Make a WISE Gift
Based on James Burke’s 1978 book, Connections, and the related BBC series, this course will explore the long strings of events that made modern technologies possible. How did primitive gold panning techniques lead to the atomic bomb? How did the English longbow lead to satellite communications? A number of “invention strings,” tracing connections between an early invention/situation and a modern technological invention such as: water wheels to computer, Caliph’s stomach ache to production line, and Little Ice Age to airplane. Discover connections you never dreamed of!
GROUP LEADER: Victor Saffrin has a BA in Theater and Economics and an MS in Computer Science, and is now retired from a career spanning rock-and-roll lighting roadie, laser light show designer, embedded software engineer and engineering process manager.
BOOK (optional): Connections, James Burke ISBN 0-316-11681-5
Worcester Institute for Senior Education (WISE)Assumption University, 500 Salisbury Street, Worcester MA 01609 wise@assumption.edu 508-767-7513
