Decoding the Heavens: The Antikythera Mechanism by Jo Marchant

[@HeardFromMeFirst]

Absolutely fascinating. ..why, at 66 years of age, have I learned so much more over the last ten years, than I ever did at school....so much to know, and such little time to know it....Thank you Jo Marchant.

[@thebigcat8312]

I am 59 years and feel exactly the same . In my youth we had 2 TV channels that broadcast for a few hours a day and a set of encyclopedia that dad bought one Christmas .

[@phyllisneal8687]

Me, as well💕

[@artemissadlier1293]

We’re more interest now. We ‘re not as interest in partying and chasing a possible love.

[@absolutium]

Unfortunately we need to consider also that never in human history has misinformation been so abundant as it is today.

[@HeardFromMeFirst]

@@absolutium .You are right. .All you need is the inteligence to recognise bullshit when you hear it.

[@richln9682]

I love this lady's enthusiasm for her astounding artefact and her desire to communicate its importance in helping understand the distant past and the brilliance of some of the people who skulked about there.

[@bobpospick1649]

By far the best explanation of the Antikythera Mechanism, both from an historic and technical perspective. Thanks!

[@gottogo8675]

This is clearly a sky clock from a flat earth perspective.

[@j.jwhitty5861]

I first came across The Antikythera Mechanism in a science magazine about 40 years ago and have ever since been convinced that it was a fake and am happily surprised to have had my mind changed by this well presented lecture.

[@Evan490BC]

Ok. Explain your reasoning why you thought it is fake. Because we hadn't seen anything like this before? But this is exactly how Science progresses! Do you not believe in the scientific method?

[@j.jwhitty5861]

@@Evan490BC 40 years ago i was a 14 year old learning about Fission;Fusion;Pair-production and annihilation (in fairness i was the youngest in the class) but could not comprehend how 2,000 years ago a mechanical device could have been invented to measure the cosmos.

[@Evan490BC]

@@j.jwhitty5861 Fair enough. To me this is a question about Archaeology, rather than public understanding of Science, in the sense that our knowledge of the past is necessarily incomplete. However, we now know that the Greeks (and other ancient civilisations) had developed sophisticated technology that we didn't know about before. This changes our perception of the past. For example (and speaking as a (British-) Greek), we now know that the Ancient Greeks had developed a kind of robot, called Talos, believe it or not. The Byzantines used a weapon called Greek fire, which we haven't fully understood yet. There are historical records of these things, I'm not making these up. (I am an Oxford-educated Engineer and Mathematician with a PhD, in case you think I'm some kind of crazy wacko 😊.)

[@j.jwhitty5861]

@@Evan490BC I have always had an amateur interest in Archaeology and (rightly or wrongly) have always used weaponry as a bench mark to the definitive technology existing in any period of time since one thing as a specious we are excellent at is commandeering the tools and technological knowledge available to improvise ways to murder each other. The ancient Greeks by any standard are a fascinating race for their political, philosophical and mathematical savvy, however; I have never heard of them building a robot (will research that with interest). I have heard of the Greek fire and suspect they probably used some form of displacement piston. I never suspected you were a wacko and you should be proud of your achievements :) and who knows what interesting things are yet to be learnt about our ancestors.

[@without9103]

I'm astonished that I first heard of this only a few years ago.

[@sibu2]

What strikes me is that she doesn't wonder about the technology of making the device. This is for me the biggest thing about it. Ok, you can create theories, you can draw them down but the greatest thing about the Antikithera mechanism is the high level of technology that existed 2000 years ago that made it possible to produce it with such precision and accuracy.

[@sovietspy86]

Its handmade with hand tools, custom work. Put that in ur pipe and smoke it.

[@--AE--]

I've done some blacksmithing in the past, and my knowledge of it is pretty decent. Most likely these gears were created using a foundry casting system. Sand, wax or other objects are shaped and metal is poured into it. Bronze (90% copper 10% tin alloy) was most likely used since that's what a lot of their statues were made of back then, and it has a low melting point compared to copper. Essentially that means it will fill all the nooks and crannies of the mold before it starts to solidify too quickly and leave gaps, called delaminations or cold shuts. Once the casting is complete, you can use hand tools to grind or remove excess parts, which probably would've been easy since bronze is a softer metal. At least compared to what we use today.

[@jasoncrandall]

100%. That’s what I was waiting for……. How did they cast the wheels and rest of the pieces?

