The poet must be seen as a whole, and what is read of him should be a whole. - J. Bronowski
Jacob Bronowski was born in Czarist controlled Poland in 1908. In 1920 his family immigrated to England where he studied mathematics at the University of Cambridge. After WWII he studied biology along with his friend and colleague Leo Szilard. His preoccupation with both the science and humanities won him renown as a ‘polymath.’ As part of the panel of the BBC show Brain Trust, his ability to speak on a wide range of topics brought him into a late career as a science educator. To understand how he captured the public imagination as someone “who knows everything” look no further than a named reference in this sketch from Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
J. Bronowski worked within a nexus of scientists and mathematicians that reads as a veritable ‘who’s who’ of the 20th century. He worked alongside John von Neumann during World War II, he led a mission to Hiroshima to study the effects of the atomic bomb, and he cofounded the Salk Institute with Jonas Salk.
His BBC program The Ascent of Man: A Personal View is a monument to science, culture, and humanity. The 13-part series is sweeping, profound, poetic, and even surreal. In the history of science television it is a touchstone that is often imitated, but without the same inspirational intensity. This is incredible considering the BBC underfunded the project. “The network provided no budget for makeup or wardrobe. Rita [Bronowski’s wife] chose his outfits instead. To ensure continuity when episodes were shot over different time periods, she embroidered coordinating numbers on his shirts and ties.” (Sandefur, 2019 - pg. 281) This page is constructed in honor of Bronowski’s wardrobe. As he relayed the pageantry of the history of humankind and science, so did he display a panoply of colorful neckties.
For those wishing to know more about J. Bronowski I recommend the following:
Timothy Sandefur’s excellent biography The Ascent of Jacob Bronowski.
An interview with Michael Parkinson a few months before he died.
The Ascent of Man television series. (Sadly, only available on DVD)
Any book written by J. Bronowski, but in particular Science and Human Values.
Ascent of Man: Episode 1 - Lower than the Angels
From the opening scene on the beach while discussing the grunion.
Discussing early hominids in the valley of the river Omo, near Ethiopa.
Describing hand tools made by austrolopithecus.
Close up of necktie while describing hand tools made by austrolopithecus.
Explaining the human imagination in the Altamira cave.
Ascent of Man: Episode 2 - The harvest of the seasons
Drawing a distinction between humankind’s biological evolution and cultural evolution.
“Jericho is older than agriculture…”
“The plow is the first application of the lever…”
The agricultural way of life established a new level for the ascent of man.
Ascent of man: Episode 3 - The gRain in the Stone
In the Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, explaining how blood types are a clue to the identifying different waves of migration into the New World.