τέχνη

I found this on a recent Stumble! break from paper writing.

A recent article in New Scientist describes a 2200 year old mechanical device called the Antikythera mechanism that was used to demonstrate and calculate planetary motion, eclipses and other celestial phenomena.  Here is an article from BBC News from 2006.

The account of the archaeological process of understanding and, eventually reconstructing the device is almost as fascinating as the device itself.

Take a look at this video:

From the New Scientist Article:

Historians have often scoffed at the Greeks for wasting their technology on toys rather than doing anything useful with it. If they had the steam engine, why not use it to do work? If they had clockwork, why not build clocks?

and

Rather than being toys, devices like the Antikythera mechanism were seen as a route to understanding and demonstrating the nature of the universe – a way to get closer to the true meaning of things. To what better use could technology be put?

OK.  I’m back to work.

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Reference:

Marchant, J. (2008).  Archimedes and the 2000-year-old computer. New Scientist, 200 (2686). Retrieved from

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026863.200-modern-lessons-of-ancient-greek-computing.html

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