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New Clues for Antikythera Mechanism
fuzzybunny writes "The Register reports that British and Dutch scientists located a previously undetected word on the Antikythera Mechanism which seems to confirm its nature as a tool for astronomical prediction. This device is one of the world's first known geared devices; while its purpose is still not 100% clear, according to the article, 'Athens university researcher Xenophon Moussas is reported as saying the "newly discovered text seems to confirm that the mechanism was used to track planetary bodies."'"
It's a navigational device that used the night sky, available to everyone in perfect sync, instead of the many calendars that many Old World societies didn't even have. Maps with directions could encode "turning points" or durations in terms of stars and planets, then limit access to them to only those with the antikythera tech.
The really interesting question is how that portable machine relates to the ancient monuments like the Pyramids, Chichen Itza, and Angkor Wat which replicate star patterns on the ground for the ages.
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make install -not war
Scientist One:
"The outstanding results obtained from X-Tek's 3-D X-rays are allowing us to make a definitive investigation of the Mechanism. I do not believe it will ever be possible to do better."
Scientist Two: "newly discovered text seems to confirm that the mechanism was used to track planetary bodies"
Scientist One:"It's still up in the air, and there's plenty of work yet to be done.""
"'What was the device actually for?' Was it a used to predict calendars? Was it simply a teaching tool?"
The last questions seem more interesting. What it did is certainly important, but what they used it for is more important. If it was intended as an amusement it is of an entirely different significance to if it was intended as a navigation aid, and different again if it was a scientific tool intended for research.
More info on the actual examination here: http://www.xtekxray.com/antikythera.htm
Can't we all just get along
from the Wik:
It was inscribed with a text of over 2,000 characters, of which about 95% have been deciphered. The full text of the inscription has not yet been published.
Why? Go on, I DARE you... publish the text. Let's all have a look, particuarly if it says "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" over and over... Tell us what it says. We can handle it.
Scientists seem quite keen on delaying the release of their findings until such time as they Know Everything There Is To Know about [insert whatever it is here]. Haven't they heard of beta?
I am a leaf on the wind
This makes me wonder what future civilizations will think about all of these silicon squares (semiconductors) once we're gone. Jewelry?
Another thing which makes it this so unique is that it uses differential gears ...
This predates the current inventions by nearly 2 millenuim.
Actually, it seems, the current differntial gears even took data from the Greeks for the same.
They really knew what they were doing.
If a civilization knew maths, they knew quite a bit.
Makes me wonder how much information would have been lost of the earlier civilizations, esp. the Indus Valley civilisations etc
The civiliztion which was the epitome of mathematical knowledge at the time.
rajmohan_h@yahoo.com
... that so many of the comments made thus far are attempts at humour.
The Antikythera Mechanism is either JOYOUSLY UPLIFTING or SOUL-CRUSHINGLY DEPRESSING. It isn't funny.
Uplifting because the human race developed the differential gear and incredibly intricate machinery TWO THOUSAND YEARS earlier than we thought, and used that technology for science.
Depressing because the human race then lobotomized itself and we practically went back to living in caves.
We had something amazing, and we lost it so utterly that we forgot we'd ever had it. Go humanity.
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PGP Key ID 0xCB8FF658
I saw this on the Wikipedia entry:
"It also adds support to the idea that there was an ancient Greek tradition of complex mechanical technology which was later transmitted to the Arab world, where similar but simpler devices were built during the medieval period. Of course, they had to copy it. Jawas would never come up with such a white device on their own."
I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and I refreshed, and it dissapeared. But I found it again in the edits and that blew me away.
Shame on the racist troll asshole that put that up. (NB: it wasn't me!)
Labelling me overrated before anyone else had rated me and
labelling me redundant when I was the first comment.
I call Shenangians!