[@DevBerzerker]

@@sovietspy86 LMAO

[@William12-m8m]

You know its difficult because you dont know how to do it. Like our country ancestor, they made some clothes that we cant make it with machine and technology nowaday. we can still see them in museum. Our acestor are smart than you think

[@danconser6709]

Of all those discussion this artifact, I think Jo gives the best overview to the public, capturing the human experience of the discovery process & putting the find in the proper perspective. Great Job!, Jo!

[@phantomwalker8251]

do you seriously think,we made a perpetual solar clock,with there limited knowledge. & the church breathing down there neck,screaming heracy..all the knowledge they had was handed down for thousands of yrs,most was destroyed. then the church,religion,raised its ugly head..

[@authormattchatelain]

This was an excellent documentary talk about the Antikythera mechanism. I had rushes down my back when she led us through the centuries, showing us how it had led to clocks and watch mechanisms. Amazing.

[@josephdiprospero1702]

Ms Marchant combines in-depth knowledge with excellent public speaking skills. Fascinating.

[@summerWTFE]

Probably the best presentation I’ve seen on the device. Extremely interesting. I wonder where the forerunners to this thing may lie. As she says, it seems unlikely that this was the first of its kind.

[@puncheex2]

Alas, probably most, if not all of them, broke down after some use and despairing of ever getting them fixed, their parts were melted down for the bronze. Many, many bronze Greek statues were lost this way.

[@zapfanzapfan]

With any luck there are older ship wrecks waiting to be discovered.

[@eruera52]

Mmmmm Dr Tony Freeth's Stanford Lecture is incredible too, very technical and comprehensive.

[@Teeveepicksures]

@@puncheex2 "wow, this is cool but its broken" "hows it work?" "dunno" "melt it and make a spear!" "YEAHHH!!!!"

[@Teeveepicksures]

@@zapfanzapfan I wish we spent half the energy on deep sea exploration that we do exploring space. We have so much left to learn before we leave this rock.

[@rgoodwinau]

An breathtaking presentation. Thank you Jo. I've tracked the development of understanding on the Antikythera Mechanism for decades now, however the development of understanding in the past five years has been rapid, and has lead us to a much deeper appreciation of its sophistication.

[@uncannyvalley2350]

Imagine the shock when they realise it was used to write the book of Revelations in reference to the change of Pisces into Aquarius, which is why descriptions in Revelations exactly describe current astrological alignments and eclipses. It was even found off Potamos island, which is an uncanny analogue for Patmos island, where John supposedly wrote Revelations. I believe Christianity to be an adaption of Phoenician Sun God Worship, the Cross being the symbol for Baal, but also a Zodiac Calendar, of course it was the Phoenicians and their flying carpets (ship sails) that mastered navigation of the Mediterranean by night. Israel is the Phoenician word for Saturn, being El, Fruit of Isis and Ra, the Winter Soltice, which is why we still use the Phoenician symbol for fish (X) from Sidon, the fishing port where Jezebel came from, before marrying King Ahaz, the King of Tyre, aka Solomon. This is why we still call it Xmas, the fish obviously being the symbol of Pisces, and Mary the Virgin, being Virgo, and before that she was Libra, or Europa, riding opposite Taurus the Bull on the Zodiac, hence Paris, the King of Troy (Tyre) us the combination of Para (Bull) and Isis (Libra) marking the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes in the age of Taurus.

[@uncannyvalley2350]

Oh, and the Astrolabe is identical to the Mayan Calender, because that's where Phoenicians settled after the sack of Carthage

[@jpkatz1435]

@James Warden Jr. Well, maybe, let find out!

[@uncannyvalley2350]

@Djcheb Oxbrbwi well someone should tell Baal Yahweh is sleeping with his wife. It's inverted, mirrors, starsigns rule over Sunsigns and vs versa, that's why Magi and Dionysus worshippers always carried mirrors, and why the Templars wrote their signatures in mirror form, just like Leonardo, and why on the back of a mirror in the oldest Shinto Shrine in Japan it says the words "I am Me" It's a Phoenician code so that others wouldn't know their trade secrets, what was Moon worship became Son worship, which is why the older Ugaritic texts hold that in fact El was the Father of Yahweh, putting Serpentis over Orion. Brw Serpentis is now the Sunsign of Xmas, much like it was the Sunsign of Summer 12,960 years ago in Gobekli Tepe, which is why the King in the North is so sacred, and why Masonic Temple's have no Northern pillar. Even the Letter A is an inversion of a pictographs of a Bull's Head, representing Orion, root of the Zodiac, which in the Age of Aries sat at 33 degrees of the Zodiac, appearing in the night sky in September, the Celtic, Egyptian, Phoenician, Jewish and Assyrian New Year

[@john3pq]

@@uncannyvalley2350 Fascinating. Citations to the phoenician diaspora, please??

