The Antikythera Mechanism: The Ancient Greek Super Computer

Got a beard? Good. I've got something for you: beardblaze.com
Simon's Social Media:
Twitter: / simonwhistler
Instagram: / simonwhistler
Love content? Check out Simon's other KZbin Channels:
Biographics: / @biographics
Geographics: / @geographicstravel
Warographics: / @warographics643
SideProjects: / @sideprojects
Into The Shadows: / intotheshadows
TopTenz: / toptenznet
Today I Found Out: / todayifoundout
Highlight History: / @highlighthistory
Business Blaze: / @brainblaze6526
Casual Criminalist: / thecasualcriminalist
Decoding the Unknown: / @decodingtheunknown2373

[@makylemur7019]

The likely reason that devices similar to the Antikythera mechanism are not found is the simple fact that in Greek and Romasn times brass and bronze were highly valuable and worn out devices were recycled.

[@Intranetusa]

Yeh, there were likely multiple such devices in ancient Greco-Rome and across the ancient world in general. A device that uses similar differential gear components is found in ancient China (Han Dynasty) dating to around the same time in the form of the south pointing chariot and the chariot odometer. The ancient Greeks also had an odometer with differential gears made by Hero of Alexandria. The devices made of metal were likely recycled while the ones made of wood would have rotted away.

[@robertbodell55]

similar idea with lots of marble roman sculptures were copies of greek bronze sculpture, the bronze where recycled over the centuries for the usual reasons, greed/ destroying pagan / immoral idols.

[@Ksoism]

Yes, and I'd be ready to bet (a very small amount), that anything this complex would have had problems with smooth operation during that time. Antikythera mechanism is maddeningly interesting and unbelievably advanced. But it might be too advanced for its time. Tolerances, metallurgy, even greases were not of high enough quality and oxidation would have been an issue. With high enough quality bearings they could have achieved a long and dependable operational life out of these. The fact that they could have made the gears and all the other parts is.... Mind boggling. But it is so complex, that there is way too many spots in the mechanism for it to go wrong, with way too few humans in the whole world capable of fixing it. We'll never know it, but it might have been enormously expensive, not very long lasting, hugely too complex for your average blacksmith to repair. So you have a rare technology, with minimal amount of professionals in the field and not a whole lot of reasons to bring up more pupils to learn the trade. Every investor who today is helping a tech start-up, is keeping our society finding new technologies and helping make them viable.

[@Ksoism]

Oh and I forgot from my long post - with out a slightest doubt, there has been more of these. This isn't a prototype, or even rarity for its makers. Too well made, too complex. And making it would have been months and months of work, with expensive and highest of high tech tools of the day. You would need income, and that wouldn't be there without a backer (unlikely if you don't have anything to show your skills) or a business that keeps rolling and feeding you.

[@lordgarion514]

@@Ksoism I'm pretty sure the gears were cut by hand. Someone did it awhile back to see how hard it would be to hand cut gears using nothing but a file. Not that hard as it turns out. At least not for people skilled. You obviously won't get a new apprentice hand cutting gear teeth. Slow process, but not overly complicated.

[@jasonkillsformomy]

480p in 2022... Now that's ancient.

[@CaptainFrankBlack]

Yeah thats weird

[@stephenfleming8030]

It was Aristarchus of Samos who first posited the heliocentric theory in 250 ish BC, well before the proposed date of the Antikythera Mechanism's construction, so the idea was known in Greece at the time. Copernicus is said to have credited Aristarchus with the idea, although some sources maintain he developed it independently.

[@minagica]

@Kelly Harbeson not if they didn't have the math for ellipses, no?

[@minagica]

@Kelly Harbeson if I'm understanding your question right; they had little notches, though that might not be the right word. Anyhoo, this is my fave vid on the topic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/roi5cmmKmrp-j7c

[@leosedf]

@Kelly Harbeson Clickspring made it.

[@millerk20]

Copernicus credited him in his early work, but not in his more famous later work.

[@UKU2ber]

@@kellyharbeson18p😢

[@GothPaoki]

The antikythera mechanism is basically like building a modern f1 vehicle in 1920 or so. It's astonishing how our evolution progressses in certain periods.

[@j.christie2594]

ANd regresses at certain point's.. I blame Greedy Dishonest religion..

[@anthrazite]

More like building a modern gaming PC in 1920

[@dr2stroke611]

unless its fake... much like the bust of Nefertiti

[@Case2_0]

@@j.christie2594which one are you talking about?

