The Day The Universe Changed

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History Documentary hosted by James Burke and published by BBC in 1985 - English narration

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The Day the Universe Changed is a ten-part documentary television series presented by science historian James Burke. It tells a series of stories of how specific scientific and technological advances have shaped the Western way of life. The series posits that when one’s view of the universe changes, the universe itself effectively changes. The series’ primary focus is on the effect of advances in science and technology on western philosophy. The title comes from the philosophical idea that the universe essentially only exists as you perceive it through what you know; therefore, if you change your perception of the universe with new knowledge, you have 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. The series runs in roughly chronological order, from around the beginning of the Middle Ages to the present.

[edit] The Way We are

The first in a series of ten program this episode illustrates the development of Western knowledge. The inquisitive and logical attitude of the classical Greeks is at the foundation of Western thought with its continuing exploration of new ideas.

[edit] In the Light of the Above

The bitter conflict between reason and faith that followed the Crusaders' invasion of Spain in the 11th century is studied. The time when Christian Europe recaptured from the Arabs a treasure of Greek, Roman, and Arab scientific knowledge.

[edit] Point of View

The astonishing changes that developed out of new discoveries of perspective geometry, new architectural techniques, and the ability to map the world and cross oceans. Also explores how this knowledge led to a new individualism.

[edit] A Matter of Fact

The medieval world which relied largely on memorized knowledge and the spoken word was transformed by Gutenberg's discovery of the printing press. This new knowledge is examined and connections are drawn to subsequent revolutions in Western thought.

[edit] Infinitely Reasonable

This program explains how from 1550 and forward science began to undermine the Church-sanctioned Aristotelian doctrine of the universe, in which the Sun and all the planets revolved around the Earth. In its place, was established the model to which we adhere today of a clockwork universe, governed by discoverable laws of math and physics.

[edit] Credit Where It's Due

This episode examines the reasons for and the effects of the Industrial Revolution. Shows how growing wealth, coupled with innovations in business and credit, created a new industrial society.

[edit] What the Doctor Ordered

This program looks at the rise of modern medicine and its surprising relationship with the invention of statistics, which doctors used to validate the efficacy of diagnoses and treatments, In particular it examines how bacteriology put the patient on a microscope slide and brought about a world in which even healthy human beings were reduced to statistics.

[edit] Fit to Rule

This episode examines the mid-nineteenth century emergences of the theory of evolution and its affects.

[edit] Making Waves

Examines the evolution of physics through time. As scientists in 1800 investigated the new electric battery, their commonsense Newtonian world began to fall apart. A new science slowly evolved from pioneers from Faraday to Einstein.

[edit] Worlds without End

The final program reviews the entire series, recalling the many systems of belief which have been discarded as the discovery of new knowledge rendered them apparently invalid. The series closes by posing a philosophical question: if each truth is valid in its time, then is knowledge itself only what we make it?