what Burke thinks about things you
>can search for him in the WWW. There are usually several interviews and
>papers to be found in order to give you a taste of his thinking and
>rhetorical style. I consider Burke as inspiring an author in terms of
>the aplicability and breadth of his ideas as Dawkins. If you've read
>The Extendeded Phenotype then TDTUC is a must. The synthesis of the two
>is dizzying in it's elegance and power in explaining trends in society.
>
Also check it out the BBC television productions of both of these books
(thats how I got turned onto Mr. Burke). I've seen them on the Learning
Channel and on PBS at various times. I consider both of the series to be
among the finest shows (let alone science shows) I've ever seen and I keep a
videotape handy if I happen to run into them. Its very rare that you can
watch something over and over again in the television medium and still get
something more out of it everytime. The production values or excellent and
the way that the nature of change is described is cohesive.