August 08, 2007
Excellent BBC Brain Story series available online:
I've just noticed that probably one of the best TV series on psychology and neuroscience ever produced, the BBC's Brain Story, is available on public bittorrent servers for download.
It is a six part series covering virtually every area of contemporary neuropsychology, including the major researchers, discoveries, techniques and even many of the patients who have been the subjects of classic case studies that have helped us understand the curious effects of brain injury.
It is presented by neuroscientist Prof Susan Greenfield and sadly has never been made available by the Beeb, despite it being both a fine teaching aid and completely compelling viewing.
I was blown away by this series when it first appeared and since managed to get a bootlegged copy, but I've never seen it on public servers before.
It's a landmark series in its accuracy and scope, and because it's so engrossing for both the seasoned professional and the general viewer.
You can find all six episodes by searching torrentspy.com for "brain story".
WARNING: TorrentSpy is not safe for work due to porn ads and it's got an annoying amount of popups. However, you can click here to run the search.
I've also tried to capture the direct links to the torrent files below, so hopefully these should do the trick without opening any intermediate webpages.
Episode 1: All in the Mind
Episode 2: In the Heat of the Moment
Episode 3: The Mind's Eye
Episode 4: First Among Equals
Episode 5: Growing the Mind
Episode 6: The Final Mystery
There's an introductory guide to bittorrent here if you don't know how to use it. Each episode is approximately 700Mb and lasts 50 minutes.
If you have trouble viewing the video, download VLC media player, free software which plays almost every video format.
Fine science. Fine television. Shouldn't be missed.
—Vaughan.
Posted at August 8, 2007 04:00 PM
Great series, I agree
However, they are copyrighted, and downloading the series over BitTorrent is illegal.
Comment posted at August 8, 2007 08:39 PM
Downloading the series over BitTorrent is indeed illegal. But as this is a TV series funded by tax-payers, about science largely funded by tax-payers, it's been paid for twice, and is still not available legitimately after seven years wait. So consider yourself a liberator and share the love.
In fact, knowledge is one of the few things that gets more valuable as more people get access to it. So every download makes the original investment better value-for-money. An investment, it must be said, which is given to the BBC under its Royal Charter to 'inform, educate and entertain'.
So not only are you sharing the love, you're also helping the Queen. In fact, Her Majesty is probably downloading copies now. I know for a fact she has a mean warez collection.
Comment posted at August 8, 2007 10:13 PM
This is fascinating and reaffirming to me. Thanks for posting it.
Comment posted at August 9, 2007 04:32 AM
I just finished watching the first episode. This is some amazing stuff.
At the end of the first episode, they stimulate this woman's temporal lobes, and cause sensations like moving through a tunnel, of lights and an eye, like being outside of her body, and a sense of the presence of someone nearby.
These all sound a _lot_ like the reports of "near-death experiences," where someone on the operating table feels like theres a tunnel with a light at the end of it, the presence of their dead relatives, and so on. So I wonder: might near-death experiences just be some kind of seizure in the temporal lobe?
That's really cool....
As far as what jp said: If there was a legal method of obtaining these videos, I would do it. This is the only option I have to see this stuff.
Comment posted at August 9, 2007 01:39 PM
Comment posted at August 9, 2007 01:39 PM
"I don't think we should find this idea too upsetting; The idea that we might be reduced to a mere pile of neurons. We shouldn't be any-the-less awestruck by life." This is what I've been saying all along.
Comment posted at August 10, 2007 03:02 AM
Firstly: this series is, ahem, mind blowing. :.D Although it isn't exactly new it is still intellectually stimulating and very educational. Secondly: downloading TV programs is not illegal, and never has been. Sharing them online is no different than taking a video tape, taping a show, and then sharing it with your friends and co-workers. People have been doing that for decades. The piracy issue is only about preventing people making a profit off of someone else's material which IS wrong. You wouldn't tape a show and then sell the tape, you just share it. Same here.
Comment posted at April 2, 2008 12:29 AM
I just discovered this website and was very interested in the comments regarding 'Brain Story.' As I appeared on this series (Episode 1) I think I might have different concerns regarding its availability on public servers. While I do, however, agree with the principle regarding tax payers' rights, I believe that individuals' rights, to at least a modicum of privacy, might supersede tax payers' rights.
I am writing here because it is no longer a personal concern to me. Over the years people have written about me, and since there some things I might like to say about TLE and religious feelings and experiences, all these years later-- almost 10 is it, here is an opportunity for you to ask me if this is of interest to you.
Comment posted at April 26, 2008 09:22 PM
