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Documentary, Origins-The Journey of Humankind S01E04
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00:00humans stand alone in the animal kingdom our power over nature is unparalleled what separates us
00:17what is it that makes us human the answer lies in our mastery of communication
00:23the power to express complex thoughts and ideas to organize and think collectively
00:29these are the engines of our success driving our ascent from hunter-gatherers to a global
00:35civilization communication is everywhere our technology has propelled us to a new age of
00:46interconnectedness waves of data pass through us at the speed of light
00:51music language art the written word through these tools the boundless human imagination has been
01:05given a voice they give us self-expression and collective knowledge but they have a dark side
01:11these tools are so powerful that they distort our very perception of reality they can subvert and
01:18corrupt and even manipulate entire populations communication is what makes us us how did it
01:29emerge how did it transform us to a creature that could dream to a creature that could imagine where
01:35millions could eventually learn to cooperate to overcome to transcend this is the story of how our
01:42world came to be how communication defined our species and created the modern age how it connected
01:49humanity and sent our voice on a course for the stars this is origins
02:02it's the greatest adventure story ever told the story of humankind we're going back in time to explore some
02:09key moments origin moments that change the course of our shared history if knowledge is power communication
02:17is the jet fuel the delivery system the gift we give each other that makes everything else possible
02:23communication links the modern world through mobile wireless connections people all over the globe are
02:28coming online at an incredible rate flooding our biosphere with new voices new ideas
02:34we're not the only species to communicate far from it birds do it bees do it even plants communicate
02:42with chemical signals but we are the only species to communicate through time
02:51we send messages from one generation to the next frozen pieces of experience that let our descendants
02:57learn who we were and how we lived there was a moment an origin moment when we realized we could
03:03capture our thoughts our emotions our dreams and share them with others france 26 500 bc the world is mystical chaotic
03:18dangerous our ability to communicate gave us a tool voice our evolution as a species
03:26if you imagine a society where every piece of information and experience has to be communicated from one
03:39generation to the next in very early times by sign and experience the thing that really matters
03:46is the ability to communicate and to show and to demonstrate
03:52a hunting party returns home a hunting party returns home successful this is the way of survival
04:08smells like you said coryo
04:10is a week ago
04:20one rite of passage leads to another
05:01Oh
05:20Ginis Ginis
05:25It's in key
05:31Belgenatin
05:33Ginis Guk
05:35Kus
05:37Dzak Goya
05:39Itz Dzak
05:41Hinis As Goya
05:43Plath Lagu
05:45Balekwa
05:47Dal Dzak Gura
05:53Gots Dzak
05:55Iyuhle Goya
05:59Iyuhle Goya
06:29This is the moment when we speak through time
06:35When our story, our knowledge reaches generations far beyond us
06:41The interesting thing about humans is we acquire knowledge and skills and we pass those from parents to offspring by using language
06:49I can make use of information and knowledge that was acquired by my grandfather
06:53But no other species can do that
06:57Language takes us into a new world
06:59Now people are telling stories
07:01Stories about social relationships
07:03Stories about the way our society defeated the other society
07:07Imagination flows here
07:09Imagination flows here
07:11In interactions that occur nowhere else
07:13And of course, completely different from anything that happens in animals
07:17If you recite oral traditions
07:27You recite folklore
07:29You recite legends
07:31Or you chant them or you sing them
07:33And these get passed from one generation to the next
07:35They're enormously powerful
07:37They're enormously powerful
07:45You could make a very good case that
07:47K painting was the beginning of storytelling
07:49But an even better case that it is the beginning of storytelling that survives
07:53This creation of art is a massive transformation
07:59No other animal uses artistic symbols to communicate ideas or emotions
08:05Studies have shown creating art rewires our brain
08:09Increasing the gray and white matter in the cerebellum
08:12This increases overall cognitive function
08:15It makes us think better
08:17Being human means having a brain
08:22That's creative
08:24We have this impulse
08:26To explore new places
08:28To make new things
08:29Not to imitate
08:30But to originate
08:31And it expresses itself in practically every aspect of human culture
08:37We end up with different civilizations
08:42Different forms of art
08:43A different way of living
08:49Early humans communicated with pictures
08:51And markings painted on cave walls