[@ash7324]

There’s a machinist KZbin channel called Clickspring that is making a replica of Antikythera Mechanism faithful to the original, making and using beautiful tools that reflect our best understanding of how the mechanism could have been made in that time period.

[@erasmus_locke]

I really think that if ancient Greece had been stable for another 50 years we would have been to the moon a few centuries early.

[@eimkei1339]

I read something to that effect in either The Ascent of Man (Jacob Bronowski) or Cosmos (Carl Sagan), instancing the Ionian Civilisation. They went on to suggest that if civilisation had been able to develop in a straight line the first language spoken on the moon would have been Greek. (I am quoting from memory).

[@billm3210]

It continued along with Roman empire then last another 1000 yrs when Rome fell to the Germanic tribes as the Eastern Roman Empire where Emperor Constantine had created the New Rome in Constantinople under the Christian banner. One church before the Great Schizm.

[@dogwith4shoes]

Probably good for the planet. A few more centuries of less pollution, nuclear threats, etc...

[@TheMrMRsmoke]

😂 yeah and people will still think small dick is the better dick

[@MrNixtt]

@@dogwith4shoes that was not the Hellenic school of thought. You are evaluating things with todays mind

[@henrykieninger]

I was able to see this in person in Greece. It’s breathtaking the mysteries that it holds.

[@annaagiantritis3916]

It's absolutely amazing, have seen it too.

[@lindala2602]

When i went there the museum was closed due to construction. It was a big disapoinrment

[@Menibor1]

I've seen it too it looked like old rusted junk to me

[@dickdeoreo]

That’s because it IS old rusted junk now.

[@mrstaypuft1138]

@@Menibor1 check out the 3D x-rays of the surviving 82 pieces. It's forced us to rethink the history of technology. It may not look that much now, but it's got it where it counts.

[@danf7411]

I don't think ancient people had crystal laser guns but I wouldn't be surprised if people made breakthroughs that were forgotten reinvented and lost again.

[@Loralanthalas]

We have lace made in the 1400s that's so fine we cannot make it today- By our wonderful machines or by our most skilled craftsman. - I'm fascinated by how much we don't know and how it seems we lose information even faster.

[@ironcladranchandforge7292]

Yes, like concrete. Invented, used widely, forgotten, rediscovered.

[@andreivalles2963]

Well, the Greeks used giant mirrors to redirect sunlight and burn Roman ships from a far so that's close enough.

[@JoaoSoares-rs6ec]

plenty of those

[@antivanti]

Another solid indication that this wasn't a one off prototype thing is the fact that it has been miniaturized. This indicates iteration and perfection of a design

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:15 - Chapter 1 - Discovery 2:45 - Chapter 2 - Decoding 4:55 - Chapter 3 - Verification & construction 10:20 - Chapter 4 - Abilities 12:50 - Chapter 5 - Legacy - Chapter 6 -

[@MaggieRosethe6ix]

As a person with ADHD I thank you ❤

[@chadfanton9994]

I love it when Simon does things that like this! It’s like a no bullshit master class. I think that’s why we are all here, we know he and his writing staff aren’t full of shit when they cover something. He and his staff exemplify what KZbin should be all about.

[@joebonomono5078]

Even better, nobody had to declare their pronoun before class.

[@joejones9520]

or you can skim the wikipedia article and be done with it...

[@the-chillian]

It is, unfortunately, ever so slightly sensationalized in places and contains a handful of technical inaccuracies.

[@CptKavlas]

@@joejones9520 and miss the dramatic narration with the suspenseful pauses and the occasional erratic outbursts 😮? Heck na mate 😂

[@lordgarion514]

He's a good storyteller, but his "research" team mostly read easy to find stuff on the net, and they don't bother being diligent in their verification of facts. Watch it for the entertainment, but don't ever assume anything he says is a known fact. In other words, don't use this channel as evidence when debating someone. 🤷‍♂️

[@keithwalmsley1830]

Fantastic isn't it, though Ancient Alien cronies probably think it's something to do with alien influence whereas in fact mankind has always been smarter than they we give them credit for.

[@michaelb1761]

Exactly. Humans have thought for hundreds of years (at least) that they have surpassed all prior civilizations in not only knowedge but also wisdom. As though a human 2,000 years ago didn't have the same capacity to learn and create when of course they had exactly the same capacity, just not the same knowledge or technological base.

