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Welcome to: THE JAMES BURKE CONNECTION NEWSLETTER 06 - JUNE 2002:
This newsletter and previous ones are available on-line as web pages at: Please pass this newsletter along to other James Burke enthusiasts you know about, who may be unaware of its existence. DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this newsletter comes from a wide variety of sources and is selected for publication solely by the newsletter's editor/creator Tom Palmer. Please be advised that James Burke does NOT necessarily endorse or associate himself with the information or organizations mentioned in the James Burke Connection website and periodic e-mail news updates. Likewise, the information contained in this publication does NOT necessarily represent the views and opinions of Mr. Burke.
Welcome to issue 6 of the James Burke Connection news update. A warm welcome to everyone who has found their way to the James Burke Connection website and have signed up for the newsletter and to those thoughtful individuals who have offered their services towards the Knowledge Web project. I hope that this newsletter will be of value to its new recipients. Volunteers, your help is greatly appreciated. For those of you who have been wishing to see more James Burke in the world, there is plenty on the way. I know that many of you out there are secretly hoping that a Connections 4 program will be created. And a Connections 5 and Connections 6... on into infinity. Well, I don't know if Mr. Burke has any plans quite like that for the immediate future. I'm sure he will be writing various books from time to time. However, be assured that Mr. Burke does have VERY BIG plans for you from now on. For several years now, he has been creating a giant virtual version of Connections, called "The Knowledge Web", that will exist on the Internet. Its data base will most likely incorporate everything you have seen in all the Connections and "Universe" programs, plus a whole lot more. Its primary purpose is to be a tool for educators, but it will be absolutely free for everyone else to use and explore. He seems to indicate that he will be working on this system from here on out. So, the time has come for Mr. Burke to perpetuate himself and help people out there add "connectivity-thinking" to their daily outlook on life. Get ready! You may be making your own Connections programs soon!
JBC WEBSITE NEWS This month, work on the James Burke Connection site has been dominated by Mr. Burke's amazing Knowledge Web project. As a result of my recent inclusion in the development team, the website has lost it's "unofficial" status and is now one of several sites that play a role in promoting Burke and his new educational tool. During the K-Web work sessions I attended in San Jose, it was announced that the online version of WIRED magazine had published a small article regarding the creation of the Knowledge Web. Within that article, potential volunteers were directed to visit the JBC site where they could sign up to participate and be given assignments. A quick addition was made to the JBC website homepage alerting visitors to the WIRED article. This occurred around the 20th of May and resulted in a flood of new recruits. To see the WIRED online article, please visit: www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,52594,00.html In addition to many already-planned changes and additions to the JBC site, I will be including several pages that will help people learn how they can assist the Knowledge Web effort.
BURKE NEWS During May, Mr. Burke gave a commencement speech at Virginia Commonwealth University. While in the United States, Mr. Burke drew together his Knowledge Web team and met with them for three days in San Jose, CA. Mr. Burke received reports on the technical progress that was being made and helped set in motion the group that would promote the K-Web and make it's existence known to the world at large. Mr. Burke is also working at a feverish pace preparing the manuscript for his new book, which will soon go to the publisher for review.
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--------- Mr. Burke still needs help from Graduate Students and Academics in researching some of the 2200 biographies for the online Knowledge Web project. If you know anyone who would like to volunteer their time to this fantastic project, please send an e-mail to the K-Web team leader, Patrick McKercher at: Mr. Burke does has an informational website in place now that begins to describe the project. You can visit it at: In addition, Burke is also seeking sources of funding for the Knowledge Web and is looking for a small group of teachers to come and beta-test prototypes of the K-Web system during the next few weeks. If you have any leads in these areas, please send them along to Patrick as well. They will be greatly appreciated.
WEBMASTER NEWS Well, this certainly turned out to be a big month for me. Somewhere along the way, I was invited to participate in the development of Mr. Burke's Knowledge Web project. Specifically, I'll be helping out in the area of advertising and promotion. As mentioned above, Mr. Burke came over from Europe to make a commencement speech and meet with his development team while he was in the US. That meeting took place in San Jose, California and I was asked to attend if I could. I happened to be planning a trip to San Diego in June, so I doubled up and put the two events together. Fortunately, with some help from the group, I was able to show up and make a contribution for several days, before returning to San Diego. It was fantastic to meet Mr. Burke and and the other members of the team. I am looking forward to helping out with the project and making Mr. Burke's dream become a reality.
