The Day the Universe Changed is a ten-part documentary television series presented by science historian James Burke. The series 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.
Episode Summary
Not only has medical science allowed humans to live longer, healthier lives, it has also led to the identification of people as numbers and statistics.
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- It Started with the Greeks
- Medieval Conflict: Faith and Reason
- Scientific Imagination in the Renaissance
- Printing Transforms Knowledge
- Science Revises the Heavens
- The Factory and Marketplace Revolution
- Social Impacts of New Medical Knowledge
- Darwin's Revolution
- The New Physics: Newton Revised
- Changing Knowledge, Changing Reality
Social Impacts of New Medical Knowledge Part One
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- @-1:12: James Burke is amazed by the total population of the planet and the lack of major epidemics such as typhoid fever, tuberculosis and the bubonic plague
- @-2:54: Modern medicine is a result of one man from Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin
- @-3:00: Benjamin Franklin helped run the American Revolution from Independence Hall
- @-3:29: In 1776, Benjamin Franklin left for France with a copy of the Declaration of Independence
- @-4:20: Benjamin Franklin was the second most popular American next to George Washington. Philadelphia was the most progressive city and had the best hospital and healthcare system
- @-5:18: Benjamin Franklin met with the King of France, Louis XVI in 1776; thanks to his wit and charm, Franklin became an ideological sensation in France
- @-6:27: Benjamin Franklin attracted Madame Helvetius, who was interested in Freemasons and America
- @-8:34: The French Revolution began and was in full force by 1792
- @-9:37: The French Revolution was bloody and
Social Impacts of New Medical Knowledge Part Two
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- @0:50: After the French Revolution, France had to open new medical schools to replace all the dead doctors
- @-1:33: On the job training was instituted to train new doctors
- @-2:12: Pierre Jean George Cabanis was the father of modern French medicine
- @-2:47: To learn more about disease, we turn to Germany and Gottfried Leibniz
- @-2:59: Gottfried Leibniz believed that his mathematical equations held the keys to the universe
- @-3:52: Xavier Bichat experimented with dead bodies and in 1800, discovered that bodies were made of tissue. Thus began the study of pathological anatomy
- @-5:18: In Paris in 1820, there were over 50,000 patient beds and hospitals were split up based on types of diseases
- @-6:13: By 1830, Paris was the healthcare capital of the world, but by 1831, in Hamburg, Germany, a deadly Cholera plague was beginning that would effect all Europe
- @-7:41: Britain quarantined the country, closed the ports and hoped the cholera outbreak would not reach them. However, in
Social Impacts of New Medical Knowledge Part Three
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- @-1:00: William Farr saw potential in medical statistics and in 1836, a registry was set up to collect medical data. After analyzing the data, William Farr formulated ideas to get rid of the cholera
- @-3:03: William Farr charted cholera deaths based on their relation to the dirty River Thames and other contaminated water sources
- @-5:15: Sports became more important to the elite as they believed physical activity helped keep bodies healthy
- @-6:14: James Burke enjoys some cricket
- @-6:52: In 1858, the stench from city reached the British Parliament
- @-7:57: The largest civil engineering project began to fix the River Thames sewage problem
Social Impacts of New Medical Knowledge Part Four
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- @-0:20: Thanks to William Farr's sewers, cholera was wiped out in London, but what cholera was remained a mystery
- @-1:10: In Georgia, in 1842, Crawford Williamson Long took part in some medical fun and games with a bottle of ether and some ladies
- @-2:01: Crawford Williamson Long hosted ether parties several times a week and discovered that while under the influence of ether, his patrons felt no pain; this led to the discovery of anesthetics
- @-3:47: By 1860, doctors could perform more procedures thanks to anesthetics
- @-4:36: In 1864, on the Scottish-English border, Joseph Lister discovered the medical benefits of carbolic acid while experimenting on cows
- @-5:00: Spraying carbolic acid in the air helped keep germs out of the air. In 1878, doctors were able to deliberately open up patients for surgery
- @-6:56: During this time, the microscope created many questions for those looking at through them
- @-7:47: Robert Koch shut himself away in Africa with a microscope and aimed to solve the ...
Social Impacts of New Medical Knowledge Part Five
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- @-0:23: In 1882, Robert Koch identified the bacterium that causes tuberculosis
- @-1:55: The transition of medicine from bedside to hospital to chemistry was complete and the patient had become nothing but a string of numbers
- @-3:12: In 1892, the first research facility dedicated to bacteriological testing was set up at the University of Pennsylvania
- @-3:55: The population at large can now be diagnosed and treated, medically or not, without even knowing it's happening. Ironically, it all started in Philadelphia - the home of the inalienable right of the individual to lead a free life
Have you watched any of James Burke's documentaries?(2 Answers)
A:
Absolutely! I loved both Connections and The Day the Universe Changed. The episodes that stand out were one where he took a whack at a cow carcass with ...