[@newatlantisrepublic6844]

Could THIS be evidence that aliens visited the ancient Greeks and provided them with the knowledge of the Antikythera Mechanism??? Ancient Astronaut Theorists say it’s a strong possibility!

[@danf7411]

Ancient alien advocates also believe humans were more advanced than the mainstream gives credit for.

[@patrickmadden6340]

It’s funny when you say something logical whilst attacking other beliefs all while actually knowing nothing

[@blkmgk16]

Than they we give them, yes we are quite intelligent aren't we?

[@fedoramaster6035]

Woahhhh. Just had a light bulb moment. A lot of Indian sources from that period mention Greek skill in astronomy and astrology. Almost to a weird amount, where I remember thinking “they couldn’t have been that much better. They were still only looking at the sky”. But this kinda perfectly fits into that.

[@dasmeshbhangu7452]

That's not necessarily true when you look up the knowledge ancient Indians had about astronomy. It's also important to note that most famous greek thinkers e.g. Ptolemy, Pythagoras etc. were educated in ancient Egypt so it's likely all of this derives from there.

[@fedoramaster6035]

@@dasmeshbhangu7452 the Egyptians were extremely ahead of their time… in 2500 bce. The reason that so many Greek mathematicians came from Egypt is because Egypt was weirdly enough the biggest Greek kingdom of its day. I’m not trying to downplay the contribution of ancient Egypt to astronomy, but the Greeks picked up a lot of their knowledge of astronomy from the Persians, and built upon it a ton after Alexander’s conquests. Those conquests also caused a spike of interaction with India. Thankfully, as both the Greeks and Indians loved to write stuff down, this exchange is pretty well documented. Most Indian contributions to Greek scholarship came in the form of metaphysics. There are some noticeable similarities between Indian and platonic philosophy, and Greek writers frequently talked about Indian religious figures (the philosophers of their day) in Athens. Most Greek contributions to India (at the time) came in the form of mathematics and astronomy. The direction of this exchange would shift in the medieval era, with the invention of zero by Indian mathematicians. By that point though, the centers of scholarship in the region had shifted from Alexandria and Athens to baghdad and Cairo.

[@THICCpikachu]

For the first time since I graduated college, I think I would enjoy writing a research paper on this object!

[@randomsandwichian]

I've been following this channel Clickspring that is recreating this mechanism by hand, including the techniques that could have been used to make it. A big recommendation from me.

[@chaseweeks2708]

I've been watching @clickspring's build series about this device and it is incredible.

[@JMurdochNZ]

Love this thing. The precise workmanship required is mind blowing.

[@TalesOfWar]

The idea this was meant as a gift for Julius Caesar makes a lot of sense. He was fascinated with astrological things and of course he was responsible (with others) for what became the Julian Calendar, but never quite happy with the leap days aspect. I wonder if this machine had reached him he'd have gone back to the drawing board so to speak to try and calculate things to an even higher precision, which could have then made the later Gregorian calendar we used today not actually required? Kind of crazy to imagine how different history could have been if this was never lost at sea.

[@uncoveredtruth2088]

Julius calendar at the time was already super advanced, by the time when Gregorian calendar came to be, they were only off by 3 days for all that thousands of years.

[@jorgelotr3752]

@@uncoveredtruth2088 I thought that it was about 2 weeks? Maybe 10 days?

[@EMcKelvyF]

I would imagine that since this was a finished product, it wasn't the only one. A prototype wouldn't have been finished with that level of detail so I imagine there is at least or was a prototype and drawings and sketches of how it was built and how to use it. We may never find others but I doubt this was a totally unique piece. In the time of the Western Roman collapse they cannibalized buildings and structures for any metals and useful stone so if any other copies were found, they would have been melted down by uneducated plebs.

[@lordgarion514]

@@uncoveredtruth2088 It was ALSO a pain in the ass, thanks to all the rules concerning leap years..... There's absolutely no intelligent reason to use such a calendar when it, and the one we use, won't be off by a single day until the year 2800.....

[@lordgarion514]

@@uncoveredtruth2088 And I wouldn't call it super advanced, as much as I'd call it super complicated. "Years that are evenly divisible by 4 are leap years. Exception: Years that are also evenly divisible by 100 and the remainder is neither 200 nor 600 when divided by 900 are not leap years." We could easily do something that stupid today, but why would we?

[@infoscholar5221]

Fascinating. Just how advanc ed were the Greeks? Dark spot in history.

