The Royal Institution, London, Annual Christmas Lectures to Young People by Dr John Napier

In this programme Dr Napier, using his own terminology, considers some of the unique movements a man can make with his hands: the precision grip using fingers and thumb, and the power grip using the fingers and the palm of the hand. Man can now carry things, wield things, and throw things, and he can use, and later make, tools and weapons. Useful hands with an adequate brain become instruments of construction. Sadly they may also become instruments of destruction. We consider ways of ensuring the survival of our species.