[@jpkatz1435]

Yaks, no notes, compleatly coherent complexity, wonderfully energetic, delightfuly charming. Good God, what a mind and spirit that holds all of this, and how much more!?

[@vasilisiatropoulos3474]

Good work Mrs Marchant. Covering topics in a way that even non-experts can comprehend, requires the sort of talent that you certainly have.

[@noeticsnatches2637]

Dr Marchant. Her accomplishment is more than just marrying into the Marchant family or being born in one.

[@doppelbanger5797]

Noetic Snatches Mrs Merchant is wearing a lovely dress

[@chattonlad9382]

@@doppelbanger5797 😂

[@pjchris90]

A polished and extremely informative presentation on this device and it's possible contributions to our development. Where were the lecturers like this when I was in college? Well done that woman.

[@joshuarosen6242]

That was a beautifully presented, fascinating lecture. Thank you, Darwin College and especially Jo Marchant. You have a real talent for communication.

[@timfronimos459]

What a wonderful lecture! The speaker really did a great job. I studied Celestial Navigation while in the US Navy and have been fascinated by astronomy etc for over 30 years now. Our lecturer has a wonderful stage presences in that she doesn't dominate the subject matter. Strong voice and quite a handsome woman too. Sorry. I just wanted to say that last bit.

[@rishikeshwagh]

Idk what is more impressive, the technology or the presentation. Just brilliant.

[@maxsmith695]

Einstein was born and died dumb. He plagiarized his way to fame.

[@rishikeshwagh]

@@maxsmith695 ok boomer

[@darrenarmitage3460]

Max Smith wanders around this venue spouting obnoxious, irrelevant shit at random intervals. Ignore the boob.

[@AudreysKitchen]

The technology

[@alancordwell9759]

Thank you Jo for this wonderful presentation, that had me rivetted throughout. I first heard about the Antikythera mechanism in the 1970's from books by the likes of Von Daniken and Arthur C. Clarke. Something about it fired my imagination, as also did the concept of the mechanical measurement of time by an escapement as Jo described. I became an amateur clockmaker in due course but I still feel drawn to this topic, which is how I got here! Thanks again.

[@MrBrianms]

Thanks for the lecture about ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM. It looks like it could break out into a series of lectures spread out as a course. Brilliant.

[@folcwinep.pywackett8517]

Incredible and wonderful lecture by an amazing presenter, Ms Jo Marchant. Had she been one of my professors at the University, I would have never cut classes. Also I think I am in love!

[@without9103]

Best video on youtube, I've watched 3 times and it's still captivating. Jo explains this perfectly.

[@CyClaw]

Stunning lecture! So thankful to live in times where this high quality educational content is accessible for everyone

[@asicdathens]

Also (not mentioned here), first ever device known to use graduated dials and pointers. This is another intellectual leap rarely mentioned. Also the triangular tooth profile proves why Archimedes odometer worked while Da Vinci's odometer with square teeth on the gears couldn't .

[@phyllisneal8687]

Absolutly STUNNING 💕 Ohmygoodness!! Well done!! BRAVO💕

[@MGBranco]

Imagine if we could get our hands on all the lost knowledge...by now we could be reaching Andromeda! Wonderful presentation! Thank you!

[@AbbaZabbaMan]

pretty sure thats the biggest "conspiracy" of all. That the knowledge is there but it is hidden from Laymen. Always something i ponder, nothing to be taken other than pure conjecture

[@thepatriarchy819]

This presentation was on January 31st 2020 people coughing in the crowd giving off major rona vibes.

[@chandlermahan8539]

@@thepatriarchy819 okay? What’s that gotta do with anything

[@deeliciousplum]

This is one of those talks that adds such value to our curiosities of our shared histories. Gently placing to the side of what new insights are being shared by Jo Marchant, I experienced such a sadness at hearing of the sponge divers' deaths due to decompression sickeness.

[@SoundsSilver]

Yea. Btw they probably died mostly of pulmonary embolism. The ones who survived would have experienced DCS and lived in severe pain.

