Resources > Background knowledge
Technology = Change
1. The Antikythera Mechanism
How did a strange lump of bronze and decayed wood discovered in a shipwreck reveal the first ever computer? Learn more about the complex clockwork device, created in the time of Archimedes, that could predict the positions of the sun, moon and planets, and even when the Olympic games fell.
Source: BBC (2012-2015); Open University (2012-2015). History of Ideas. Duration: 02:03
2. The Fourth Revolution
How we think about our place in the world has been transformed through revolutions of ideas from big thinkers such as Galileo, Darwin and Freud. Philosopher Luciano Floridi believes that we are now into a new revolution in the mass age of information and data.
Source: BBC (2012-2015); Open University (2012-2015). History of Ideas. Duration: 01:54
3. The Medium is the Message
Is the form that you receive a message as significant as the message itself? Marshall McLuhan argued that throughout history what has been communicated has been less important than the particular medium through which people communicate. The technology that transfers the message changes us and changes society, the individual, the family, work, leisure and more.
Source: BBC (2012-2015); Open University (2012-2015). History of Ideas. Duration: 01:59
4. Rewiring the Brain
Do you worry that screen-based devices – computers, video games and smartphones – are rewiring your brain? Perhaps you should; because they certainly are. But will the changes mean generations plagued with attention disorders and poor social skills or will it boost creativity?
Source: BBC (2012-2015); Open University (2012-2015). History of Ideas. Duration: 01:46
BIG IDEAS
01. Beginnings
02. Who am I?
03. Being human
04. Knowledge
05. Beauty
06. Love
07. Freedom
08. Society
09. The good life
10. Right from wrong
11. Justice
12. Technology
CONCEPTS EXPLAINED
01. Astronomy
02. Microgravity
03. Thoughts on theory
04. Theology explained
05. History of the English language
06. History of Money
07. Economics explained
08. The European Union explained
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