08:53And began to gradually work out symbols
08:55As these markings spread
08:57And were understood and accepted
08:59Then you had the widespread transmission of ideas
09:02We can see the very early days of this communication
09:06In the ice age caves of El Castillo
09:10We live in this modern world that's hugely interconnected globally
09:17Based in large part on our ability to communicate graphically
09:20Everything from like binary coding computers to texting
09:24And we take them for granted
09:25But I think what's so easy to forget is that if you go back far enough in time
09:31You will actually get to a point where there was no graphic communication
09:37Where somebody had to invent it for the very first time
09:39Think about the moment
09:49That moment when somebody picked up probably a tool
09:52And made an engraved mark in some sort of object
09:56And with that simple little stroke of a tool
10:03Completely changed our entire ability to communicate
10:07So this is actually a child's hand
10:13And it's not just anywhere, it's in the depths of the cave
10:18So this tells us that it wasn't just adults coming down here
10:22They brought their kids with them
10:24Which really suggests that for them these caves weren't scary places
10:32In La Pasiaga Cave is one of those rare animals
10:36We're looking at a bison
10:38Which if you look just the actual detail
10:40The horn, the eyes
10:42Even the perky little tail
10:44It's simple in many ways but so sophisticated in others
10:47And it dates to about, probably about 25,000 years ago or so
10:51Communicating with others has been an important part of why people have scratched things on rocks
10:59And made drawings
11:01You can look at these things and imagine very, very clearly
11:05What it must have been like to bend those people on these hunts
11:09It's a kind of time travel that allows you to step into another period or another place
11:15If you've been into one of these caves, into one of the chambers
11:19And the lights are turned off
11:21The silence is really profound
11:25They could play tricks with lights
11:31To make animals move and so on
11:33It was all performance
11:35But the performance had a purpose
11:37And the purpose was to reinforce the relationship with the forces of the supernatural world
11:43With the animals and the world that surround each other
11:47La Pasiaga has many things that make it a very special cave
11:59But to me one of the most important
12:01Is actually the series of signs right up here on this wall
12:05It's known as the La Pasiaga inscription
12:07And it's literally one of the only places in the whole of Ice Age Europe
12:13That we have an entire row of geometric signs that are lined up and organized
12:17And that actually appear to be related to each other
12:21We're certainly not talking about writing yet
12:23Yes, this certainly has a writing-like look to it
12:26But it's a one-off
12:28This is the only place that we ever find this
12:31This is them starting to experiment
12:33They're starting to play around with organizing the signs
12:36Even if it's not truly writing
12:38It's an incredibly important clue to understanding
12:42Where and how graphic communication really started coming together
12:46All writing begins with symbols
12:51Whether it's the cuneiform or hieroglyphics
12:54Now that's useful in some ways
12:56But doesn't allow you to express a thought
12:58You can draw a picture of a cow
13:00To express how many cows you're taking to the market
13:02But you can't in that kind of simple way
13:04Say I want to take three cows and buy four cows
13:08And exchange them with my next-door neighbor for two more
13:10You need writing for that kind of thing
13:12Communication transformed us from wild pack animals
13:24To a collective intelligence
13:26We were able to express our ideas
13:28Share our emotions in stories and through art
13:31We created myths to inspire and entertain
13:34Religion and philosophy to explain the world
13:37And our place in it
13:39But with the gifts of speech, art and writing
13:41Also came misunderstanding
13:43Manipulation for political gain
13:45Propaganda to provoke conflict
13:47Language gives us the incredible power
13:50To put our ideas into other people's brains
13:53That ability made the modern world possible
14:00None of it would exist without the exchange of ideas
14:03And the spread of information
14:05Knowledge is power
14:07But because it is so powerful
14:09Some try to keep that power to themselves
14:12And some brave souls will fight and die
14:15To take that power back
14:16For our ancestors, language and art were powerful communication tools
14:24But we also spread our knowledge another way
14:39With rhythm and emotion
14:42Our brains are programmed to seek pattern and repetition
14:45We gravitate to rhythm and rhyme
14:47And so we told our stories through song
14:49Wisdom was passed through the generations by musical storytellers
14:51Channeling knowledge about the land through song and dance
14:55Oral histories like the odyssey were not just spoken
15:02They were not just spoken, they were sung
15:05For centuries, Africans used talking drums to send messages over long distances