[@deeliciousplum]

@@SoundsSilver Oh, my. 😢

[@fzwpiay]

Jo You are amazing to present this without notes as far as I could see.

[@musiqueetmontagne]

Outstanding lecture...

[@scrubby2116]

Ancient History never fails to amaze me, so many unanswered questions which upsets me but at the same time, that’s the beauty of it. Humans 2000 years ago, who were supposedly less advanced than us, have us absolutely puzzled. One of my biggest wishes is hoping archeologists or divers can find more mechanisms like these and hopefully in better condition. I have a feeling it could rewrite history.

[@user-ed1mj5zk6f]

Thank you for this wonderful presentation.

[@tsamuel6224]

This astronomical knowledge goes back far before Archimedes or Antikythera. Both Egypt and Sumeria before them were tremendous astronomers, knowing what was where and when in the sky. The ratios as multiples of earth rotations were worked out and preserved in stone to never be forgotten. Long before religion and education were conceptualized as separable, these stone structures were for education to whatever level a student was able. We can be nearly certain Archimedes made a significant contribution, but the core knowledge of the core ratios goes back into antiquity.

[@d.c.monday4153]

Very well done. A pleasure to watch and learn.

[@TheVisionGreen]

Marvellous. Fantastic presentation. Many Thanks, Jo Marchant.

[@SeanOrrMD]

What an outstanding and well thought-out presentation!

[@davidwright8432]

Wonderful presentation! Very many thanks. I'm sending a link to several of my NASA colleagues (now retired!) who I know will be amazed and delighted. I've been following this since I was a kid (decades back). Nice to have some pressing questions answered definitively - at last! Thanks again.

[@cuchuloholic]

Awesome

[@eltigre249]

It is amazing what people have done with mechanical devices. Until recently, carburetors were mechanical until computers were placed into automobiles.

[@marktroiani5401]

This is remarkable and so engaging passionate and really work a day all at once. I am in awe.

[@heisenberg69]

Great lecture, so much knowledge and enthusiasm. Thank you, Jo Marchant!

[@jurgenczwienk1960]

What a joy to listen this lecture! Very interesting and it enlightst his marine artefact!

[@StereoSpace]

Fascinating and wonderfully presented. Thank you so much.

[@healthrelief9697]

You summarized all that wonderful and complex information into such a sweet and flowing manner. Thank you. Awesome!

[@peterbondy]

What a wonderful, wonderful lecture. Thank you so much.

[@normanlorrain]

Great presentation. Natural speaking style. More please!

[@IanKemp1960]

Jo thank your for an excellent and fascinating talk! I read your book a few years ago but this video is very engaging! I hope your studies are continuing and going well!

[@robertbilling6266]

Beautiful explanation of the machine, thanks!

[@matthewkeeley4479]

First off, a top-tier presentation to be bookmarked, and shared! Looking forward to reading the book and finding her other publications. A small tie-in to a site I did not bookmark; going down the "rabbit hole" some time ago, landing on a small project using plastic "Lego" gears and drives. A stage-by-stage layered, gear stack-build, using off-shelf parts, that took less than forty-five minutes in edited time. The finished mechanisms' top gear turned once every fifty thousand years. The entire "LEGO" project was maybe the size of two large cereal boxes. The unit was crowned with a small SciFi character seated along for the long ride. I hoped it blew the minds of some younger kids wanting to duplicate the machine for themselves. The Legos and Erector sets' we had just...

[@bekindandmerciful5145]

What a fabulous lecture.

[@freedapeeple4049]

The ancients not having mass production makes me wonder how many inventors made one-off wonder mechanisms that were only known of by them and their patrons, then lost forever.

[@philipjungelson8591]

Indeed, and how many potential Beethovens, Einsteins or Gutenbergs grotesquely murdered on battlefields to "save our civilisation" ?!

[@peterkay7458]

another experet says there is no way it was a prototype but more likely version 20

[@lkytmryan]

@@philipjungelson8591 Statistically I would bet none since those types of people are extremely rare and would likely stand and not be sent to battle.

[@bwell6555]

Good question because it opens a rabbit hole.

[@gibbcharron3469]

@@philipjungelson8591 Aye, and for that matter, how many geniuses might be starving in famine-stricken countries today, trapped in an environment that doesn't allow them to express their gifts?