EDITORIAL - "MEETING JAMES BURKE" Okay! We've all watched Mr. Burke countless times on TV over the last several decades and have enjoyed his charm, wit and intelligence. But, have you ever asked yourself "what is this man really like when he is not in front of the camera telling us his fascinating stories about how we all got to be where we are"? Does this individual have an alter ego? Is he as fun and delightful as we hope or is he (God forbid) demanding, or arrogant, or reclusive, or deranged? Well, fear not! Mr. Burke is everything you could wish for and more. I spent two very enjoyable days with Mr. Burke and his Knowledge Web team in San Jose and it was a pleasant experience getting to watch him interact with the group. Here is my initial impression: First and foremost, Mr. Burke is FRIENDLY. He zipped around and met everyone with an outstretched hand and big eager smile on his face. It was obvious that he couldn't wait to get to know people. He had plenty of warm words to greet me and the other participants with. Actually, I was kind of shocked, because I did not expect him to be that approachable. -- After chatting with various attendees, virtually everyone mentioned Mr. Burke's friendliness from the start as his most pronounced trait. Secondly, meeting Mr. Burke is akin to meeting someone like Superman. On the surface, there is this polite, poised and receptive individual. But churning away beneath his cranium is an ultra-fast, turbo-charged mind that can fly rings around the ordinary human. There were times when Mr. Burke demonstrated that he could think and talk at light-speed. It made me feel sorry for any poor individual who might want to engage him in a debate. Personally, I wondered what might be occupying his mind as I attempted to figure out my next comment. Mr. Burke's third primary attribute is his giant bank of facts and experiences. Not only can he recall the multitude of details from his television programs and books, he has plenty of stories, insights and observations to share from his travels around the globe. As you might expect, he is quite well-informed and worldly. It was very entertaining to hear him discuss a wide range of topics at dinner. Everything from the thoughts of primitive man to the selection of fine wines. I found it particularly amusing to listen as he explained the not-exactly-proper way to order coffee in Italian. James also reveals that he is a person who is focused and knows what he wants. He has definite opinions about things. But these thoughts are mostly kept in reserve until needed. During the work sessions, he mostly listened to various people's comments and gave direction and information when it was called for. The next and perhaps most outstanding quality to speak of is his natural ability to relate to people. He has the common touch and that's what makes everything work for him. Unpretentious. As you watch Mr. Burke, it becomes quite clear that deep down, he's just a regular guy... with a mission. He's someone that realizes he's going along on the trip through Life with the rest of us and wants to help out along the way. At least that's what I see in him. I think that is what has made him so successful. He has this amazing perspective, which is a gift he's been given, yet, he knows that he's one of us. An "old soul" to be sure. My last observation is that Mr. Burke has a private side. Again, like the classic comic-book hero, there are areas of his life he keeps sheltered from the inquiring public. And rightly so. Most of his conversations regarded his work and the world at large. His tendency was to deflect questions of a personal nature. In closing, I guess you could say that Mr. Burke is a very genuine and caring person. You could tell that he was sincerely happy to interact with the people around him and was looking forward to making new friends. And he was very sensitive to the feelings of those in his party. A number of times, you could see him cautiously, yet openly waiting to see how people would react. Much of the time, he was somewhat reserved and he always made sure whoever was speaking to him got to say their piece. He was never abrupt or dominating. But that doesn't mean he took a back seat. It just wouldn't be James Burke without some showing off. We all know that he IS bit of a ham inside. Indeed, once he felt comfortable, he did manage to open up a wee bit and jump into the spotlight on occasion. There were moments when it was a shear delight to see him express himself to others with all of the glee of an 8-year-old boy at his own birthday party.
