Another stalwart of wackyology

[undyingking]

Having talked about the mysterious Voynich Manuscript recently, today along comes the Antikythera Device, also beloved of peculiar conspiracy theorists.

Not quite as mysterious, as we pretty much know what it was for -- astronomical calculations. But there is the puzzle of how it was possible, 2000 years ago, to manufacture such an intricate and precise mechanism. Time travel? Aliens? Very good craftsmanship? Make your own choice.

The new story is that some guy has built a functioning replica, and here's a New Scientist video of him explaining it. You do have to wonder how much "educated guesswork" he had to use to fill in the sizable gaps in what is firmly known about its workings and detailed purpose. But it's still pretty impressive.

Comments

[pmcray.livejournal.com]

What is particularly fascinating is that there must have been an industrial and technical infrastructure to support the design and manufacture of these kinds of devices - we do have mentions in the literature of other, similar devices - but there seems to be no obvious trace of that infrastructure - or the objects that it produced. What kinds of things did they make? And why did they not have a greater impact on history? Of course, this is a variation on the Needham Question (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20061019.shtml).

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

And why did they not have a greater impact on history?

That'd be those time travellers / aliens again.

[zengineer.livejournal.com]

My guess is that it is similar in complexity to watchmaking. In medieval times this could be handled in a workshop with a master, a few journeymen and a handful of aprentices. Only hand tools and measuring equipment are necessary. They clearly used journal bearings but my key question would be were lathes used?

[pmcray.livejournal.com]

It's a pity that we don't have more examples of ancient devices of these kinds - just one. No-one was, it seems, burying them in hordes in the way they do with coins. I suppose they were easily transportable and might not have seemed valuable to your average Saxon raider, but, of course, these are specialised pieces of kit and there presumably weren't that many astrologer-astronomers were needed them - or could afford them.

I do think there is a novel in all this.

[zengineer.livejournal.com]

In many I am surprised there are not more of these. They are clearly extremely valuable so they wouldn't have been thrown away and Astologers will have wanted to use up to modern times.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Mm, it is a puzzle that afaik subsequent astrologers didn't even write about the memory of such devices.

[zengineer.livejournal.com]

Perhaps a bit like Concorde it was too expensive for its intended customers and cost too much to make. After this was realised no one wanted to talk about it because it is a bit embarrassing that their society could not fund such a fantastic device. You don't hear that much about Concorde or the Saturn 5 and I expect the same response to the LHC when it closes. You do see the odd documentary on the Hindenburg and the R101 though.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Mm, a young (15 or so) person of my acquaintance was familiar with the Inspiral Carpets song 'Saturn V' while having no idea at all to what it referred.

[fractalgeek.livejournal.com]

I've seen it explained away as "they were very good at making toys, but for real work, they had slaves".

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Sounds plausible.

[ar-gemlad.livejournal.com]

He has had to use a certain amount of educated guesswork, but a lot more is known about the mechanism since Derek J. Solla Price made his model in the 1970s. Price was the first person to do any real research on the device, using X-rays to distinguish the gears. Recently, more sophisticated imaging techniques have been used.

And you say "we pretty much know what is was for" - but if we do, it's only in the last couple of years that it's been figured out (and therefore there hasn't been time for anyone to seriously disagree!)

For further reading, I can recommend The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project and Jo Marchant's new book, "Decoding the Heavens".

(Strange bit of recursion there: doing work whilst skiving at work...)

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

You see, you shoud be posting about these things, not leaving it to ignorami like me ;-)

[ar-gemlad.livejournal.com]

Ah, but as a librarian, I can only respond to these things. My brain has no original thought ;)

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

Do they name these things to sound like artefacts from Call of Cthulhu campaigns on purpose?

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

That's what They want you to think.