[@senatorjosephmccarthy2720]

Thank you for the astronomical teaching as well as the mechanical computer. IMpressive.

[@venkataraghotham7586]

An excellent presentation A very educative lecture well done and historically informed

[@niklasstrand9010]

Awesomely interesting, great lecture!!! Cheers

[@rage4me]

She is beautiful. I cant help but be fascinated with her fascination of this device. She must have devoted years of rigor to make this presentation. I could listen to her all day. Thank you from America.

[@sbadaro]

Thank you for the calm and gentle unraveling of this extended story and hurrah for giving credit to Arab scholars of the first millenia for preserving the tradition. You may want to look beyond Greek and Anatolian antiquity for the roots of this technology in the Levantine and Mesopotamian traditions of Syria and Iraq.

[@buzishoham]

really enjoyed this one - informative and straight forward - thank you

[@robertleeder1538]

An excellent presentation by Dr Marchant. Really interesting.

[@lordocasl7366]

Such a great in depth lecture. Thank you.

[@dermotmccorkell663]

Great lecture. Cleared the fog on a few points. Modern watches predominantly did less until touch screens. I wonder if it had a spring to drive it. Not a big leap.

[@lukemaas6747]

What a wonderful educator. Every word conveyed meaning. She built her presentation logically and in a way that kept everyone interested.

[@beefyogurt]

can't agree more

[@iulianghinea]

This means passion...

[@RiggedVedist]

Jesus fucking Christ you drones ...'educator' ? she tells us this ancient computer .. this precise mechanical model of the 'heavens' which is still accurate after thousands of years is the result of a 'Big Bang' random chance explosion in another one of her 'science' articles where microbes crawled from the primordial ooze to create this computer. She is an epic liar skilled in the 'mis-education' of the mindless masses of fools. She's careful with her words because she's a top level sophist who is deathly afraid she'll let the truth slip if she's not careful.

[@beefyogurt]

@@RiggedVedist chill out man. she's a decent public speaker, that doesn't mean we believe the liternal meanings, of what she says, word for word

[@JaiUneGuruDeja]

@@RiggedVedist I listened to the entire presentation and she never went further back than the mechanism's human origins. What, pray tell, would you have added to her conclusion?

[@robertsias7107]

Fascinating ancient technology

[@mannyespinola]

Beautiful and inspiring presentation, thank you for this video

[@sidneytaylor8341]

Wow, fantastic lecture. Such a shame we "lost" the great library of Alexandria.....

[@dreamerdave5499]

A stunning presentation revealing not only a breadth of knowledge even more inspiring a passion for a subject.

[@CosmopolitanFools]

A highly technical discussion based on a VERY complex visitation of 300 B.C. brought to light by modern exploitism . . . & Ms. Marchant is a marvel of smooth explanation & light-bringer of understanding. One prays she will gift the world with 10 kids, as intelligence is inheritable - her mind is effervescent & her capacity to speak a true treasure of English language. Bravo!

[@maxsmith695]

Spare me

[@johnratcliffe6438]

Really excellent presentation; I can't believe I've sat through it all. Thank you.

[@Vandal_Savage]

Excellent lecture, thank you very much for the upload! :)

[@malectric]

Thanks so much for posting this. Apart from the amazing engineering and construction of the mechanism is how it constructs and models an idea of how the universe works which we now know to be incorrect. Just goes to show how you can model anything to match observation (within currently knowable limits as it was in that time) no matter how flawed the thinking behind it.

[@kurtschlechter7112]

Well done amazing presentation

[@ggrthemostgodless8713]

"...I don't know how they thought of it..." They were the Greeks!! Those people had thoughts about EVERYTHING... Perhaps their decentralised system of city-states helped?? Once they were conquered by Rome... not so much. Greeks did win at the end the battle of ideas. I don't know why it is so surprising they knew and had MECHANISMS to back up, and USE what they knew about the stars and moon from their astrologers.

[@leonidastsouris2557]

No not Greek that is an Italian term from about the 1800s to try and seperate the Hellenic empire and the Byzantium so that they could add a part called the Roman empire as a seperate unit rather than the Hellenic expansion so the Italians could try and show they achieved something other than just stealing pasta from the Chinese

[@robertmarcus9653]

You’re amazing. Love your way with speaking and your calmness and sureness in your knowledge. 🥀🌱💐☘️🌾🌻

[@alistairgraham8073]

Absolutely fascinating

[@riffcrescendo1740]

Brilliant. Thank you very much..

