Antikythera mechanism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I watched a fascinating show on Nat Geo last night about this analog computer found in a ship wreck off the coast of Greece in the early 1900's. It was largely ignored until a Yale professor decided to investigate it in detail in the 1950's.
The mechanism is over 2000 years old. As one of the presenters noted, the ancients were incredibly sophisticated when it came to mechanical engineering.
It predicts the position of the sun against the constellations, phases of the non, planetary motion (the 5 that were visible to the naked eye at the time) including regression, seasons etc. A truly amazing machine.
The tragedy of course is we then lost the plot for nearly 1500 years . . . And had to relearn a lot of this stuff in the late Middle Ages again
I watched a fascinating show on Nat Geo last night about this analog computer found in a ship wreck off the coast of Greece in the early 1900's. It was largely ignored until a Yale professor decided to investigate it in detail in the 1950's.
The mechanism is over 2000 years old. As one of the presenters noted, the ancients were incredibly sophisticated when it came to mechanical engineering.
It predicts the position of the sun against the constellations, phases of the non, planetary motion (the 5 that were visible to the naked eye at the time) including regression, seasons etc. A truly amazing machine.
The tragedy of course is we then lost the plot for nearly 1500 years . . . And had to relearn a lot of this stuff in the late Middle Ages again
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The Antikythera mechanism is a fascinating thing. I watched several docos about ancient discoveries and am always impressed at how incredibly smart and inventive some people were.
I recall one ancient inventor who came across the principle of steam power but failed to realise its importance.
Hero of Alexandria - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I have no doubt that had we avoided some of the pitfalls of human nature and pursued these technologies we'd be hundreds of years ahead of were we are now.
I recall one ancient inventor who came across the principle of steam power but failed to realise its importance.
Hero of Alexandria - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I have no doubt that had we avoided some of the pitfalls of human nature and pursued these technologies we'd be hundreds of years ahead of were we are now.
Very much so. A lot of knowledge has been lost over the millennia. The end of the Classical period is generally referred too (at least in the West) as when the Roman empire fell. That is when the East under Justinian failed to re-conquer the West. That darned plague.
The resulting fractured society left behind set us back quite a bit. However, I suspect the 'Classical period' was not the first advancement of mankind either. How else can you explain the pre-historic (history is only that which is written) megalithic structures that still exist today all across the world, most of the really good ones pre-date Rome by many many years. Some of these structures exibit the same construction style around the world, Aisia minor, Greece, South America. Göbekli Tepe in Turkey and other sites in South Africa like 'Adams Sundial' (much more than just a sundial) The constructions at Baalbek? Machu Picchu---built from perfectly cut stones of dolomite granite. Very hard stuff. Explain the megalithic structures that exist hundreds of feet below the sea surface? Off the cost of Japan, and other places. Progress and regress of man. I suppose you could smoke a lot of dope and suggest that aliens made these things but it seems more plausible that mankind had become somewhat advanced in the past.....and then sh!t happens and we loose it, only to have to re-discover in the future. Discovering the past does gives us a better platform in order to discover the future.😉 It's a shame so much of it has been lost to us. Information and knowledge has not always been available but rather throughout most of history has been forbidden for the masses or destroyed as it is a fundamental source of power, reserved for the elite. I suspect that to some degree this is still the case. (being sarcastic....no, of course it is!)🙄
The resulting fractured society left behind set us back quite a bit. However, I suspect the 'Classical period' was not the first advancement of mankind either. How else can you explain the pre-historic (history is only that which is written) megalithic structures that still exist today all across the world, most of the really good ones pre-date Rome by many many years. Some of these structures exibit the same construction style around the world, Aisia minor, Greece, South America. Göbekli Tepe in Turkey and other sites in South Africa like 'Adams Sundial' (much more than just a sundial) The constructions at Baalbek? Machu Picchu---built from perfectly cut stones of dolomite granite. Very hard stuff. Explain the megalithic structures that exist hundreds of feet below the sea surface? Off the cost of Japan, and other places. Progress and regress of man. I suppose you could smoke a lot of dope and suggest that aliens made these things but it seems more plausible that mankind had become somewhat advanced in the past.....and then sh!t happens and we loose it, only to have to re-discover in the future. Discovering the past does gives us a better platform in order to discover the future.😉 It's a shame so much of it has been lost to us. Information and knowledge has not always been available but rather throughout most of history has been forbidden for the masses or destroyed as it is a fundamental source of power, reserved for the elite. I suspect that to some degree this is still the case. (being sarcastic....no, of course it is!)🙄
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I firmly believe that the Antikythera Mechanism/Computer was the premier first computer involved in navigation and that it tracked the movement of the stars and so therefore could be used as a ship navigational tool. Who knows who invented it but I'm sure that people were incredibly smart back then and no doubt there was a huge vested interest in Astrology and Astronomy at the time so it may have been a group effort.
