What is Reddit's opinion of Connections?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Might be a long shot but maybe ''Connections'' by James Burke?

https://www.amazon.com/Connections-James-Burke/dp/0743299558

The book and the documentary series aren't new, but fits your description. If inventions and their origins are a topic of interest to you "Connections", might be worth your consideration.

There are at least a few episodes on www.archive.org and possibly on YouTube.

James Burke is your man. Thank me later.

>What is the Book/Show Connections?

Book:

http://www.amazon.com/Connections-James-Burke/dp/0743299558

Show:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=connections+burke

> Just because new tech pops up in different parts of the world in different ways, doesn't mean there isn't a general order to it.

The problem is that new tech DOESN'T pop up in different parts of the world. One technology does NOT lead to another in this way, there are many other factors involved. This is the problem with the tech tree analogy.

>Electricity had to happen before computers could exist.

Except this isn't true. Mechanical computers existed before electrical machines happened. Napier's Bones, Babbage's adding machine, any number of astrological computers, and even the punch card was invented for mechanical looms 150 years before being applied to electronic computers.

>There are hundreds of pivotal inventions and discoveries missing from this over simplified example but it still validates the fact that to some degree there is definitely order.

But this order is imposed after the fact, not before. The order was not created by the technology, but it's application.

>There's no way Facebook (or any social media application) could have existed before electricity.

Unless you count widespread newspaper syndication as a form of social media.