15:10As knowledge and ideas spread through music
15:25As knowledge and ideas spread through music
15:27Lyrics became the first viral method of communication
15:40Music gave us a deeper way to communicate
15:42It expanded our palette for self-expression
15:45Giving us the ability to convey the ineffable
15:48Through rhythm and emotion
15:53We created a universal language understood across time and space
16:00No human society has ever been found without music
16:04It lies at the core of our culture
16:06Music reaches into the soul
16:16And gives our emotions a voice
16:19And through it, our collective history flourished
16:23A hundred years ago, if you wanted to listen to, say, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
16:31You had to go see an orchestra play it
16:33For most people, that wasn't an option
16:36But the invention of radio and the record player changed all that
16:40Beethoven's masterpiece all of a sudden could be enjoyed by everyone
16:43Not just the wealthy
16:45Today you can access virtually every piece of music ever recorded
16:49Without leaving your house
16:52Films, books, vast quantities of information
16:55All literally at your fingertips
16:58As every corner of the globe is coming online
17:01There will be no limit to the scope and depth of our knowledge
17:04But some knowledge is sacred
17:07The Koran, the Vedas, the Bible
17:09These texts and many others wield the awesome power of faith
17:14Today they're freely available to anyone who seeks them
17:17But it wasn't always that way
17:191526, London, England
17:26Secret copies of the Bible
17:28A rare version translated from Greek and Hebrew into English
17:32Are being smuggled into the city
17:34Into the hands of laymen
17:36In early modern culture
17:39Latin was a holy language
17:41Everything was Latin
17:42But the common man did not understand Latin
17:45It was a control issue with the church
17:48Because Latin allowed the church to control the common believer
17:52How they wanted to
17:53It was against the law to have the scripture in your own tongue
17:58People were burned at the stake
18:00For teaching their children the Lord's Prayer in English
18:07Now here, this Bible is a big threat to that
18:10Because for the first time the English believer could see that God is love
18:15That was revolutionary
18:20For nine years, church authorities confiscate and burn the Bibles
18:25In that time, King Henry VIII starts a manhunt for the source of the forbidden translation
18:37William Tyndale spoke eight languages
18:40He had a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from Oxford
18:44He dared to create an English translation of the Bible
18:48That was heretical
18:49He became an outlaw
18:51And so he had to leave England
18:53He knew he had a target on his back
18:55And he even had a price on his head
19:03Bistar?
19:05Henry Phillips
19:14Henry, my friend
19:19Henry, my friend
19:20What brings you here at this hour?
19:21Henry, my friend
19:22What brings you here at this hour?
19:23Henry, my friend
19:24What brings you here at this hour?
19:33You are betraying me
19:35I merely do my duty for King and country
19:37and country.
19:40Watch.
19:47No.
19:48I beg you.
20:03Tyndale was sentenced to the punishment
20:06for what they called an obstinate heretic.
20:11The punishments for heresy in the early modern world
20:16seem utterly cruel and barbaric,
20:18and what the church wanted to do
20:20was to threaten people with ruthless, bitter punishments
20:24and have them then say,
20:27I was wrong, I'm sorry, I should have been a good Catholic.
20:30And he refused to do that.
20:36Poor William Tyndale paid for his convictions with his life.
20:45But the ideas that he unleashed had a whirlwind effect
20:48on the development of the Protestant Reformation.
20:52With the coming of the Reformation,
21:07more people became more convinced
21:10of the rightness of their position,
21:13and they were not willing to back down.
21:16The work of Tyndale was a subversive truth.
21:20There's no doubt there were some in the church
21:22who were more comfortable
21:23if the scripture were not available,
21:27and giving people a chance
21:28to take the side of the radicals,
21:31giving them the information
21:32that maybe their authorities would rather they didn't have.
21:35That's not a neutral thing.
21:39What Tyndale did relates to what we've seen today
21:41with a lot of hackers.
21:44Before Assange or Snowden or Anonymous,
21:47I mean, Tyndale really decoded a language,
21:49breaking down what the Bible really said,
21:51the truth that was once hidden.
21:54And when information gets out there
21:56and it's fully transparent,
21:57it really empowers people,
21:58and that's something that can really change the world.
22:00William Tyndale's translations into English
22:07lived on a long time after his death
22:10and later fed through
22:11to the King James Version of the Bible,
22:14still today the world's most popular version of the Bible.
22:18The Tyndale Bible was almost a primitive virus
22:22that affected the English language up to today.
22:2530,000 new words flooded the English language
22:28between 1570 and 1630.
22:31Some of that is attributable to Tyndale's Bible.