[@hansjohannsen6722]

I loved clicksprings manufacturing of this device, tooth by tooth! Thanks for sharing

[@bicyclist2]

This is the best, most concise explanation of the device that I've seen. This was interesting without being long and boring. Thank you.

[@BuShips]

The new (and last) Indiana Jones movie, The Dial of Destiny, will be out in several days and will be about this device.

[@jacksavage4098]

Amazing how advanced they were.

[@Intranetusa]

The ancients were indeed advanced, but I hate this misleading clickbait title. The device is a differential gear mechanism that serves to track and predict the position of stars (similar to or basically is an astrolabe) and may be considered an early form of an analogue computer. It is not some supercomputer.

[@Tattle-by-Tale]

@@Intranetusa Back in ancient Greece, this was a supercomputer.

[@GeomancerHT]

@@Tattle-by-Tale actually, this was the portable computer, you might imagine the "super" computer versiones must have been on the creators laboratories/studios, they must have had hundreds of more advanced and bigger machines, not limited to the size you can carry in a ship.

[@cloudbloom]

@@Intranetusa so it's a sophisticated sextant?

[@Intranetusa]

@@cloudbloom Sorta, but instead of calculating/measuring distance like a sextant, it was used to calculate star positions. So I'd call it an astrolabe that uses a differential gear mechanism.

[@DiazRadio]

Wow! I didn’t realize the Dial of Destiny was actually based on something real!

[@squamish4244]

The only Indy MacGuffin that is based on a real, known artifact. The others are either made up or legendary.

[@stephenpahl7538]

"Clickspring" has spent the last couple of years creating a series of vid s of complete reproduction with incredible commentary on the reasoning and maths behind the design

[@sirnukealot84]

Man the device makes your mind run away and think of all kind of things that the ancient civilizations May have invented but got lost due to accidents and wars etc.

[@linusgk5042]

Clickspring have a series of videos showing period correct making of this awesome computer.

[@holton345]

I first learned about the Antikythera Mechanism back in the late 1980s. I have been fascinated by it ever since. GREAT EPISODE!

[@MrVvulf]

A month ago a video was posted featuring Tony Freeth, the man who leads the team responsible for most of recent discoveries and the recreation of a working model. The video is entitled "The Antikythera Mechanism Explained with Dr. Tony Freeth". Simply search that title here on YT to find it.

[@marcuswilliams8627]

I've been waiting for an episode on this topic forever I did a paper on it in college its been cool AF

[@KewneRain]

check out @clickspring, he's building one

[@134StormShadow]

Hope your paper got the respect it deserved. This is NOT an easy subject to cover. Max kudos to you for covering it.😊

[@dystopianlucidity4448]

Check out the channel Clickspring, Chris is a magnificent researcher and he is building a replication of the device.

[@jmuench420]

I'm just here hoping a comment plugging his channel makes it to the top. It's been a joy to watch him build it.

[@TheInsaneTD]

It's been a fantastic series so far.

[@Gixsir]

Cool thanks

[@Linusgump]

I was going to post the same message.

[@piggy8761]

I hope he accomplishes that

[@domhuckle]

The most fascinating thing about the mechanism is the pinnacle of the industry it represents - cogs, gears, maths and mechanics - all must have been so advanced at the time to produce such a thing and for it not to be a wonder of the world

[@Dr.Gunsmith]

How they made all the intricate pieces around 80 BC makes one wonder about our true history.

[@McLarenMercedes]

Stay well clear of people talking about "true history". You'll find the greatest tinfoil hats, ignoramuses and conspiracy romanticists among those. People today are pretty amazed how NASA made all the calculations for their 60's space programs Mercury, Gemini and Apollo manually. Modern day NASA scientists are in awe how they managed to do such complex calculations in the 1960's. They are also remarkably accurate. The Enigma code-breakers at Bletchley Park during WWII also did incredible things and Alan Turing designed a computer able to crack the code using very crude 1940's technology. They laid the first trans-atlantic telegraph cable in 1865. That's hard to believe today for people who don't know history. My point is that there were *observable* incredible feats in "recent history" so these intricate pieces from antiquity isn't changing history in the least. We already know that Eratosthenes correctly calculated the circumference of the Earth around 250BC. Heron's engine worked like a simple steam engine. "True history" is for those believing the Inkas had contact with aliens, that there is a pyramid in Bosnia (a cruel hoax in bankrupt country) and that some race of reptiles are controlling the world.

