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Mystery of Ancient Calculator Finally Cracked
jcaruso writes, "It's been more than 100 years since the discovery of the 2,000-year-old Antikythera Mechanism, but researchers are only now figuring out how it works." From the article:
"Since its discovery in 1902, the Antikythera Mechanism — with its intricate and baffling system of about 30 geared wheels — has been an enigma... During the last 50 years, researchers have identified various astronomical and calendar functions, including gears that mimic the movement of the sun and moon. But it has taken some of the most advanced technology of the 21st century to decipher during the past year the most advanced technology of the 1st century B.C."
Did it run Linux?
liqbase
Remember folks, always document your calculators.
Haida Manga
But it has taken some of the most advanced technology of the 21st century to decipher during the past year the most advanced technology of the 1st century B.C."Maybe in 2000 years we'll have the technology to decode that sentence!
Some archeologists suggest that the people who used this calculator, actually tried to build a Beowulf cluster out of these, but were unable to because Beowulf wasn't born yet.
Circumcision is child abuse.
I'm sure at the lab it went something like this...
'Hey professor Roy, have you figured out how that ancient calculator works yet?'
'Well no.. eh heh... It's sort of a mystery.. Those olden days people were a lot more cleaver than we gave them credit for. I think we might have to change our hypothesis'
'ARE YOU INSANE?! We'll be a laughing stock! I can imagine the headlines now... "Scientists Change Hypothesis: Community Laughs at Expense".. I can't go through that again! You remember the Stone Henge fiasco?! The Bloody Scots threatened to raise Fingal!!'
'...I'll get my gun'
They should have given it to SG1. Dr. Jackson would have figured it out in no time, and they would have used to save the Earth from a far more technologically advanced enemy.
I agree not to leave this thing lying around for people to discover in 2000 years time. I agree not to reverse engineer this device......
Engineering is the art of compromise.
It should be released for the abacus soon as well.
Linux violates 235 Microsoft patents.
There already is, well, two words really: The Sun
This just goes to show why documentation is so important. Kids, when you want your CoolWare 1.3.37 still to be in use 2000 years from now...document it!
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
Not a chance! Let me remind you of a little thing called the BC-CA. The BCCA is the predecessor of the DMCA, and if you think the DMCA is draconian - the BCCA prescribed death for every violation.
Proof by very large bribes. QED.
As part of the Project Apollo research effort, I can tell you that the Apollo spacecraft (Which is arguably one of mankind's greatest achievements) didn't even make it 50 years - Even now, with the spacecraft still intact and the crew still alive, we are having to undertake a large reverse-engineering project with limited documentation to recreate the operation of the spacecraft.
It isn't functional and never was.
When will people realize that the whole moonwalk thing was a hoax?
Are even the astronauts so brainwashed that they believe they have been on the moon?
Some lunatics!
Big deal - I know a couple guys, in the PRC, that could reverse engineer this thing and have working copies, with instructions in 12 languages, for sale on street before dusk...
Sure, it was all shot in a studio. What you don't know is that the studio it was shot in was ON THE MOON!
http://twitter.com/OLDTELEGRAM
The term you're looking for is "Digg".
Doesn't this thing remind anyone of the countless ancient artifacts we've seen in movies that are expressly designed to summon some evil force (the devil, elder gods, pokemon, etc.) to the Earth to destroy or enslave mankind forever? Should we really be playing around with this thing?
Fox News?
The reports of strange lights emanating from the lab were merely energy discharges from the material under the effects of the x-ray analysis, which is quite normal actually. Unfounded rumors of strange demonic figures running amok in the complex were likewise nothing more than a mischievous prank by a few of the overworked scientists who took a joke a bit too far. The security forces stationed around the building are merely there to keep pesky reporters from spoiling next-week's release. Any sounds which appear to be gunfire are simply sonic gas bubbles popping from out of the high tech equipment. So everything is completely under control, no need to worry.
Clickety Click
Do you think that there will even be a "desktop" to take over 200 years from now.
It's perfectly easy to understand. There are two possibilities.
... as the wheel ... place the ... will appear at ... Made in Mexico")
1. There's writing on it, but it can't be read with certainty. Instead of making guesses to its contents, the researchers are leaving their speculation to its purpose, which can be more easily deduced. This can be because of:
1a. They actually can't read enough of it to gather the content of the message. (i.e. "Turn the
1b. They have a translation of some sort, but aren't sure that it is correct, and are waiting for confirmation.
2. The researchers made the annoucement subject to a non-disclosure agreement. These agreements are fairly common when making announcements prior to the publication of an academic article. You can make you're annoucement of your findings, but can give specifics about your findings until the article has been published. Just wait until the article is published, and then read the translation yourself.
...they were the ancestors of C programmers, as it was indeed documented but only in obscure comments embedded in the code.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
1. Understand how this works
:)
2. Write an emulator for it
3. Think of ways to parallelize
4. Try it out in software
5. If it works, build all the hardware
Tada, here you go, a loosely-defined "cluster".
BESURETODRINKYOUROVALTINE
Netcraft confirms it... Antikythera Mechanisms are dying!
Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
And penned by no less than the great Greek legislator himself!
Qu'on me donne six lignes écrites de la main du plus honnête homme, j'y trouverai de quoi le faire pendre.
Basically, they've found the EULA. They're worried the BSA will sue them under the PMCA (Pre-Millenium Copyright Act)...
What part of "a well regulated militia" do you not understand?
All right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?
What part of "a well regulated militia" do you not understand?
Be among the first to play Dvke Nvkem Forever, schedvled for release on the Antikythera Mechanism in 78 BC! Pre-order today!
So does this mean that two millennia from now that humans, or the robots that take over from them, will spend a century figuring out CALC.EXE?
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
.
"square showing a given"
So you can read greek can you ? Hardly. It says "Insert coin here".
The whole idea of faking a moonwalk is absurd. This theory is intended to cover a much larger hoax --- that of America.
There is, as any reasonable man can see, no american continent, the whole Columbus affair was a hoax, organized by the Portuguese government to cover up the fact that they are ruling the world.
I am sure you can appreciate the ingenuity of inventing a conspiracy theory to cover up a much more important conspiracy.
Warranty void if seal is removed