22:34And with the dismantling of the Catholic Church in England,
22:37it left a big void in culture.
22:41The theaters from the 1570s filled that void.
22:45So we have the rise of William Shakespeare,
22:48who took full advantage of that from Tyndale.
22:51We would not have the same Shakespeare
22:53without William Tyndale.
22:55The simple act of communication,
23:00the right message to a receptive audience,
23:02can change the world.
23:03Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr.,
23:06Malala Yousafzai,
23:07this is a lesson we learn as a species
23:09again and again and again.
23:12Words matter.
23:13Ideas can shift the consciousness
23:15of billions of people in a heartbeat.
23:18In the digital age,
23:19this potential for transformation,
23:21disruption, revolution,
23:22and liberation has expanded exponentially.
23:26But with every transformative technology
23:28comes a responsibility.
23:30Will we use our new tools
23:31to bring unity or our own destruction?
23:34As a species,
23:50we are completely dependent,
23:52addicted to the newest form
23:54of mass communication.
23:55How has digital become so dominant?
23:58How did a language of ones and zeros
24:00forge a new age for humankind?
24:02Long before the era of Internet and satellites,
24:07the ancients had their own method
24:09of speed of light communication.
24:12They used the oldest tool they had.
24:16Fire.
24:18Thousands of years ago,
24:20ancient Greeks used chains of fire
24:22to relay messages across vast distances.
24:25The on-off nature of the message
24:32was simple,
24:34but effective.
24:36They had stumbled upon
24:37a powerful new language.
24:41The language of binary.
24:45Light and dark.
24:47On and off.
24:50Cultures worldwide
24:51became fascinated by binary thinking.
24:54The most elemental form
24:56of communication.
24:58This was the silent beginning
25:00of a communications revolution.
25:04The dots and dashes of Morse code
25:06were the first breakthrough,
25:07foreshadowing the ones and zeros
25:09of the digital era.
25:10The revolution would culminate
25:14in one man,
25:16Alan Turing,
25:17who paired binary language
25:19with electronic circuitry,
25:21laying the foundation
25:22for the world's first computers.
25:25He turned the tide of World War II
25:27by breaking open Nazi codes
25:29and ushering in a new era,
25:31the information age.
25:32A race of digital machines
25:37were suddenly brought to life,
25:39unleashing a global communications revolution.
25:45Erasing the barriers
25:46of distance and time.
25:48But the revolution
25:58is only just beginning.
26:09Of all the inventions
26:11that have made us modern,
26:13the internet may be the apex
26:14of our achievements.
26:15It's a vast network
26:16of massive server complexes,
26:18cell towers,
26:19and ocean floor fiber optic cables.
26:23One of the most ambitious projects
26:25of the human race,
26:26a monument to our desire
26:28to reach out, communicate.
26:31But where did it begin?
26:34The first seeds
26:35of instant connection
26:36were pioneered
26:38during the most primal act
26:39that drives us apart.
26:41War.
26:42From Sun Tzu to cyberspace
26:44intelligence is
26:45and always has been
26:47the key to victory.
26:48With the invention
26:49of the telegraph,
26:50it was now possible
26:51to get real-time information
26:53from battlefields
26:54that sprawled across
26:55thousands of miles.
26:56It was the origin
26:57of a new kind
26:58of connected war.
27:00And it began
27:01with the American Civil War.
27:06The Battle of Bull Run
27:07was the first major engagement
27:08of the U.S. Civil War.
27:10A lot of the observers
27:11expected this to be
27:12the only battle
27:13that would be necessary
27:14either to bring about
27:15the end of the rebellion
27:16or to secure freedom
27:18from the Union.
27:21For the first time
27:22with the development
27:22of the telegraph,
27:23it was possible
27:24for a commander-in-chief
27:25hundreds of miles away
27:27to have an almost
27:27real-time update
27:28as to what was going on.
27:32In the Battle of Bull Run,
27:34Lincoln thought he'd won
27:35because he got a telegram
27:36from his Union commanders
27:37saying so.
27:40He took a carriage ride
27:41after getting the news.
27:43By the time he returned
27:44to the White House,
27:45another telegram had arrived.
27:47The Confederates wound up
27:49with a clear victory.
27:50That triggered
27:51a longer civil war.
27:54There are hundreds
27:55of stories
27:55of Abraham Lincoln
27:57being absolutely obsessed
27:58with manning
27:59the telegraph station
28:00in the White House.
