Unfortunately it never quite received the same attention as Cosmos and Carl Sagan - a show which, incidentally, was produced by the guy (Adrian Malone) seven years later. Not many people know about this incredible series, lesser still of the wonderful host. This series received serious acclaim for its accessibility to the layman (in large-part due to Bronowski's skillful, elegant, incisive storytelling ability) and the wide-range and quality of the location shoots. The series is based on a namesake book by Bronowski in which he tells the fascinating and quite unbelievable story of the development of civilisation as we today know it - that is, the story of The Ascent of Man. (1 / 13)įirst aired in 1973, The Ascent of Man is a 13-part documentary series written and presented by the brilliant Dr Jacob Bronowski, and produced by the BBC. They are the marks of unity in variety and in the instant when the mind seizes this for itself, in art or in science, the heart misses a beat.Lower Than The Angels Evolution of humans from proto-ape to the modern form 400,000 years ago. And the great poem and the deep theorem are new to every reader, and yet are his own experiences, because he himself re-creates them. We re-make nature by the act of discovery, in the poem or in the theorem. Reality is not an exhibit for man's inspection, labeled: "Do not touch." There are no appearances to be photographed, no experiences to be copied, in which we do not take part. We re-enact the creative act, and we ourselves make the discovery again. When a simile takes us aback and persuades us together, when we find a juxtaposition in a picture both odd and intriguing, when a theory is at once fresh and convincing, we do not merely nod over someone else's work. In the moment of appreciation we live again the moment when the creator saw and held the hidden likeness. “The poem or the discovery exists in two moments of vision: the moment of appreciation as much as that of creation for the appreciator must see the movement, wake to the echo which was started in the creation of the work. We have to close the distance between the push-button order and the human act. We have to cure ourselves of the itch for absolute knowledge and power. I owe it as a scientist to my friend Leo Szilard, I owe it as a human being to the many members of my family who died here, to stand here as a survivor and a witness. In the end, the words were said by Oliver Cromwell: "I beseech you in the bowels of Christ: Think it possible you may be mistaken." Science is a tribute to what we can know although we are fallible. Every judgment in science stands on the edge of error and is personal. We are always at the brink of the known we always feel forward for what is to be hoped. Science is a very human form of knowledge. This is what men do when they aspire to the knowledge of gods. When people believe that they have absolute knowledge, with no test in reality, this is how they behave. It was done by arrogance, it was done by dogma, it was done by ignorance. Into this pond were flushed the ashes of some four million people. This is where people were turned into numbers. This is the concentration camp and crematorium at Auschwitz. “It's said that science will dehumanize people and turn them into numbers.
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