[@davidfell5496]

Wonderful. Thank you.

[@alanadams9793]

Thank you, An excellent talk.

[@jmbarbarossa7920]

It makes a lot of sense that the mechanical models could have come before mathematical ones especially for the Greeks because of how they taught and learned math always through the lens of geometry

[@apaul9776]

A superb lecture, thank you.

[@DarkMoonDroid]

Breathtaking.

[@GimmieTheGaff]

Happy Anniversary Jo, still the greatest explanation yet. Go the engineers!

[@chab2202]

Very interesting! How we have evolved since then is also amazing. Ho wait! The laser pointer didn’t work!

[@oqsy]

What a great topic and great presentation.

[@alfonsosolimene7293]

Excellent presentation, informative! Thank you !

[@NicholBrummer]

The antikythera mechanism is a triumph of epicycle theory. It was in fact an early form of Fourier transform, used to describe periodic phenomena.

[@NicholBrummer]

Don't ever laugh at epicycle theory again. It worked rather precisely. Even without heliocentric planets.

[@Mattribute]

This is so cool. It makes you wonder what it was like to live in the classical world when a place was at peace. Did the customer send a complaint that they did not receive the device? Who ate the loss? Did the factory make another one and send it there? Was there a separate factory that made gears which the machine maker sourced? Or did the machine maker have to make each part himself?

[@mwflanagan1]

What a wonderfully clear presentation from a very knowledgeable lecturer who knows her stuff so well that I think she said “Um” only once. I’m going to find out what else is available with her insights and summaries.

[@hetzz]

I guess you are joking about the "ums"? Just take a listen at 27:00-28:00, 17 times in a minute... that's plenty of ums. As for the lecture I found it interesting, the device it self fascinating.

[@mattsmith8160]

Blows me away that ancient greeks could build that and there are still people today that insist the earth is flat. lol

[@willmpet]

I went to a conference of people who believed in a flat earth in Denver in 2019. It was hard to understand how people can be so foolish now! The booths to sell items were largely religious, and not related to a flat earth at all!

[@rodneycaupp5962]

@@willmpet Religion isn't very antikytherial when it comes right down to it..., Physics vs Poetry.

[@k.chriscaldwell4141]

​@@willmpet I do not believe the Earth is flat, however, some of the flat-Earthers I've met are quite informed thinkers. They have to be to defend their position. I do not agree with them, but more power to them, as, right or wrong, at least they're thinking. And who knows, one of them, via there thinking and discussions with others, may uncover something important to mankind. The thoughts and works of the alchemists laid the foundations of scientific thought and inquiry and what became the science of chemistry. One of the biggest problems in the world are the masses of people that do not think, but simply regurgitate like automatons whatever they've been told, sold. Believe me, a discussion with a flat-Earther is much more interesting than one with a sheeple that just knows the latest well spoken pol is going to be the savior of us all.

[@voidremoved]

They bought it at the antique store

[@voidremoved]

@@willmpet Flat earthers are descendants of the Nephilim, who came from a flat planet. That's why they think the earth is flat its in their DNA

[@PoetryLovers-4u]

Incredible stuff - first time I've seen mentioned that the concept for the gear mechanism of the AM survived in Byzantium and the Islamic world.

[@rodneycaupp5962]

I saw HER first..., and she's not married. Breakfast coffee could NEVER be more interesting.

[@jakobole]

Dammit! ;)

[@Mikeshawtoday]

Wow. Thank you. I feel like I really understand this mystery now.

[@marc-andrebrunet5386]

🎯Perfect Lecture !👍

[@zapfanzapfan]

Fantastically interesting presentation! That mechanism has revealed more secrets since I last read about it. I wonder if it was just a toy/show piece or if it was actually used for something.

[@maxsmith695]

It is a clock. Some King had it made and used it to impress his guests.

[@dancingfrogsxb1276]

Brilliant talk about an amazing device,

[@paulyaron2410]

Years ago, I recall this technology find used as evidence of ancient aliens. Wonderful to see this instead as evidence of the best in Human creativity.

