The Ascent of Man

The Ascent of Man is an epic documentary on science and civilisation made, over three years, by The BBC. The writer and presenter was Jacob Bronowski, whose gentle voice, scholarly language and clear love of his subject (coupled with, for the time, groundbreaking computer graphics as part of an apparently endless series of expertly crafted visual aids) makes absorbing the mind-boggling concepts being served up into a genuine pleasure. For a sample, consider this short segment, which explains the Pythagorean theorem and why it matters in seven and a half minutes. Anyone who was plodded through the subject by an uninspiring mathematics teacher will probably wonder why said teacher didn't just run this clip and say, "See? What he said."

Sadly, Bronowski died not long after the series had its first airing, but thankfully the series is available on DVD, and a handsomely illustrated companion book also exists, preserving his work for future generations.

The title originated as a play on Charles Darwin's The Descent of Man, a book dealing with the human race's evolution from earlier apelike species. However, the documentary was not the first time "The Ascent of Man" was used as a title -- Arthur C Clarke had used that turn of phrase previously, as the name of a chapter in his novelization of 2001: A Space Odyssey.