This very talented machinist (Clickspring's Chris) is recreating the device using tools from that age on their YouTube channel <a href="https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZioPDnFPNsHnyxfygxA0to4RXv4_jDU2" rel="nofollow">https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZioPDnFPNsHnyxfygxA0to...</a><p>It is an amazing playlist.
This detailed description and his musings make me further convinced that if high quality clear glass technology had been created at this time, human history and discovery could have been profoundly different. Eyeglasses, telescopes, and microscopes would have allowed the Greeks to take discovery to the next level.<p>Surely that’s an oversimplification, but I always wonder.
I am ashamed that we think so little of ancient cultures.<p>they weren't stupid. they were as smart as we are, perhaps smarter.<p>they were far fewer in number than we are today, and the library of technology they could draw from to solve a problem was much smaller for them, is all.<p>nothing about the Antikythera mechanism is complex; the math is simple and the construction is that of a machine made many times and made slightly smaller each iteration, as sections are moved to fit into a more compact arrangement.<p>even coming up with the ratios to describe the motion of the planets would be easily done by one or more people who were dedicated observers who wrote their observations down.<p>nothing here is complex, yet we still consider new discoveries about the device which reveal unpredicted complexity to be "too advanced" to be made at the time it appears to be made...<p>I don't know why scientists do this. why can't we just admit that we don't know what ancient civilizations were capable of, rather than assuming they were incapable of simple tasks?
this was an amazing read!<p>I know some are upset at certain recent SciAm op-eds.<p>But every issue has 2-5 gorgeous, beefy articles like this one that make me a happy paying subscriber.<p>Absolutely stunning visualization of the inner workings of this marvelous device.
The 19 year Metonic cycle is interesting. I think it is also the orbital period of the moons nodes (aka dragon head/tail or north node/south node or rahu/Ketu in Indian astronomy). I wonder if there is a connection.
I live a 10' min walking distance from the museum the mechanism is displayed. Reading this makes me a bit ashamed for not spending hours just looking at it.
I’m wondering if anyone has created a software model of the mechanism.<p>Is anyone aware of such a project?<p>It sounds right up the alley of many HN readers.
It's really surprising we've never seen another like it in the archaeological record. This is can't be the first thing of this nature that this craftsman ever made.
The famous Antikythera mechanism:<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29778874" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29778874</a><p><a href="https://hn.algolia.com/?q=Antikythera" rel="nofollow">https://hn.algolia.com/?q=Antikythera</a>
Every time something like this is found, I think it highlights how little credit we give some ancient people. You have to imagine there were machines they created that were more complex than this that we haven't discovered. There are a lot of people in our current times that couldn't build this even with an entire machine shop at their disposal.
Every time I think about the Antikythera mechanism the quote by Arthur C. Clarke comes to mind<p>"If the insight of the Greeks had matched their ingenuity…we would not merely be puttering around on the Moon, we would have reached the nearer stars."<p>It's a little sensational but also makes me think of what could've been, if certain paths had been realized in past times, and also makes me put the technical knowledge of past civilizations in much higher regard.
I remember reading that Clickspring's Chris has committed to giving away the Antikythera device to a random patreon supporter of his once it is completed.
I don't think people have put enough stock in the possibility that the Antikythera device was primarily used for astrology. This would likely have been the primary reason an ancient person would want to know the positions of the stars and planets on a specific date and time.
<a href="https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=Antikythera&sort=byDate&type=story" rel="nofollow">https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...</a><p>This mechanism comes up a lot. Is there a TL;DR about what's new in this particular submission?
The Antikythera mechanism gives me nightmares. Just as the suggestion that a lack of transmissions from intelligent life means the existence of a great filter. The Antikythera mechanism is a strong indicator of technological regression in human beings.<p>Perhaps more terrifying is the fact that it is not the first time we've regressed or collapsed. The mysterious Late Bronze Age Collapse is another example, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Bronze_Age_collapse" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Bronze_Age_collapse</a> Or, the Classic Maya civilization collapse, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_Maya_collapse" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_Maya_collapse</a><p>It is inconceivable for us to imagine a rapid regression today. Our civilization seems invincible, the knowledge seems to be too widespread. But most of our knowledge is brittle. If you were to send a time capsule forward with the recipes to remake our modern world, including eUV technology. How would you do it? (using extant literature)<p>Research papers require years of study and background knowledge to fully understand and they fully fail to capture the science involved. Patents are even more inscrutable. We couldn't send our CAD drawings and specifications forward either, because they require specialized knowledge as well. After all, how would they build an iPhone if they don't know how to make screws or glue? Or, the multi-layer PCBs etc.<p>Another renaissance to recreate our civilization from our published work would be nearly impossible. Or, take centuries to accomplish.<p>It may be fruitful to imagine ways to fit civilization into a box that can last tens of thousands of years, so that future generations can find it —— post apocalyptic tragedy —— and rapidly recreate our world.
> in his model, the 223-tooth gear turned much too fast for it to make sense. But in my model, the 223-tooth gear rotates very slowly<p>Science!<p>(Clarification: it all sounds very narrative-fallacy to me. Hey, but feel free to downvote the opinion of a contrarian!)