28:01Anytime that Union forces
28:02were involved
28:03in a major engagement,
28:04it was almost guaranteed
28:05that Lincoln would be
28:06seeking constant updates,
28:08monitoring all of the events,
28:10fighting multiple battles
28:11at the same time.
28:13Manassas, Virginia,
28:15August 1862.
28:20Thirteen months
28:21after the first battle
28:22of Bull Run,
28:23the two armies
28:24came together again
28:25on the same
28:25blood-soaked grounds.
28:28By the second year
28:29of the American Civil War,
28:31the telegraph
28:32had completely transformed
28:33the fighting.
28:34Lincoln could make
28:35tactical decisions.
28:37The Union command
28:38wasn't just sitting back
28:39waiting to hear the news.
28:40They were gathering information,
28:42intelligence,
28:43and acting on it.
28:44Of course,
28:45the Confederate generals
28:46knew this,
28:47so they began to target
28:48the telegraph lines.
28:55Are we operational?
28:56I've received confirmation
28:57on our test message.
28:58They know our troops
28:59are patrolling.
28:59We await their response.
29:01Excellent.
29:02Any reports on the progress
29:03of the Confederate army?
29:04None yet, sir.
29:05Let us hope it stays that way.
29:11The telegraph gave Lincoln
29:12the ability to fight the war
29:14on his terms.
29:16In the second battle
29:17of Bull Run,
29:18Union soldiers
29:19were put on patrols
29:20to protect the technology
29:21from the Confederates,
29:23who set out to cut off
29:24the Union's main line
29:25of communication.
29:26Okay.
29:26Okay.
29:26What was that?
29:42Shut up, Billy.
29:43Hold your fire.
29:45What was that?
29:45Hold your fire.
29:45Hold your fire.
29:46Hold your fire.
29:46Hold your fire.
29:47God damn it.
29:48Are they...
29:48Let go!
30:08Damn it!
30:09Show me.
30:27Contact with Confederate army confirmed.
30:32Billy!
30:32Franklin!
30:33Take cover!
30:35Take cover!
30:35Take cover!
30:35Enemy advancing towards
30:38your positions at great pace.
30:41Target is the telegram.
30:46This must be protected at all costs.
30:53Failure to do so will mean
30:55no further communications
30:56and heavy troop losses.
31:13Damn it!
31:17Listen to me!
31:19We need to go back for Jack.
31:21Now finish loading
31:22and put your bayonet on.
31:26Go back!
31:28Ready?
31:31One!
31:33Two!
31:36Three!
31:36Now!
31:52Line's dead, sir.
31:56In Manassas,
32:03the mere presence
32:04of the telegraph
32:04dictated the tactics.
32:07Confederate soldiers
32:08routed the Union army
32:09after cutting off
32:10communication with Washington.
32:12And while the Union
32:13would lose at Bull Run,
32:15the telegraph
32:16would eventually help
32:17Lincoln and the North
32:18win the war.
32:21In the 1800s,
32:22there was no TV,
32:24there were no mobile phones,
32:25but there was an Internet.
32:26And it was the telegraph,
32:27and that's why I call it
32:28the Victorian Internet.
32:30The telegraph key
32:31is the device
32:31that kicks off
32:32the communications revolution
32:34that has made
32:34the modern world.
32:36The Victorians believed
32:37that the invention
32:38of the telegraph
32:39would bring peace
32:40to the world,
32:41but tragically,
32:42that was a kind of
32:43misreading
32:43of human nature.
32:46During the Civil War,
32:48the armies lay down
32:4915,000 miles worth
32:51of telegraph wire,
32:53binding together the nation
32:54in an entirely new way.
32:55It allows parents
32:56thousands of miles away
32:58from the battle
32:58to find out
32:59whether their son died
33:00in the battle or not.
33:02We see a linkage
33:03that was inconceivable before.
33:05We forget just how much
33:08in the dark people were
33:09a lot of the time,
33:10particularly if you were
33:11in some remote place.
33:13The information could take
33:13months and months
33:14to travel any distance at all,
33:16so the information
33:16wasn't so fresh
33:17by the time it got to you.
33:18The telegraph allows
33:23instantaneous reach
33:24across vast distances.
33:27Instead of relying
33:28on the Pony Express
33:29to carry your message
33:30by horseback,
33:32now you can communicate
33:33from New York to California
33:34in a matter of seconds.
