Lynn Poole summarizes some of the fourteen areas of activities taking place during the International Geophysical Year (IGY), 7/1/57 - 12/30/58: aurora and airglow, cosmic rays, geomagnetism, meteorology, solar activity, glaciography, gravity, ionospherics, longitude and latitude, oceanography, rocketry, satellites, seismology, and world days. IGY was timed to coincide with the high point of the eleven-year cycle of sunspot activity. A few of the highlights include Dr. William Markowitz's Moon Camera for measuring precise time, the use of the sea gravimeter to record changes in the earth's gravity, Dr. Harry Wexler's U.S. expedition to Antarctica to study atmospheric circulation and other meteorological phenomena, a recording of "whistlers" or low frequency radio signals caused by lightning flashes, John Simpson's study of primary and secondary cosmic rays, the use of the Baker-Nunn satellite tracking camera, and Dr. James Van Allen's Explorer I orbiting satellite.

Dr. George Carter, geology professor at Johns Hopkins University, shows a "talking board" discovered in 1868 on Easter Island and discusses previous attempts to decipher its symbols, called rongorongo, as writing or decoration. A film clip of Byrd's expedition party visiting the stone statues on Easter Island sets the scene. Bishop Tepano Jaussen of Tahiti was the first person to investigate this mystery, and he ultimately published a dictionary of identified glyphs in 1898. He was followed by Thomas Crafts, who concluded that the symbols were just decorations; William J. Thomson, who attempted unsuccessfully to have a story board translated; Bishop Claessens, who reported that figures on an island in the Seychelles were similar to the rongorongo; Lacouperie, who discovered seals in south India similar to the Easter Island symbols; and, William Hevesy, who pointed out the similarities of seals excavated in the Indus Valley to forms on Easter Island.

Lynn Poole describes the two formative revolutions during John Locke's lifetime (1632-1704): the Puritan Revolution and the Glorious Revolution. Costumed actors examine Locke's ideas on government that led to his 1690 publication of "Two Treatises of Government," on natural rights theory and the social contract. Locke argued that all governments are a contract between the governing and governed and that the government rests on the consent of the governed. Lynn Poole reads from Locke's "A Letter Concerning Toleration," a religious tract. Subsequent acted scenes show Locke's later influence: a 1750 rationalist claims the most influential works are the Bible and Locke's publishings, such as "Some Thoughts Concerning Education," and "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding;" a 1776 American patriot demonstrates how Locke's political ideas are reflected in the Declaration of Independence; and a 1789 Frenchman explains how Locke's concepts were expanded by Voltaire.

This program, first in a series of six about men who changed the world, shows the impact of Sigmund Freud's ideas on our lives. Lynn Poole briefly discusses Freud's early work with Joseph Breuer, who used hypnosis to treat patients with hysteria. This led to Freud's version of psychoanalysis. He believed that the human personality was composed of the conscious and unconscious mind and that impressions in childhood, predominantly sexual, which the conscious mind refused to accept became neuroses in the unconscious mind. Freud's publications affected all disciplines, as evidenced in the reading of a stream of consciousness passage from James Joyce's "Ulysses." The impact was similar in art works such as Salvador Dali's "Persistence of Memory" and Yves Tanguy's "Mama, Papa is Wounded!" Freud's influence on poetry is proven by comparing love poetry written by William Wordsworth in 1804 with that of W. H. Auden written in 1958. Freud's mark on child rearing is apparent when compared to recent works on the subject.

Nicolaus Copernicus took issue with early astronomers such as Ptolemy, who wrote the "Almgest," a catalog of the motions of the planets and position of stars based on his use of an astrolabe. Costumed actors portraying Copernicus and his pupil Rheticus discuss astronomical theories and question the prevailing belief in the epicycles of planets in an earth-centered universe. However, their work was criticized by the church, including Martin Luther who considered the concept of the earth revolving and rotating to be "ludicrous." Danish astronomer Tyco Brahe combined the best findings from both Ptolemy and Copernicus, but did not accept the latter's heliocentric universe. Rheticus, however, wrote about that theory in his "First Account." Copernicus died in 1543, as his "Concerning the Revolution" was being published. Giordano Bruno defended the Copernican heliocentric theory and was tried as a heretic and burned at the stake.