[@dbharadwa]

It's not aliens.

[@Bingo_the_Pug]

It was either a collaborative effort to create, or it was made by a single individual that’s up there with the likes of Tesla & Einstein, or a visitor from another world left it behind, or a god damned time traveler delivered it

[@furball8967]

Or they took it from another civilization that existed 1000’s of years prior and was at the forefront of science and technology.

[@aaronlong4892]

Every time I hear something like this I think of all that was lost in Alexandria and just how dark the dark ages were

[@matthewdopler8997]

The dark ages weren’t actually dark. It is frankly exaggerated as advancements were still made.

[@JAF30]

When I was a kid, I went though many phases. One was "the Bermuda triangle, how is this not being researched more" followed and about the same time as my "UFO , what are these things" . But one thing has always stuck with me as I learned more and more about science as I grew older, the Antikythera Mechanism. This device and the mystery surrounding it are enough to keep anyone enthralled. Think with all we know so far how it would have to change what we know about history. And it does all this by being in effect a mundane item. (In it's time)

[@Laocoon283]

What mystery though lol? Seems pretty straightforward.

[@nathancox4669]

The dial of destiny

[@blue1133]

Damn straight

[@lordalexandermalcolmguy6971]

Watched a few videos about this but Simon always finds a way of making things fascinating even when you know alot about the subject matter

[@waynenocton]

For anyone interested, the moon thing he’s talking about it called the pin and slot, and the channel named Clickspring has some GREAT explanations.

[@MostlyIC]

one thing that took me forever to figure out while reading up on the recent discoveries about the mechanism is that the ancient greek's calendar was based on lunar months, which don't follow the seasons like our modern calendar, hence one utility of the device would be to figure out what date in ancient greek lunar months the seasons started in future years, which I'm guessing would be important for commerce.

[@leftypistolero5983]

I can't wait for the History Channel documentary that claims aliens probably made it.

[@spankflaps1365]

The Roman orator Cicero described 3 bronze instruments (built by Archimedes) in his writings. The Antikythera mechanism (and shipwreck) features strongly in the new Indiana Jones movie.

[@cassieo]

An Archimedes sphere is a central McGuffin for the Heroes of Olympus book series-Riordan writes that Archimedes was a “son of Hephaestus” who used celestial bronze to make advanced gadgets and tools.

[@Brandon47]

Loved this episode! In the late 70s early 80s the Yale professor was a friend of family's and he'd talk at length about the mechanism . Ty for doing diligence on this one 🙏

[@Gunny672]

Good job delivering this video while sick. My entertainment is far more important than your health. Cheers!

[@bandit6272]

Little known fact: Ancient Greece's first line of defense was their unpronouncable names. Any invading force would be baffled by the place names on local maps and unable to understand who was who due to the impossible names. Eventually the invaders would get confused enough to go away or be defeated in battle while they puzzled over where they were and who the hell they were fighting.

[@JoeDuke-PhD]

My devices at a major aerospace company were being talked about on the machine shop floor, as alien technology. Made me smile.

[@francispitts9440]

I’ve always wondered what else is just sitting on a shelf in a museum basement forgotten by time.

[@Michael75579]

There are almost certainly many unknown species of animals sitting in museum fossil collections, either because they've been miscategorised or just never closely examined due to the sheer volume of specimens.

[@terryenby2304]

I love the different intro sounds in these videos, they help me understand where we are time-wise. Another interesting video! It kind of brings to the front of my mind that humans are humans, regardless of time periods, culture or living situations, we all have similar needs, wants and brains. There have always been very intelligent people around, and interesting people, and kind people and all sorts of other humans 😊

[@CptDawner]

“Yesterday Belongs To Us, Dr. Jones.”

[@mohannadali9662]

?

[@csb0248]

Who else is here because they saw the new indiana jones movie 😅

[@fieldmarshalbaltimore1329]

Me

[@srinivasanalagesan1826]

Still processing HD it seems.

[@harishkumarthangavel957]

Indiana Jones the dial of destiny!

[@drk2535]

Many of the previously mentioned concerns are fully discussed in the 2021 book " The Antikythera Mechanism: The Story Behind the Genius of the Greek Computer and its Demise by Evaggelos Vallianatos". PS: Archer wants his turtleneck back.

[@MusicalRaichu]

thanks for making this video. one of my university professors did some research on this mechanism. he asked me to translate a letter he received from Greece about his travel itinerary which was written, of course, in Greek!

