The Antikythera mechanism is a 2,000-year-old computer

vox.com ^ | 5/17/2017 | brian resnick

[bitt]

115 years ago, divers found a hunk of bronze off a Greek island. It changed our understanding of human history.

One hundred fifteen years ago, an archeologist was sifting through objects found in the wreck of a 2,000-year-old vessel off the Greek island Antikythera. Among the wreck’s treasures — beautiful vases and pots, jewelry, a bronze statue of an ancient philosopher — was the most peculiar thing: a series of brass gears and dials mounted in a case the size of a mantel clock. Archeologists dubbed the instrument the Antikythera mechanism. The genius — and mystery — of this piece of ancient Greek technology, arguably the world’s first computer, is why Google is highlighting it today in a Google Doodle.

What is the Antikythera mechanism? At first glance, the piece of brass found near the wreck looks like something you might find in a junkyard or hanging on the wall of a maritime-themed dive bar. What remains of the mechanism is a set of rusted brass gears sandwiched into a rotting wooden box.

But if you look into the machine, you see evidence of at least two dozen gears, laid neatly on top of one another, calibrated with the precision of a master-crafted Swiss watch. This was a level of technology that archeologists would usually date to the 16th century, not well before the first.

But a mystery remained: What was this contraption used for?

The world’s first mechanical computer? To archeologists, it was immediately apparent that the mechanism was some sort of clock, calendar, or calculating device. But they had no idea what it was for. For decades, they debated: Was the Antikythera a toy model of the planets? Or perhaps it was an early astrolabe (a device to calculate latitude)?

[cloudmountain]

1. Oh brother! Turn on your TV (if you have one) or read a newspaper and get back to me about the death of liberal news.

Is it essential for you to be rude? You MUST be very young.
Besides, what the H - E -double hockey sticks do you mean by "liberal news"?
You MUST be very young if you think that Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, John Chancellor, Sam Donaldson, Tom Brokaw, Howard K. Smith, Barbara Walters, Richard Hubbell, Jane Pauley, Brit Hume, Chet Huntley, Eric Sevareid, Cokie Roberts, Edward R. Murrow, David Brinkley, Harry Reasoner, Peter Jennings, Ted Koppel, Connie Chung and Frank Reynolds were liberal. The news at that time was extraordinarily conservative.
"LIBERAL" had nothing to do with news in any way, shape or form.

.

And in the eyes of O’Reilly you (and other Freepers) are a far-right wingnut.
Well, NOW yer talkin'!!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Bob Ireland.

• No, Archaeologists Probably Did Not Find a New Piece of the Antikythera Mechanism [2018]
• New discovery hints at still further treasures hidden at famous shipwreck [2017]
• Human skeleton discovered at Antikythera shipwreck after more than 2,000 [2016]
• Human skeleton found on famed Antikythera shipwreck [2016]
• Ancient Greek 'computer' came with a user guide [2016]
• The World's First Computer May Have Been Used To Tell Fortunes [Engraved text translation] [2016]
• Is This Ancient Greek 'Laptop' Proof That Time Travel Is Real? [in short, no] [2016]
• Marine Archaeologists Excavate Greek Antikythera Shipwreck [2015]
• Scientist tackles mystery of ancient astronomical device [2015]
• Stunning finds from ancient Greek shipwreck [Antikythera] [2014]
• 'Exosuit' Mission to 2,000-Year-Old Shipwreck Begins [2014]
• Wearable submarine to hunt for 2000-year-old computer [2014]
• Return to Antikythera: what divers discovered in the deep [2013]
• Famed Roman Shipwreck Could Be Two [2013]
• Astronomy Picture of the Day -- The Antikythera Mechanism [2013]
• Return to Antikythera: Divers revisit wreck where ancient computer found [2012]
• Lego Antikythera Mechanism [2010]
• Ancient astronomy: Mechanical inspiration [2010]
• Shining a light on the past [2010]
• Coast-2-Coast AM Saturday Sept 26th -Mysterious Artifact (Antikythera mechanism) [2009]
• Shocking Discovery: a PC in B.C.? (Antikythera Mechanism) [2009]
• Archimedes and the 2000-year-old computer [2008]
• Secrets of Antikythera Mechanism, world's oldest calculating machine, revealed [2008]
• Discovering How Greeks Computed in 100 B.C. [2008]
• Medieval Calculator Up For Grabs [2008]
• OOPARTS (Out of Place Artifacts) [2007]
• Astronomy Picture of the day [2006]
• Enigma of ancient world's computer is cracked at last [2006]
• In search of lost time (Antikythera Mechanism) [2006]
• Scientists Unravel Mystery of Ancient Greek Machine [2006]
• An Ancient Computer Surprises Scientists (2200yo Roman computer!) [2006]
• Ancient calculator was 1,000 yrs ahead of its time [2006]
• Were Greeks 1,400 years ahead of their time? [2006]
• The Antikythera Mechanism (Computer - 56BC) [2006]
• Kurzweil featured on new syndicated radio show "Science Fantastic" hosted by Michio Kaku [2006]
• Unearthing the Treasures of the Mediterranean [2005]
• The Antikythera Mechanism: Physical and Intellectual Salvage from the 1st Century B.C. [2004]
• Secret Handshake [2004]
• Strange stories, weird facts [2004]
• Did The Ancient Greeks Make A Computer? [2003]