Lynn Poole describes how Charles Darwin changed the world with his theory of evolution--that all forms of life evolved from lower forms through natural selection. Poole briefly describes Darwin's life, tracing on a map the naturalist's five-year (1831-36) journey on the "H.M.S. Beagle," on which he observed the variations of species on the Galapagos Islands and their modifications to their environments. Darwin concluded that successful characteristics are transmitted by the fittest survivors of a species and that the process of evolution continuously creates change. His ideas were published in 1859 in "Origin of Species," with the support of Joseph Hooker, Charles Lyell, Alfred Russel Wallace, and Thomas Huxley. Responses and challenges to these heretical views were made by such critics as Samuel Wilberforce, Lord Kelvin, and Fleeming Jenkin.

Lynn Poole describes some pottery pieces from several different centuries and civilizations and notes how the features of the pottery are clues to their past. Dr. Gus W. Van Beek, Johns Hopkins University archaeologist, says that of written and unwritten remains, archaeology is the only source of information on civilizations before the third millennium B.C., and pottery shreds are the most common remains. On a diagram of the Hajar bin Humeid mound excavated in 1950-51, he shows how each stratum is delineated by debris and specific features. The study of these layers is called stratigraphy. Since ancient pottery styles changed readily, relative chronology of a culture can be based on these changes. For example, the ledge handles on Palestinian jars went through four stages of design change. Likewise, immigration and colonization are revealed by changes in native pottery. Use of literary sources adds to this information for dating objects in the strata as does carbon-14 dating.

Lynn Poole briefly summarizes the highlights of Albert Einstein's life (1879-1955) with accompanying photos. Actors representing German physicist Max Planck, British scientist Sir Oliver Lodge, and Royal Society member Joseph J. Thompson comment on the progress of Einstein's work. Setting the foundation, Newton discovered the Corpuscular Theory of Light, Huygens the Wave Theory of Light, Maxwell and Hertz the Electromagnetic Theory, and Michelson and Morley the experiment using the interferometer to measure the speed of earth through "ether." From this evolved Einstein's 1905 "Special Theory of Relativity" (E=MC2) proving that all motion is relative and that light travels at a constant speed. Einstein won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the photoelectric effect; contributed to the theory of Brownian movement, the molecular construction of matter; and conducted research in unified field theory.

This program focuses on the psychological and sociological aspects of gerontology. Dr. James E. Birren, with the National Institute of Mental Health, discusses how structure is created by a job, spouse, children, friends, and organizations, and when these influences are stripped away, one must initiate one's own meaningful activities to avoid idleness. He characterizes meaningful activity as something offering group approval, a degree of ritual or repetition, a semi-challenge, and a degree or range of uncertainty of outcome. He notes that geriatric research is growing; however, increasing life spans may increase interrelated problems in health, economics, social adjustment, and personal adjustment. Research has shown that usually poor health leads to retirement rather than the opposite, and those who continue working tend to feel better. Examples include George Bernard Shaw, Winston Churchill, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Ida Fuller, the first person to draw social security.

Lynn Poole displays a chart of the orchestra sections: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Dr. William Hart, timpanist with the Baltimore Symphonic Orchestra and professor at the Peabody conservatory of Music, defines the elements of music: rhythm, melody, and harmony and demonstrates each of them on the piano, noting that the percussion instruments are the dispensers of rhythm. He gives a brief history of percussive music while showing instruments such as the timbro, castanets, cymbals, tambourine, and Chinese temple blocks. With the assistance of fellow timpanist Dr. William G. DeLeon, Dr. Hart demonstrates and explains the snare drum, the most common percussive instrument; the xylophone and its use in modern compositions such as the "Sabre Dance"; the cymbals and their contrasting use in Wagner's "Die Walkure" and Debussy's "Festivals"; and the kettle drums, or timpani, which can be tuned and which provide the heartbeat of the orchestra.