[@GrayFlare]

Looks like Simon and/or his production team messed up the rendering of this video because the video quality is stuck at 480p and the aspect ratio is off too. Hopefully they will see this and re-upload it once it's been fixed.

[@TalesOfWar]

It could also be a KZbin fail. It happens now and then.

[@chrisbentleywalkingandrambling]

I have seen documentaries about this before, but Simon has a far more engaging voice and diction. Another very well presented one Simon.

[@joeyr7294]

Yesss, thanks for this one Simon and Co. 🍻

[@garycornelisse9228]

It would be interesting to know what type of mathematics would have to have been used to engineer that device. The period of observation to collect the data, and the recording of that data must have been enormous.

[@reddune6185]

Probably also took some time the second (or third or?) time around..👍

[@LloydWaldo]

The observations dated back to around 600 BC in Babylonia. That was a critical part of the device. The mathematics aren’t terribly complex, just simple calculations using different gear ratios, but the design as a whole is very ingenious.

[@garycornelisse9228]

@@LloydWaldo I am a retired tool maker and have machined and assembled some very complex machines and devices. I am quite certain there is a lot more to that device than simple gear ratios. To date I am not aware that any archeologists having found any tool room lathes, or milling machines, from the time period that the device was assembled. To have formed the components of that device with the accuracy needed to get your various simple gear ratios to perform any useful function would be a challenge today nevermind, how many thousands of years ago. The fact that, that device exists is astonishing.

[@500freefall]

​@@LloydWaldo 😅

[@LordTommy21]

I think it’s crazy how this isn’t more well known

[@batsnackattack]

I was also very surprised at how early this shows up but it's not necessarily the mindboggling 'ancient aliens' device too many internet people were hyping it as. I can only say that because I've been able to travel around much of the world and be a museum geek in my spare time. Some of the little astronomical machines from 2000+ years ago in East Asia are just little marvels. Amazing little wheels and gears and wow did some of the ancients enjoy the astronomy stuff! This thing does seem '1000 years' ahead but really those oldies were freaks with this stuff so it does, overall, give or take, square with history as far as what i've seen so far.

[@kevbrix9686]

Who's here after Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny?

[@tonyromano4341]

Our arrogance about what we "know" is our biggest hinderance to understanding ourselves and our history.

[@billbaggins]

And once more Simon breezes through this fascinating topic without mentioning Clickspring

[@mareky1234]

I was about to say the same thing!!!

[@jimurrata6785]

Only hinted at it around 13:17 Kind of disingenuous not to have a link to his channel or playlist in the description

[@Branwhin]

My mind was absolutely blown the first time I heard of this thing! I'd taken a course in uni of Greek and Roman Technology (fantastic), but they didn't cover that one, at least not in much depth.

[@fightfannerd2078]

Ikr

[@qdaniele97]

The difference between analog and digital devices has nothing to do with them being electronic or mechanical (or photonic, hydraulic or whatever else) in design. It is perfectly possible to build an electronic analog computer or a digital mechanical one and plenty have been actually built. The difference is that analog values are a continuosly variable, direct rappresentation of whatever you are measuring/calculating while digital values are an approximation of the real thing made with a finite number of discrete values (more or less precise depending on resolution).

[@allgood6760]

The ancients were so clever!... I learnt about this in a book called Worlds Before Our Own by Brad Steiger.. fascinating book!

[@TheChuckwagonLite]

Megaprojects of the Whistlerverse

[@apoll7]

The difference between analog and digital computes is not necessarily based on whether they are mechanical or electronic. Analog electronic computers are not common now, have been made and could easily be made again. Similarly, nothing prevents making a digital, mechanical computer, though the motivation to do that might be hard to see.

[@tomschmidt381]

I was going to nitpick that a little also. The gearing is digital but for some of the complex motions cams are used so it would be more correct to call the Antikythera Mechanism a hybrid analog/digital computer. Nitpicking aside I find this a fascinating topic not only the technology that went into building it but also the scientific effort to understand what it was and hot it works.

[@JoshuaTootell]

The fire control computers on the Iowa class battleships are interesting. They are mechanical computers built in the 1940's. When the ships were brought back into action it was decided not to replace them because they were so accurate. Taking into account things like ship and target speeds and the rotation of the planet, they worked well so there was no reason to replace them with modern electronic fire control computers.