33:36It also allows
33:38distributed communication.
33:40The same message
33:41can be sent
33:42to multiple different locations
33:43simultaneously.
33:44The telegraph
33:47had the same effect
33:49that the internet had on us,
33:50that suddenly
33:51you had this ability
33:52to browse the information
33:54of the world
33:55in a real-time way.
33:58Samuel Butler
33:58wrote,
33:59Technology Would Evolve,
34:00saying that you're going
34:01to be able to order
34:02what you want to eat.
34:03You'll be able to watch
34:04musical performances
34:0510,000 miles away,
34:07and so he saw that all coming.
34:09Now we live in a time
34:10where there's an overload
34:11of information,
34:12images and pictures
34:13and quotes.
34:14All these different platforms
34:16get a picture or a video
34:18in a matter of a second
34:19and have it out
34:20to the world immediately.
34:21We are quickly adapting
34:22to all these new technologies.
34:23I mean, we're growing up
34:24into them.
34:25These smartphone devices
34:27are almost an extension
34:28of our hand
34:29through the internet.
34:30They're curating news to us,
34:31following our behavior,
34:33analyzing exactly
34:34what we like,
34:34when we like it
34:35and how we like it,
34:36just based upon
34:37what we're clicking on.
34:39We can no longer hide
34:40who we truly are.
34:44There is a direct line
34:45from the first words
34:46exchanged between
34:47two human beings
34:49to the instant messages
34:50we exchange
34:50through the internet today.
34:52We have a deeply held desire
34:54to reach out,
34:56connect,
34:56to share information.
34:58Communication has been
34:59the key to our survival
35:00because it has shaped
35:01our ability to thrive.
35:03It has guided
35:03our evolution.
35:04some of the most
35:05paradigm-shifting technologies
35:07critical to our modern world
35:09were conceived
35:11by some of our
35:12most visionary authors.
35:14You want to know
35:15what's going to happen next?
35:16Pay attention.
35:17It may already be written.
35:19It's just a matter
35:20of bringing this new
35:21communication to life.
35:22This world of ours
35:36is spinning faster
35:37than it ever has.
35:39It was tens of thousands
35:40of years between
35:41the first known cave painting
35:42and the first printed book,
35:44but only about 100 years
35:45between the first phone
35:46and the first cell phone.
35:49Today, there's
35:50Social Media 2.0
35:52and 140 characters
35:53to run the free world.
35:55Communication technologies
35:56evolve so quickly,
35:57in fact,
35:57it's almost impossible
35:58to imagine
35:59what origin moment
36:01might be coming next.
36:03There are always dreamers,
36:04the crazy ones,
36:05the few who are able
36:06to see around the curve,
36:07who sees opportunity
36:08where others see folly,
36:10that make connections
36:11that no one else sees.
36:14One of the craziest ideas
36:16in modern communication
36:17was conceived
36:18by a young, aspiring
36:19science fiction writer
36:20named Arthur C. Clarke.
36:24May 1945,
36:26V.E. Day,
36:27Victory in Europe,
36:29and a celebration
36:30is underway
36:31near a Royal Air Force base
36:32100 miles northwest
36:34of London.
36:36What can I get you,
36:37gentlemen?
36:37A kiss.
36:38I'm afraid we stopped
36:39serving those yesterday.
36:41Oh, well,
36:41I suppose it'll just have
36:42to be all pints
36:43of your finest ale.
36:45With newfound peace
36:46and hope,
36:46everyone is thinking
36:47thinking about a new future
36:48for themselves.
36:50But one is dreaming
36:51of a new future
36:52for us all.
36:55Today, we think about
36:56Arthur C. Clarke
36:57as one of the greatest
36:57science fiction writers
36:58of all time.
36:59But actually,
37:00he has a real-world background
37:02that drives much of that.
37:05He was a radar technician
37:06in World War II.
37:08He then writes
37:09wearing his science hat
37:11and his science fiction
37:12writer hat,
37:13not a science fiction story,
37:14but about communication.
37:18You're an ingenious man,
37:19Arthur,
37:19but you're also infuriating.
37:21You can allow yourself
37:22some fun.
37:23I find this fun.
37:25Try as I might,
37:26I simply cannot
37:26switch my brain off.
37:28Isn't that what made
37:29our work so exciting?