[@danielt.3152]

if you think about it ancient aliens would not use brass gears, if you went to the trouble to come to earth using an interstellar space ship, you would have needed a functioning computer, which would have done all these calculations for you. It annoys me when people say ancient aliens built things like the pyramids, stone wall etc. honestly of you are an ancient astronaut, you would have skipped using rocks and just mined iron ore, or platinum or used steel or aluminum etc etc, or harvest an asteroid for rare earth metals, no advanced civilization would use the rocks and granite quarries, when you can get lightweight materials with an understanding of metallurgy

[@endthisnonsense7202]

The undelying axiom of the ancient aliens theorists is so insulting to humankind's ancestry (including their own). "If there is some level of intelligence involved it must have been aliens instead of our kind." I always suspect this is the purest example projection one will ever see.

[@NikkiOwen]

@@endthisnonsense7202 they base the hypothesis on ancient Sumerian texts and accounts of sightings throughout history. The theory doesn't just look at the ancient achievements and attribute them to outsiders. It's established that current archeological assertions are more akin to dogma than science. At least listen to the ancients about the shared 'myths' which do imply a common experience. How else could they conceive of something as ridiculous as intelligently guided aircraft?

[@endthisnonsense7202]

@@NikkiOwen Well you seem to be overlooking the underlying message from the presentation we're responing to. They were just as intelligent as we are as is now showcased by this Anthikythera mechanisme. So it is not so surprising, they might have actually built an intelligently guided aircraft, or they might just have envisioned it like much later but still way ahead of our time Leonardo Da Vinci did. These "ancients" were just as capable as we are, although we may (or may not, knowledge does get lost) have a more advance level of available technology in this area.

[@NikkiOwen]

@@endthisnonsense7202 I'm not overlooking anything as your statement was unrelated to the presentation. Therefore my reply was also unrelated to it. I'm aware of the intelligence of the ancient humans so I don't discount the writing as having some basis in fact. Recent sightings by reputable pilots such as the 'tic tac' craft, support the hypothesis that something we are unaware of is interacting with humanity. Mass sightings such as the Schools in Zimbabwe and in Pembrokeshire, Wales show that there is 'high strangeness' associated with the phenomena.

[@mdmagnusson]

What a fantastic presentation! Really fascinating.

[@MrDometheo79]

Execelent presention. Superb. Masterpiece mechanism. Highly advanced culture...back then.

[@jerseyjeeper1575]

That is a very intelligent and interesting woman. A Fantastic presentation.

[@starkiller9897]

Amazing how every year there's more knowledge uncovered about the ancient Greeks that is proving much of there knowledge. So much of what was written had been discredited as fantasy myth, it couldn't possibly be true. So much of what the great Greek mathmaticians and inventors had created was true. For this device to exist proves all the devices talked about in many ancient books were real.

[@markcynic808]

Excellent lecture on an extraordinary and complex object with, seemingly, no vital purpose. I can only think it must have been a kind of toy for a very wealthy/important individual with an interest in such things. The people who made it must have built similar objects, but none now exist. A mystery that will never be unravelled.

[@michaelcoe9824]

perhaps the greater question is, "how did we lose this knowledge for a thousand years?"

[@whherron01]

Because the pope cut the testicles off anyone who thought the sun was the center of the universe...Amen....

[@millwrightrick1]

Burning down libraries always works.

[@MikeZo]

religion

[@dicktater2122]

2000 years,konrad zuse

[@dicktater2122]

Hint of conspiracy?

[@dr.barrycohn5461]

It might have been used to calculate which horse to bet on which used to race in the nearby islands. These races had been going on for several millennia. These betting "tokens" or round chips also have odd geared teeth on them. Writers had hypothesized the tokens were placed in a slot that then turned in relation to larger components.

[@idleobserver7211]

Totally shames a $100,000 perpetual calendar luxury wristwatch.

[@rickelleman6613]

And it likely cost the equivalent... Tzo the village blacksmith definitely wasn't the one building these (assuming this wasn't the prototype and that the maker didn't go down with the mechanism when the ship sank).

[@PureAmericanPatriot]

You must not have heard about the equivalently sophisticated, self-winding Patek Phillipe Grandmaster Chime or Graves Supercomplication that you can wear on your wrist.

[@sylviekoenig9960]

She is just following the Eitner Lecture Dr Tony Freeth gave. It was posted on KZbin on February 26th 2016 under the title: The Antikythera Mechanism: A Shocking Discovery from Ancient Greece.

[@jcortese3300]

This is a damned brilliant talk -- best deep dive on this thing I've ever seen.

[@frederickbowdler8169]

Possibly more easily designed and made than reconstructed from a pile of scrap. Credit to all who worked on it .