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RE: Antikythera mechanism possibly older than previously thought?
November 30, 2014 at 2:12 pm
(November 30, 2014 at 2:09 pm)Rhythm Wrote: A magic comet. From the magic 'sky-daddy'.
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RE: Antikythera mechanism possibly older than previously thought?
November 30, 2014 at 2:13 pm
(November 30, 2014 at 2:09 pm)Rhythm Wrote: I was actually thinking of the plague specifically in my last post. 2/3rds of a society go the way of the dodo and we didn't lose much. Half us of would seem like it would have a smaller effect, though IDK...maybe if the comet miraculously landed on every school and library - getting just the right half..and associated support..maybe?
A magic comet.
Not a magic comet, but one the size of the Dynosaur killer 65 millions of years ago would do the trick. Devastating fires on a global level, followed by nuclear winter for years.
That is, if there aren't any precoutions taken. I'm pretty sure, if there's any such event on the horizon, people wuld actively look to preserve the collected knowledge in underground facilities.
Bad event for the people at large, but knowledge and a fair amount of people being able to teach it, would survive.
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RE: Antikythera mechanism possibly older than previously thought?
November 30, 2014 at 2:14 pm
Sounds like you don't think it would do the trick at all.
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RE: Antikythera mechanism possibly older than previously thought?
November 30, 2014 at 2:17 pm
(November 30, 2014 at 2:14 pm)Rhythm Wrote: Sounds like you don't think it would do the trick at all.
It would do, if society is really really stupid.
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RE: Antikythera mechanism possibly older than previously thought?
November 30, 2014 at 2:20 pm
IMHO, I do not think the human race could survive a 'dinosaur killer'.
You make people miserable and there's nothing they can do about it, just like god.
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Science is like a blabbermouth who ruins a movie by telling you how it ends. There are some things we don't want to know. Important things.
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RE: Antikythera mechanism possibly older than previously thought?
November 30, 2014 at 2:22 pm
(November 30, 2014 at 2:20 pm)IATIA Wrote: IMHO, I do not think the human race could survive a 'dinosaur killer'.
Parts of it could and probably would. The only problem, when it comes to underground shelters, politicians and influencal people would get there first. So, there's a real chance of only morons surviving.
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RE: Antikythera mechanism possibly older than previously thought?
November 30, 2014 at 2:23 pm
(November 30, 2014 at 12:51 pm)Chuck Wrote: The technology and knowledge embodied in the antikythera device is AFAIK hinted at in no other known Greco roman artifact, nor referred to in writing. This suggests at least the technology, and probably the knowledge, were never recognized even in its own time as being significant, nor became any part of the corpus of knowledge transmitted either amongst the educated classes, or amongst tradesmen.
So antikythera device might well be a one off thing, the little appreciated flash of inspiration of one forgotten genius, like the tank or flying machine of Leonardo Da Vinci. It does not represent an entire lost branch of socialized or utilized knowledge and technology 17 centuries ahead of its time.
Bah! Humbug! The tinkerings of Leonardo are child's play compared to the amount of detailed maths and astronomy knowledge that are employed in the antikythera mechanism.
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RE: Antikythera mechanism possibly older than previously thought?
November 30, 2014 at 2:24 pm
(November 30, 2014 at 2:22 pm)abaris Wrote: (November 30, 2014 at 2:20 pm)IATIA Wrote: IMHO, I do not think the human race could survive a 'dinosaur killer'.
Parts of it could and probably would. The only problem, when it comes to underground shelters, politicians and influencal people would get there first. So, there's a real chance of only morons surviving. And they would probably be unable to feed themselves once the stores ran out.
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Science is like a blabbermouth who ruins a movie by telling you how it ends. There are some things we don't want to know. Important things.
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RE: Antikythera mechanism possibly older than previously thought?
November 30, 2014 at 3:07 pm
(This post was last modified: November 30, 2014 at 3:07 pm by Heywood.)
(November 30, 2014 at 2:23 pm)Alex K Wrote: Quote:So antikythera device might well be a one off thing, the little appreciated flash of inspiration of one forgotten genius, like the tank or flying machine of Leonardo Da Vinci. It does not represent an entire lost branch of socialized or utilized knowledge and technology 17 centuries ahead of its time.
Bah! Humbug! The tinkerings of Leonardo are child's play compared to the amount of detailed maths and astronomy knowledge that are employed in the antikythera mechanism.
Chuck's point was the antikythera mechanism might be a one off thing.....like Da Vinci's tank. Something not appreciated in its time and nearly forgotten. Chuck did not claim Da Vinci's tank embodied the same amount of knowledge as the antikythera mechanism.
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RE: Antikythera mechanism possibly older than previously thought?
November 30, 2014 at 3:09 pm
(November 30, 2014 at 12:51 pm)Chuck Wrote: The technology and knowledge embodied in the antikythera device is AFAIK hinted at in no other known Greco roman artifact, nor referred to in writing. This suggests at least the technology, and probably the knowledge, were never recognized even in its own time as being significant, nor became any part of the corpus of knowledge transmitted either amongst the educated classes, or amongst tradesmen.
So antikythera device might well be a one off thing, the little appreciated flash of inspiration of one forgotten genius, like the tank or flying machine of Leonardo Da Vinci. It does not represent an entire lost branch of socialized or utilized knowledge and technology 17 centuries ahead of its time.
Possible but we have less than 1% of the writings of the Classical world, largely thanks to jesus freak thugs who burned the libraries. Not only did they have the knowledge to build it but they also managed the technology to build it including multiple interlocking gears and shafts. One without the other doesn't mean much.
Besides, who is to say they wrote it down? It could have been a master-apprentice situation and the master and apprentice may have drowned with the device.
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