TV SCHEDULE (UPCOMING) --------- The momentum of "Connections" on TV continues! The Connections 2 & 3 series continue to be rebroadcast on The (Discovery) Science Channel through June! science.discovery.com/schedule/series.jsp?series=46
Connections 2 - The Science Channel - Now thru at least June 22, 2002
Connections 3 - The Science Channel - Now thru at least June 29, 2002
Note: I do not know if either Connections series will be played in proper sequence or if the eventual final episodes scheduled will be the actual final episode for each series. Therefore, if you are planning to videotape these programs, don't necessarily wait for the beginning episodes to cycle through.
WAYS TO COMMUNICATE Want to communicate with other Burke fans? Don't forget about the James Burke newsgroup and Yahoo "group" where you can post messages. alt.fan.james-burke groups.yahoo.com/group/connectionswithjamesburke/
A TRIP TO THE BOOKSTORE -- (DISCOVERED LITERATURE) During my trip to California, I stayed in La Jolla a few days and made the round of my favorite bookstores, John Cole's, Warwick's and D. G. Will's. While snooping I found a few books that might be of interest to Burke-minded people, and took advantage of several thoughtful clerks who made recommendations. We'll start with my personal discoveries:
SEARCH ENGINE FINDS (CURRENT) --------- As you might guess, after six months of combing the web, it is becoming harder and harder to find interesting information on Mr. Burke. What is surprising, however, is that there does not seem to be a shortage of pages that mention him in some way or another. The main discovery in this month's search was learning of the existence of several new previously unheard-of videos that Mr. Burke has made. Some of these are recordings of lectures and one seems to be a formal presentation on a specific subject. As always, keep in mind that the following links are not only to provide you with Internet information about Mr. Burke, but are also intended to bring you related data that might be new and interesting to you.
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found with Google - June 02, 2002:
Burke mentioned on French page "Le virtuel du philosophe Pierre Lévy"
Announcement of speech at Union College, April 11, 2002
Slide presentation of ACM 97 opening comments
Mentioned on past speakers page at University of South Florida
Info on "Hunter Lecture", March 15, 2000, Columbus State University
Burke mentioned in Class notes for Biology 102, Ohio State
News about an IMSA lecture called: Mechanisms of Change: Do Lemons Whistle?
"Do Lemons Whistle" video listed at Oregon State U.
A link to Burke on a University of Kentucky page
Burke quoted on Mary Anne Hass page
Smithsonian page on Burke
IEEE page mentioning possible upcoming lecture
1996 Burke lecture mentioned on resume of John Gresham
Offhand remark on a page called "Think Like a Scientist: An Induction Fable"
"Connections" listed on Cornell University engineering video list
"After The Warming" on Earth Ministry ecology video list
Burke in ACM video lecture series list
Burke mentioned on Mechanosphere page
Burke info corrected in a letter to Scientific American
"The Culture of Scarcity" lecture mentioned on Texas Medical Center page
"Universe" video mentioned in McGill University course outline
"Connections" filming mentioned on University of Cambridge report
Student reviews of "After The Warming"
"Connections" book used as textbook in UKY engineering course
Burke perspective mentioned on Clarion University of PA page
University Star article about a March 1999 Burke lecture in Texas
"After The Warming" is assigned reading at Ohio U. geology course
Burke lecture mentioned in the UGA Flagpole
Burke lecture mentioned in an Educom 98 report
Recent North Carolina lecture listed in JournalNow calendar
The Axemaker's Gift listed on Gulker's booklist
Burke mentioned in Towson University course overview
"Darwin's Revolution" video mentioned at American University
Video lecture mentioned, "The Next 50 Years of Computing"
Burke included in list of Top World Speakers
Connections book in Kansas State syllabus list
Burke & Universe mentioned in Leonardo Project syllabus
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Links to technology history pages
Original Internet proposal
EBAY LISTINGS (CURRENTLY UP FOR SALE) As found on eBay June 02, 2002 www.ebay.com --------- BOOKS The Day The Universe Changed - 1 copy
--------- Connections: A Mind Game - 2 copies
DVD, VIDEO, BOOK, AUDIOBOOK LIST (ORDER ON-LINE) --------- DVDS
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--------- The Axemaker's Gift: Technology's Capture and Control of Our Minds and Culture Circles: Fifty Round-Trips Through History, Technology, Science, Culture Twin Tracks: The Unexpected Origins of the Modern World
--------- The Axemaker's Gift: A Double -Edged History of Human Culture
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