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James Burke Connections, Ep. 4 "Faith in Numbers"

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  • Recommended by 4 people: 4 on Hacker News.
  • A classic. People kept recommending it from 2020 to 2025.
  • Presented by James Burke, science historian

Beginner. No background in the topic needed.

225K views7 years ago4 recommendations

History and cultureSystems programmingHistory of computingPeople who shaped computing

James Burke traces the historical threads from the Black Death and waterpower to the Jacquard loom and modern computer programming.

"Faith in Numbers" examines the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance from the perspective of how commercialism, climate change, and the Black Death influenced cultural development. He examines the impact of Cistercian waterpower on the Industrial Revolution, derived from Roman watermill technology such as that of the Barbegal aqueduct and mill. Also covered are the Gutenberg printing press, the Jacquard loom, and the Hollerith punch card tabulator that led to modern computer programming.

Why it's here

4 people recommend this

What people say. Highly recommended for its brilliant storytelling tracing the historical evolution of technology leading to modern computing.

sxpon Hacker News • Recommends

On “We have no idea what happens next”

I completely agree. For those who haven't experienced Connections-style history, four episodes are on YouTube: link My favorite is this one about proto-computers that came about due to the Black Death: link to this video

Maursaulton Hacker News • Recommends

On “Part of the long-lost star catalogue of Hipparchus found in medieval parchment”

Every computer engineer, computer scientist and software developer should learn about the Jacquard loom and its predecessors and its significance as elegantly described by James Burke.1 1 link to this video

sxpon Hacker News • Recommends

On “How an 1803 Jacquard Loom Led to Computer Technology [video]”

If you want a more in depth view about this series of events, I suggest link to this video which is an episode of the amazing documentary, Connections. (The show also has one of the best timed shots in history: link )

aspenmayeron Hacker News • Recommends

On “Robert Hooke's "Cyberpunk” Letter to Gottfried Leibniz”

I believe Robert Hooke is mentioned in James Burke’s Connections , a fantastic program that just got a new season on Curiosity Stream; I haven’t seen the new episodes yet but I have thoroughly enjoyed everything else Burke has ever done, so I expect the new series to be great also. link The episodes Faith in Numbers (1978 original series, S01E040) and Thunder in the Skies (S01E06)1 feature Robert Hooke from what I can tell from a little searching, though it’s been a while since I saw the series, so I apologize if I’m wrong on that point, though the entire series is worth watching all the same. 0 link to this video 1 link

ssalazaron Hacker News • Recommends

On “Phrase origin: Why do we "call" functions?”

For those who aren't already familiar, James Burke in Connections has a great summary/rundown of this technological progression from Jacquard loom to census tabulator to computer punchcard, starting around the 36 minute mark here (though the whole video is worth watching). link to this video

staplungon Hacker News • Mentions

On “IBM, sonic delay lines, and the history of the 80×24 display”

And the reason they were modeled after the dollar bill size is because there were already many types of systems for storing and organizing them. That came in handy for the census. The old BBC Connections series has a segment with James Burke using the old census tabulators. link to this video