The Antikythera Cosmos

April 22, 2021 8:23 AM

The Antikythera Cosmos "The UCL Antikythera Research Team struggle to solve the front of the Antikythera Mechanism—a fragmentary ancient Greek astronomical calculator—revealing a dazzling display of the ancient Greek Cosmos" [previously]
posted by dhruva (11 comments total)

Just read the paper — this is amazing! Thanks for posting.
posted by stopgap at 10:12 AM on April 22, 2021

Kythera seems nice, why would someone build an ancient clockpunk mechanism against it?
posted by otherchaz at 10:30 AM on April 22, 2021 [2 favorites]

Michael Wright's reconstruction

Secrets of the Antikythera Mechanism
Session 1
Michael Wright presentation at 14:35

Session 2
posted by otherchaz at 11:22 AM on April 22, 2021

Always love new information on the Antikyhera Mechanism - thanks so much for this.

Aside from the wealth of information provided in the paper, my favourite new fact about the machine is that, according to expects examining its corroded remains, there appear to be no signs of correction, "re-dos" or in-place adjustments of the mechanical elements during construction, as one would expect from a unique, bespoke design made over 2000 years ago. All of which suggests that the Mechanism was not the first of its kind, and that others had been made before it, ironing out the bugs in the production process.
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 2:56 PM on April 22, 2021 [5 favorites]

All of which suggests that the Mechanism was not the first of its kind,

Indeed. If their reconstruction is at all accurate, the Mechanism must be descended from a long line of similar devices. They were only a pendulum and escapement away from making mechanical clocks.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:07 PM on April 22, 2021 [4 favorites]

Thanks heaps dhruva, we really know very little of the past don't we?, that the Greeks were making things like this in 200BC - and probably making, or at having the astronomy and math to understand them at least 500 years prior. Also the metal was so soft they would have had to mass produce surely...
posted by unearthed at 10:14 PM on April 22, 2021

Indeed. If their reconstruction is at all accurate, the Mechanism must be descended from a long line of similar devices. They were only a pendulum and escapement away from making mechanical clocks.

Scary to think how much else was lost to time. I wonder why didn’t this tech move to the Romans and Byzantines?
posted by leotrotsky at 6:05 AM on April 23, 2021

Romans: can we use this to conquer people? No? Never mind.
posted by happyroach at 11:19 AM on April 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

Romans: can we use this to conquer people? No? Never mind.

Seriously. I just read Terry Jones' Barbarians: An Alternative Roman History. It's an interesting popular history about how the Romans stole lots of technology from other "barbarian" civilizations and ignored things like this unless you could use it to kill people.
posted by kirkaracha at 1:20 PM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]

They were only a pendulum and escapement away from making mechanical clocks.

True, that. But they already had water clocks, and if it ain't broke.... (First mechanical clocks date from 13th century in colder climates.)

It's an interesting popular history about how the Romans stole lots of technology from other "barbarian" civilizations and ignored things like this unless you could use it to kill people.

The ship is said to be Roman, presumably going to Rome, where they liked expensive exotica. Indeed, Pliny in the first century ad bemoans the amount of money leaving Italy to go buy fripperies. (Indian sculpture has been found in Pompeii.) I like Jones, but he's overstating the case.
posted by BWA at 2:46 PM on April 23, 2021

It was neat to read more about the Antikythera Mechanism. I recently read an awesome gaslamps fantasy series, Lancaster's Luck, where the last book in the trilogy was really excited about this. (The first book was more excited about coffee houses.)
posted by blueberry monster at 2:43 PM on May 1, 2021