[Oatka]

What astonishes me the most is that each tooth was hand-cut and yet, apparently, it worked smoothly. One small slip of the file, ANYWHERE, would have messed up the whole mechanism.

What kind of brilliance determined all the gearing? I understand that a modern copy kept binding up despite (or because?) the gear teeth being mechanically cut.

[BobL]

“You MUST be very young if you think that Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather...were liberal.”

Perhaps you have a different definition of ‘liberal’ than most of us here. In my book, Cronkite alone cost us (and South Vietnam) that war, and Rather, TO THIS DAY, will not come clean about the fake draft-dodging letter [not that I blame him, given the implications that coming clean would have done to the Left].

[cloudmountain]

Perhaps you have a different definition of ‘liberal’ than most of us here. In my book, Cronkite alone cost us (and South Vietnam) that war, and Rather, TO THIS DAY, will not come clean about the fake draft-dodging letter [not that I blame him, given the implications that coming clean would have done to the Left].

Maybe so.
Did you ever listen to ANY of those newscasters?
Did you serve in Vietnam or in our military?

Did it ever occur to you that those newscasters were instructed to say what they did? THEY didn't cause the war and THEY only mouthed what they were INSTRUCTED to say. Cronkite AND Rather were as much of a MOUTHPIECE as anyone and they APPARENTLY fooled YOU into thinking that THEY had ANY choices in what they were TOLD to report.

The Vietnam war was always page 10 news. It wasn't even a "war."
Look up the war on Wikipedia.

Mel Gibson did a movie on the FIRST combat action, 1965. He played Col. Hal Moore in the movie WE WERE SOLDIERS.

It WASN'T about Cronkite or any of those talking heads. It was about American lives in an unpopular war. My brother-in-law was on an aircraft carrier over there and a friend of mine served in Army right in the thick of things.
It was REAL personal for me.

Rather and Cronkite would have been the FIRST people to tell you: "I'm only following the orders of my editor." You gave them MUCH, MUCH, MUCH too much credit.
Only CONGRESS declares war.
They fooled you, didn't they?

[BobL]

“They fooled you, didn’t they?”

I actually don’t give a crap as to WHO, if anyone, may have told them to lie to the country, they LIED. It’s not that complicated and doesn’t require a ‘conspiracy’.

[KamperKen]

I had read in Durant’s “Caesar and Christ” that the Emperor Nero had a steam-powered barge. What became of this technology and why didn’t it proliferate and evolve?

[Reily]

“...Emperor Nero had a steam-powered barg …”

He just scalded the rowers with steam ad they rowed faster.

[cloudmountain]

I actually don’t give a crap as to WHO, if anyone, may have told them to lie to the country, they LIED. It’s not that complicated and doesn’t require a ‘conspiracy’.

Their bosses told them too. That didn't require too much thinking.

As for a conspiracy, who cares? Since the O'Reilly Factor emerged there still might be a conspiracy but it would be on the line of taking someone's dessert from his lunchbox. No one cares.

One of my favorite parts of FOX news is to hear the talking heads bash the Democrat leaders. THAT, I enjoy, especially when it involves Hillary Clinton...who?

I can still hear her: "But it was MY turn to be POTUS. MY TURN!!!! Wah! Boo-hoo!"

[KamperKen]

"He just scalded the rowers with steam ad they rowed faster."

With insights like that *why* aren't you running things?

You are?!

Oh.