[@tomschmidt381]

@@JoshuaTootell Interesting, I knew WWII US submarines had a mechanical Torpedo Data Computer (TDC) but I had not realized surface ships also had mechanical fire control computers.

[@theangrymarmot8336]

There is a youtube channel called ClickSpring - and the guy is building one (has been working on it for years) and it is amazing to watch him do it.

[@anuragmittal3105]

Who's here after watching the latest Indiana Jones? 😅🤚

[@phunkym8]

thats a nice touch talking about such an advanced piece of tech while uploading the video in ancient 480p

[@CelticSaint]

They must have made a huge number of prototypes before they mastered the construction.

[@elbmw]

You keep saying Roman but it its invention had nothing to do with the Romans. However, the Romans did carry off statues and works of art as well as any high value device such as the Antikythira mechanism, which they thought of as a great novelty to have in their possession. An earlier device with the same description as this one was likely made by Archimedes some 2 centuries earlier as described by the Romans themselves following their sack of Syracuse. Their "tool making machines" consisted of a hammer, a saw, a file and a chisel. It was expert workmanship as well as serious mathematical knowledge and a deep understanding of solar events that enabled them to create this device. There were no factories or production lines engaged in this process.

[@MarcusCactus]

Ockam's Razor! What is most unbelievable? That the Greeks knew a technology and the math of 1500 years later, without any other evidence? Or that the mechanism come from a much later wreckage, either misreported by the diver or misinterpreted by the submarine archaeologist?

[@user-xh9rz7rf8l]

The language used in the texts that are embossed on the mechanism is the ancient Greek of the period 250 BC - 100 AD. We would know a lot more if all the writings that were burned or destroyed by Christians who hated any progress that wasn't made by...God.

[@frustrateduser9933]

Simon and his new turtleneck, courting that Apple money 💵

[@FloralHaze]

Crazy to think that if that ship never sank we’d never know about this. Makes you think what else could’ve been lost to history

[@juansebastianpulidovelasco2195]

Historians knew about the existence of such a machines since I was mentioned by at least 6 surviving authors (Cicero, Pappus, Claudian, Proclus, etc.) And all of them mention Archimedes as the guy that probably invented it.

[@yoloswagthuglifeselfie568]

@@juansebastianpulidovelasco2195Indiana jones agrees

[@MeeraReads]

And this, Simon, is why you shouldn’t poke fun at astrology. At its core, this is what ancient astrology was, tracking the movement of the sun, moon and planets relative to the stars from the perspective of the earth. Thats why the constellation Libra was used as a “month”

[@wolfgangholtzclaw2637]

At 3:00, "because we have never seen it before, how dare you believe or theorize that someone a thousand years before had as much intellect and skill as us".

[@davidmersiovsky]

Simon is looking more and more like a super villain.

[@cdc6985]

That's incredible. We find out everyday that our ancestors were far smarter and more advanced than we ever thought possible.

[@Peter-Oak]

If you think that's impressive, wait until someone digs out the obsidian tablet. There are records and mentions of great many things that were lost to time that when found would rewrite the current narrative on the origins of mankind.

[@Koyotito20]

The great Greek interests Art, Knowledge, philosophy, little boys, and astrology.

[@rodziegman]

The entire history of the ancient Greeks never made sense with how it was taught in school. It was ancient history to the Roman's as well, and they stole their gods and stories, but claim it was only a hundred years before Rome and lasted a few hundred years. Otherwise, the Greeks were building and living during and before Egyptian 1st dynasties and babylon.

[@Intranetusa]

Schools don't really teach bronze age Mycenaean history as they teach the popular conception of ancient Greece during the time of Athens and Sparta that comes much later after incorporating Egyptian and Phoenician influences.

[@foundhope322]

The important question is, can you play Snake on it?

[@eddsson]

Doom or bust tbh.

[@frogz]

yes, if your antikithera mechanism has snakes, you are doomed

[@ridethroughlifertl]

Go check out Clickspring's incredibly detailed remaking of this device.

[@Parasmunt]

The Ancient Greeks were out of the ball park in terms of how impressive they were.

[@raiderbro8663]

imagine the times a relic such as this be discovered by a random, only to be dismissed as junk

[@thewb8329]

People were as intelligent back then as we are now. So the person(s) that invented this was probably an ancient version on some of our contemporary geniuses.

[@chickenwingthing5464]

Well no. Our knowledge matche'd this in the 1600s. He said that several times

[@DermMicro]

Knowledge and intelligence are very different things in my experience. I believe the people of the ancient times were actually more intelligent than the average human today. Machines do everything for us today. Back then, they had to build their machines.

