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Summary: Jump start a kid in history and science
Review: I found the book to be very good and should be considered a basic reference - if not assignment book for late elementry or middleschool class rooms - for science or history. My eighth grader (who has a modest interest in science) and I discussed several examples in the book - with a " light going on" each time. This book is somewhat about who discovered a particular invention or process - and more about who found a better use for it. One of the values here is discussing current technological advances that dont seem to be directly linked to an end use, such as gene therapy, slowing down the speed of light, etc.. and contemplating possible applications. The reader - old or young - will come away with wanting to know what will be derived from todays discoveries.
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Summary: an invaluable historical and thought-provoking resource
Review: I have been a fan of Burke's since his day the world changed series. This continues that fine tradition. I am a firm believer in his view of history as an enormous web of coincidences and ideas sparking other ideas. nothing occurs in a vaccuum, and this book provides the most interesting stories of how things actually get invented, and rarely is it ever like they teach it in a history book. cousings pulling favors and fortuitous accidents fill its pages. while the indexing scheme is gimicky, and disrupts what little flow there is to the book, it can be useful as a research guide
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Summary: A theory in search of some facts
Review: I'm a fan of this guy, but I'm afraid this book has kicked around my bedside reading pile for too long and will be consigned to the 'too frustrating' pile. The idea is good, but it's just so badly executed. The narrative style falls into the rambling conversation area. If you enjoy listening to conversations on late night talk back radio, then maybe this is the book for you. If you are looking for a memorable discourse, look elsewhere. The idea is good, but better executed in other books - for example 'The hinge factor'.
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Summary: Oops! check your science Mr Burke
Review: It seems the author has taken a truckload of creative license in writing this book- or doesn't have a clue about the basics. One of the more amusing errors- from p34: "... In 1952 Francis Crick and James Watson were able to confirm the three-dimensional structure of a molecule of protein. They saw that it took the form of a double helix... Their X-ray diffraction pattern confirmed the existence of the DNA molecule"
Perhaps someone should mention to the author that Crick and Watson actually confirmed the 3D structure of DNA, not protein ! If Burke could make such a big, big mistake about such publicly known science, imagine the errors that could lurke beneath some of the more obscure discoveries he describes !
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Summary: Oops! check your science Mr Burke
Review: It seems the author has taken a truckload of creative license in writing this book- or doesn't have a clue about the basics. One of the more amusing errors- from p34: "... In 1952 Francis Crick and James Watson were able to confirm the three-dimensional structure of a molecule of protein. They saw that it took the form of a double helix... Their X-ray diffraction pattern confirmed the existence of the DNA molecule"
Perhaps someone should mention to the author that Crick and Watson actually confirmed the 3D structure of DNA, not protein ! If Burke could make such a big, big mistake about such publicly known science, imagine the errors that could lurke beneath some of the more obscure discoveries he describes !
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Summary: Connection does not equal causation!
Review: It's been some time since I read this book, but I was recently reminded of it. I like Burke's pinwheeling (or pinballing, rather) style, jumping from topic to topic and making what are, indeed, often very interesting connections.The reason I rate this book so low, however, is that often Burke sums up a series of connections by implying -- or sometimes directly stating -- that the first event in the chain caused, by means of the intermediate steps, the last. This is often not at all the case; the connections between steps may have had no causal relationship, but simply meant that a person was working in the same city, or some other such interesting but not causally relevant connection. So in short, the chains of connections themselves make for fun reading, but don't trust the summaries. "Correlation does not equal causation," to quote an old statistics maxim; in the case of The Pinball Effect, connection doesn't always equal causation, either.
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Summary: More from the man who turned "segue" into a lifestyle
Review: It's fortunate that Mr. Burke possesses such an extraordinary mind, because it means that his meanderings are worth more than twenty of the average persons's painstaking monologues. (It's fun to think of how easily he'd chew Bill Moyers up and spit him out.) "Pinball" indeed - this work has a breathless, frenetic quality that at times exhausts as much as it enlightens. Still, it's worth the effort - just in the process of reviewing each chapter you realize how many ideas Burke has managed to slip in your mind. For that alone this book's a keeper. Some of the reviewers don't seem to like this extra challenge, but when you're dealing with difficult topics careful rereading is always necessary. To assume you should be able to get it the first time is to fall prey to a lazy self-indulgence. And as for those particularly witless criticisms of Burke on the Catholic church - someone who's bothered to learn very much history would know that it was those "Defenders of the Faith," the Spanish and Portuguese kings, who originated the slave trade with the Church's approval. The Church later changed its position, but that's irrevelant to Burke's discussion.
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Summary: Everything is delightfully connected to everything else
Review: James Burke's lastest work is every bit as captivating andinteresting as his earlier books, "Connections" and"The Day the Universe Changed." Twenty relatively short chapters follow a twisted path from one unique idea and end up at the beginning of a new invention, which, fortunately, is the starting point for the next chapter. "Renaissance water gardens make the carbeurator possible." Occasionally, the interconnections are a bit attenuated. For example, borax was mined in Death Valley, which is so named because the conditions there are so harsh that many people simply didn't survive a journey across it, but some of those who did make it stopped at a fort caled New Helvetia, which begat Sutter's Fort, which begat Sutter's Mill, where we all know gold was discovered, and thus the gold rush of 1849. It is tempting to say that, therefore, mining borax caused the gold rush, but this would be disingenuous. Rather, Burke merely offers the relationship without a direct cause and effect link and allows the reader to ponder the significance. Perhaps the most interesting and unique aspects of the book is Burke's use of "gateways." Not unlike hypertext links on the World Wide Web, these gateways allow a reader to interrupt one story and jump into the middle of another. For example, next to the text describing the California gold rush mentioned above, Burke has placed a cross-reference (to the proper page and gateway in a completely different chapter) pointing to Heinrich Schliemann's success in the gold rush and how he used his fortune to attempt to prove that Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey" were... well that's a different story. This non-linear way to read a book is very refreshing. A Burke points out, there are 447 different ways to read the book, only one of which is from the cover to cover. Overall, I found this to be a delightful book. While academic readers may find some of its connections and relationships a bit of a stretch, it is a very enjoyable read.
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Summary: Pinball Effect - Fractal Tour Through Inventive History
Review: James Burke's The Pinball Effect is a literary fractal through inventive history. The book seems not to follow any particular pattern, but after finishing the book the reader can look back and see a distinct orderliness. Creativity and openness begets creativity. I read this book as one would read a novel, but Pinball can be analyzed from several perspectives. Invention and time can be easily traced through seemingly unrelated events in Burke's writing. More than once I thought I would single out an invention connection, but the next story amazed me even more. Easy to read, the book lends itself to deeper analysis in tracing humans' journeys, origins, and light bulb moments. Two things impressed me about the people who were inventive: 1. They availed themselves to other creative people. and 2. They were able to see new things because they looking for them.
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Summary: Really fun story about history and connections ...
Review: July 16, 1999 I first became aware of James Burke work through the Discovery/TLC channels and when I stumbled across his audio novel Connections I had to try it out. Connections was great and so I was encouraged to try out his other audio novels, The PinBall Effect which were just as ingenious and entertaining. The quality of James Burke's work set the stage for what has become a new age in bedtime stories. My new born son then 3 months was quickly introduced to the art of the audio novel as his new bedtime stories. Its been well over a year now after several dozen audio novels the little guy has now turned 18 months old. The very creative story of The Pinball Effect still gets a replay every few months and he enjoys it every time. The only sad part about the James Burke audio novels is that I haven't seen a new one in a very long time. I highly recommend this creative story about history and the connections which brought us to where we are! Arnold D Veness
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