37:30All that creativity,
37:32that freedom to explore
37:33new ideas,
37:34no matter how ridiculous
37:35they may have seemed,
37:36I keep wondering
37:37what I shall do
37:37with my life now.
37:38You sound like
37:39you're missing the war.
37:40Not at all.
37:41I just wonder
37:42where we go from here.
37:43Will someone remind him
37:44that we're celebrating
37:45Daphne finally making
37:46an honest man of me?
37:47Well, I haven't forgotten.
37:49Actually, that's what
37:49I'm writing now,
37:50my best man speech.
37:52Really?
37:52Then let me see.
37:53Well, isn't it bad luck
37:55for the groom to see
37:55the speech before the wedding?
37:56It's not bad luck
37:57for the groom to see
37:58the bride.
37:59No, give that back.
38:01I never could read
38:01your writing,
38:02but I can see
38:04that this isn't
38:04the best man speech.
38:08What exactly is this?
38:10A geostationary satellite.
38:14Explain.
38:21Are you ready for this?
38:22All right.
38:24Imagine that this
38:25pint glass is the Earth.
38:28Now, as you all know,
38:29the German V2 long-range rocket
38:33passes through the E layer
38:35as it leaves the continents.
38:38Imagine if a rocket
38:39were to be fired vertically
38:40without deviation.
38:42It would reach the F1
38:43and probably the F2 layer.
38:45So this means that...
38:46It's possible to send
38:47instruments of all kinds
38:49into the ionosphere.
38:49Exactly.
38:51So if a rocket were to achieve
38:52a speed of 8 kilometers
38:53per second
38:54whilst traveling parallel
38:55with the Earth's surface,
38:56it would continue to circle
38:58in a closed orbit
38:58for, well, in theory, forever,
39:01therefore becoming
39:02an artificial satellite.
39:06At the correct distance
39:07from Earth,
39:07it would make one revolution
39:08every 24 hours.
39:10But it remains stationary,
39:12of course,
39:12above the same spot
39:13and is within optical range
39:15of almost half
39:17the Earth's surface.
39:18So if we were to have
39:19three repeater stations
39:22120 degrees apart,
39:25it could, I believe,
39:27give television
39:28and microwave coverage
39:30to the entire planet.
39:31So, what do you think?
39:45You're a bloody genius,
39:47is what I think.
39:49And I think that
39:50if all that is written on here,
39:52it may just hold
39:53the future in your hands.
39:58Well, cheers to that, gents.
40:00Good evening.
40:05Clark's sketch
40:06of how satellites might work,
40:08published in a magazine
40:08in 1945,
40:10sounded crazy,
40:11but it's how millions of people
40:12get their TV today.
40:14What Clark writes about
40:17is the idea
40:18of using a network
40:19of satellites
40:20to create
40:21a larger realm
40:23of communication
40:24where now
40:26communications
40:27aren't limited
40:28to just the area
40:30where the tower is,
40:31but they can be transmitted
40:32across the globe.
40:36Now we have
40:37over 2,000 satellites
40:39in orbit
40:39around Earth
40:40that help with
40:41television communication,
40:42radio communication,
40:44mapping bodies of water.
40:46The phones
40:46that you use today,
40:48your ability to get
40:49from point A to point B
40:50resulted from
40:52this boom
40:52in technologies
40:53that springboarded
40:54from Arthur C. Clark sketches.
41:02Arthur C. Clark
41:03imagined a vision
41:05of the modern world
41:06that simply wasn't there
41:07before he conjured it up.
41:09There were no satellites.
41:11We had barely scratched
41:12the surface of understanding
41:13when it came to space.
41:15And yet Clark
41:16drew plans
41:17to expand our ability
41:18to communicate
41:18with each other
41:19through science.
41:20right now
41:21we're at the dawn
41:22of the next frontier
41:23in communication.
41:27For us as a species,
41:28humans are incredibly inquisitive
41:31and really want to know
41:32what they cannot see.
41:35They want to know
41:35what's over the next hill,
41:36what's beyond the horizon.
41:40SETI, S-E-T-I.
41:42It stands for
41:43The Search
41:43for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.
41:45If you're talking
41:47about communication
41:48back and forth
41:49with intelligent life
41:50in space,
41:50if there's actually
41:51a society out there
41:52that's mastered
41:53radio technology,
41:55they'll build transmitters
41:56that'll put a lot
41:57of information
41:57into a small part
41:58of the radio dial.