The biggest tragedy I've come across so far would have to be the fact that the Destruction of the Library of Alexandria has set us back quite many thousands of years in technological progress.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria
If you're interested in further with this I would suggest that you watch Carl Sagan's Cosmos.
It saddens me a great deal aswell that Astrology has become our prison today. Watch Zeitgeist for more info.
Every single modern hero movie is based upon the same old storyline too. It gets boring once you've seen the similarities for yourself. It would have to be the most evident in The Matrix (1999)
A hero is born, A hero is betrayed/killed, A hero dies, A hero is resurrected.
There is also the unsolved mystery regarding the reason behind there being so many Pyramids on our planet, nobody ever speaks about them much because they shatter the status quo of Egypt being the center of attention for nearly all pyramid building, but it wasn't and infact was only a very short period in history where this occured in Egypt.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid
The biggest tragedy I've come across so far would have to be the fact that the Destruction of the Library of Alexandria has set us back quite many thousands of years in technological progress.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria
If you're interested in further with this I would suggest that you watch Carl Sagan's Cosmos.
It saddens me a great deal aswell that Astrology has become our prison today. Watch Zeitgeist for more info.
Every single modern hero movie is based upon the same old storyline too. It gets boring once you've seen the similarities for yourself. It would have to be the most evident in The Matrix (1999)
A hero is born, A hero is betrayed/killed, A hero dies, A hero is resurrected.
There is also the unsolved mystery regarding the reason behind there being so many Pyramids on our planet, nobody ever speaks about them much because they shatter the status quo of Egypt being the center of attention for nearly all pyramid building, but it wasn't and infact was only a very short period in history where this occured in Egypt.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid
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One thing I find interesting is that from the site known as 'Adams Sundial' or 'Adams Calender' in SA, if one were to plot a spiral Fibonacci sequence from that location it ends at a pyramid site in SA. If you were to extend another Fibonacci sequence from that location across the African continent, it ends up right at the Giza pyramid site. Coincidence? Hmmmmm
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A pyramid is, AFAIK, the most stable structure. I've little doubt that many ancient cultures were on to that particular characteristic.
What would make anyone believe that humans of 2500 years ago had less intellectual capacity than modern humans? That there is more knowledge today is due to time and effort, not anything physiological.
One could probably plot a Fibonacci sequence from Adam's Sundial to Des Moines, or the middle of the Pacific. I agree it's amazing to pick out the amazing ones, but truly enlightening... no.
What does "astrology has become our prison today" mean? I thought it was rather a lower rung on the pseudoscience ladder, even though it does have its devotees.
What would make anyone believe that humans of 2500 years ago had less intellectual capacity than modern humans? That there is more knowledge today is due to time and effort, not anything physiological.
One could probably plot a Fibonacci sequence from Adam's Sundial to Des Moines, or the middle of the Pacific. I agree it's amazing to pick out the amazing ones, but truly enlightening... no.
What does "astrology has become our prison today" mean? I thought it was rather a lower rung on the pseudoscience ladder, even though it does have its devotees.
The Greeks are quite the craftsmen. My builder Thimios (from greece) , exceeds
most US DIY'ers with limited resources.
With their excellent climate and liberal society , a 2K year old mechanical PC would
be expected from a culture like this.
Germany should bail out greece and expect innovation in payment. 😀
OS
most US DIY'ers with limited resources.
With their excellent climate and liberal society , a 2K year old mechanical PC would
be expected from a culture like this.
Germany should bail out greece and expect innovation in payment. 😀
OS
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