[@billsimpson604]

Had I not known about & seen it, I would have said that making something like that was impossible that long ago. I wonder how they cut the gears and made hollow shafts with the tools they had? Not to mention figuring out the layout needed to make it do what it did. That took exceptional intelligence and knowledge.

[@MrPossumeyes]

Take a look at Clickspring's channel. He's building the reproduction (in collab. with others) and also making and using the tools they would have used. Fascinating vids.

[@johnrcoben]

The mechanism has been blown out of proportion in the popular imagination. We knew they were capable of making these and we knew they existed, we just hadn't found one until this was discovered. Calling it a 'computer' is very generous. It's single-purpose, not programmable, and runs on thumb power... it's more like a complicated clock.

[@garyheighway7635]

Really makes what wonder what other ancient technology is out there that was lost and we can’t even conceive that it actually existed.

[@khangsiang1991]

Whos here after watching Dial Of Destiny ??

[@dougaldouglas8842]

We have lived with the ignorance of others, others that tell us that cave man was all that there was. What they fail to mention is that over time knowledge is lost. We have lost a vast amount of knowledge. If we had retained the knowledge of the ancients, we would be far more advanced than we are today.

[@joejones9520]

this is not a real big deal, it is not inconsistent with our traditional understanding of history to accept that they made these.

[@dougaldouglas8842]

@@joejones9520 Common sense says some human hand made them.

[@robertwilson2007]

I agree, it was not 1,000 years ahead of it's time we are 1,000 years behind!

[@dougaldouglas8842]

@@robertwilson2007 True, even with the technological advancements we have we are still lacking behind the ancients

[@DennisMoore664]

I enjoy how our understanding of history is kind of like that Mike Tyson quote, “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

[@charlesmichaelschmitt6412]

Let me put it this way, Mr. Whistler. The 9000 series is the most reliable computer ever made. No 9000 computer has ever made a mistake or distorted information. We are all, by any practical definition of the words, foolproof and incapable of error.

[@tgmccoy1556]

The ancients weren't stupid and we shouldn't be so sure that moderns are the height of Civilization.

[@timstone2813]

Most likely we are the peak of tech, but we are not the first people to have advanced tech beyond the industrial revolution. Now I believe we didn't know about oil until recently, otherwise we would fine bore holes where we used to live. That could be the difference, plastics are new, thus computers as they are today are new.

[@timstone2813]

What they found was an analog computer, like we had in the 30s

[@Vordb666]

antibiotics are nice

[@DebTheDevastator]

@@Vordb666 there is evidence that Egyptians had antibiotics in their beer. Modern civilization didn't invent them, we just rediscovered them and improved them.

[@xjunkxyrdxdog89]

@DebTheDevastator citation needed. Accidentally culturing a beneficial bacteria like penicillin while making beer is not the same as "having antibiotics" as a concept used in your medical practices.

[@michaelmayhem350]

Thanks for this amazing video Simon I had been hoping you'd cover this. Also we need a DTU for March 8 1994 Michigan Please make it happen

[@aceundead4750]

Should i be concerned what happened the year of my birth? So close to my birth month? In my state of birth?

[@michaelmayhem350]

@@aceundead4750 for sure. That's why Simon should make a video about it

[@aaronhobart6223]

Nobody is wondering how in the hell they made them gears so perfectly?? There is no way the cut them gears by hand and for it to be correct as they spin with each absolutely insane

[@TheRiverPirate13]

This just shows human advances in technology can be "lost" do to wars and declines of civilizations. The Antikythera survived because of a shipwreck. I wonder how far advanced our civilization would be today if none of these ancient technologies had been lost due set back due disasters whether manmade or natural?

[@harryturner9304]

Who's here after Indiana Jones?

[@Michael_Michaels]

Do you want to know how the ancient civilisations came up with such apparatus? No internet, no media, no distractions, just pure concentration and dedication to the wonders of nature! I can only imagine how beautiful the night skies were...

[@stevendorries]

You can still see the sky the way they did if you go out to Wyoming

[@charlykatbat4468]

@@stevendorries or svalbard

[@johnjdumas]

An example of how prior knowledge creates bias and poisons science from within. Rejecting evidence that does not fit is bad not only in science.

[@JAlucard77]

I consider the Mechanism is the GREATEST FIND IN HUMAN HISTORY.