41:59You know,
41:59like your favorite
42:01top 40 station.
42:02Any society
42:03will have some radar.
42:05It's very useful.
42:06I mean,
42:06even aside from
42:07airplanes landing at night
42:08and stuff like that,
42:09radar's useful
42:10for mapping
42:10asteroids and comets
42:12that otherwise
42:13might slam into your planet
42:14and ruin everybody's
42:15whole day.
42:17By using
42:18this kind of equipment,
42:19just a bunch of
42:20very sensitive
42:20radio antennas,
42:22you try and eavesdrop
42:23on signals
42:24that they might be
42:25sending into space
42:26either deliberately
42:27or just as part
42:28of whatever else
42:28they're doing.
42:30These might tell us
42:31that we have
42:32some cosmic company.
42:36Now,
42:36how would we
42:37understand that message?
42:38Would we ever
42:38understand that message?
42:39I don't know.
42:40There are a trillion
42:45planets in the Milky Way,
42:46a trillion.
42:47How many of them
42:48have life?
42:48We don't know,
42:49but if it's only
42:49one in a million,
42:51then it's like
42:5110 million societies
42:53out there
42:53just in our galaxy.
42:55We're the first
42:56generation of humans
42:58that might be able
42:59to prove there's
42:59someone out there.
43:00What a crazy thing
43:02it would be
43:02if we didn't even try.
43:03When we explore
43:10the universe,
43:11we're just trying
43:12to understand
43:12the fundamental questions
43:14of who are we
43:15and why are we here
43:17and are there others?
43:20Until fairly recently,
43:21we couldn't even prove
43:23that there were planets
43:24that existed
43:24outside of our solar system.
43:27And now with missions
43:28such as the Kepler satellite,
43:30we're able to identify
43:31several hundred exoplanets
43:33that exist in our universe.
43:36The Voyager spacecraft
43:38was sent out
43:39to the ends
43:39of our solar system
43:40to do numerous
43:42scientific explorations,
43:43but the crux of Voyager
43:46was that it carried
43:47this puzzle,
43:48this plaque
43:50that communicates
43:51who we are
43:52as a society
43:53to whoever finds it
43:55in the universe.
43:57And we hope
43:58that the civilization
43:59that it interacts with
44:00can decode it
44:01and say,
44:02oh yeah,
44:02I know exactly
44:03what you're trying
44:04to say.
44:08We're living
44:09in the midst
44:09of a communication
44:10revolution,
44:11a true singularity
44:13as significant
44:14as the emergence
44:15of language.
44:16In just a few
44:17short decades,
44:18our ability
44:18to connect
44:19with one another
44:19has surpassed
44:20anyone's wildest
44:21imagination.
44:22For all of human history,
44:24communication
44:25has held the key
44:26for the future
44:27of our species
44:28here on Earth
44:28and beyond.
44:30And this,
44:30of course,
44:31will continue.
44:36Complex communication
44:38freed our thoughts
44:39from the confines
44:40of our mind.
44:42Our fears,
44:43our excitement,
44:44our every emotion
44:45became tangible.
44:47This was a singularity
44:50in human evolution.
44:52There was no going back.
44:55Communication gives us
44:57incredible power,
44:58the power to control reality.
45:00With it,
45:01we can alter the perceptions
45:02of masses of people
45:03for good
45:04and for evil.
45:06Through language,
45:07art,
45:08and music,
45:08we dream new realities
45:10and share them
45:11with the world,
45:12powering the upward spiral
45:14of civilization
45:15with new ideas.
45:19But communication
45:20is more than a tool
45:22to unite and control
45:23the world.
45:24It is a means
45:25to become immortal.
45:28Our messages
45:28echo down
45:29through the generations
45:30across time
45:31and space.
45:38The Voyager spacecraft
45:41and its golden record
45:42embody our obsession
45:43with connection.
45:45By announcing
45:46to the rest of the universe
45:47that we exist,
45:49we achieve immortality.
45:52Voyager will drift
45:54through space
45:54for millions of years.
45:57Its message echoes
45:57the cave painters
45:58of the past
45:59who first proclaimed,
46:02I was here.
46:08Voyager is a monument
46:21to the original pioneers
46:23of self-expression,
46:24the first immortal creatures
46:26on Earth.
46:31The real power of communication
46:34is not the ability
46:35to control reality.
46:38It is the ability
46:40to find eternal life.
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