back to article Boffins decipher manual for 2,000-year-old Ancient Greek computer

Scientists have examined hitherto-obscure inscriptions on the Antikythera Mechanism, a first century BC apparatus comprised of interlocking gears, and now believe the device could predict eclipses and the motion of the planets. The Antikythera Mechanism is a scientific and archaeological marvel, because nothing else like it …

  1. NomNomNom

    "the device was found on the sea bed near the Greek island of Antikythera"

    So they found it near an island of the same name? What are the odds. This is why I don't trust official histories

    1. BillG
      IT Angle

      Boffins decipher manual for 2,000-year-old Ancient Greek computer

      "O.K., Robert, you've been working on translating the first page, what does it say?"

      "This Page Intentionally Left Blank"

      1. Stoneshop
        Coat

        Re: Boffins decipher manual for 2,000-year-old Ancient Greek computer

        πνευματικών 183 προ Χριστού όλα τα δικαιώματα κατοχυρωμένα δικαιωμάτων διεθνείς επιχειρηματικές μηχάνημα.

        (pnevmatikón 183 pro Christoú óla ta dikaiómata katochyroména diethneís epicheirimatikés michánima)

        1. energystar
          Angel

          Re: Boffins decipher manual for 2,000-year-old Ancient Greek computer

          Please translate.

          1. paulc

            Re: Boffins decipher manual for 2,000-year-old Ancient Greek computer

            */ This works, but we don't know why /*

          2. Stoneshop
            Headmaster

            Please translate

            авторское право 183 BC международная торговая машина

            You didn't specify what language it needed to be translated into.

            Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time.

          3. Mark 85
            Trollface

            Re: Boffins decipher manual for 2,000-year-old Ancient Greek computer

            Hey, we're all supposed to be IT giants and know how to use Google Translate.

          4. lleres

            Re: Boffins decipher manual for 2,000-year-old Ancient Greek computer

            It's a (rather poor) google translation of the 'all rights reserved' notice from english. The poster is making a joke that the mechanism contains a trademark notice on the front page.

        2. illiad

          Re: Boffins decipher manual for 2,000-year-old Ancient Greek computer

          dont you know google can translate it??? https://translate.google.com/#auto

          or most *better* browsers already have that function, or can use an addon.. :)

        3. lagi

          Re: Boffins decipher manual for 2,000-year-old Ancient Greek computer

          Translation:

          Copyright 183 BC All Rights Reserved International business machines.

          So they also predicted the Birth of Christ.

        4. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Boffins decipher manual for 2,000-year-old Ancient Greek computer

          Google Translate tells me this says:

          Copyright 183 BC All Rights Reserved Rights International Business Machine

          I suspect there is a slight error though as it seems more like a SUN machine.

          1. Stoneshop
            Boffin

            Re: Boffins decipher manual for 2,000-year-old Ancient Greek computer

            And then someone considered these instructions a fine basis for developing APL.

            1. Graham Marsden
              Coat

              Re: Boffins decipher manual for 2,000-year-old Ancient Greek computer

              "If it stops working, try turning it off and back on again..."

      2. fidodogbreath

        Re: Boffins decipher manual for 2,000-year-old Ancient Greek computer

        "Η επιβίωση των Angry Birds είναι σε κίνδυνο. Πιάτο έξω εκδίκηση από τους άπληστους χοίρων που έκλεψαν τα αυγά τους."

        The survival of the Angry Birds is at stake. Dish out revenge on the greedy pigs who stole their eggs.

    2. asdf

      Three body problem

      From what I understand we think the machine was incredibly well, well machined and intricate but remember hearing something like the machine operation is more accurate than the math underlining it, with the net effect the device is often inaccurate but not due to mechanical reasons or tolerances. A case of the theoretical not keeping up with the experimental. I guess not a surprise as there would be no Mr. Newton for another millennium and a half plus.

  2. frobnicate
    Angel

    Does it start with

    /* XXX fix this hack in the next release. -- Gnaeus. */ ?

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. Christoph

        Re: Does it start with

        In that same alternate history the Gauls continued development of their harvesting machine, releasing peasants from the land to help develop the new technologies.

        1. fran 2

          Re: Does it start with

          Don't forget Asterix, he held out against the Romans

          1. TRT Silver badge

            Re: Don't forget Asterix, he held out against the Romans

            And his mate Hashtag

          2. energystar
            Angel

            Don't forget Asterix...

            Never :D

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterix

          3. AndrueC Silver badge
            Joke

            Re: Does it start with

            Don't forget Asterix, he held out against the Romans

            Something they found very gaulling.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Does it start with

        While is true Romans didn't care much about not applied sciences, it also true they never did much to hinder them in Greece, Egypt and other countries. Actually Julius Caesar and other leaders used Hellenistic scientist whenever they needed. In Rome, Greeks were highly regarded in professions like medicine, and not only. Romans did care about technological progress as long as it was useful for their aims. Roman engineering was fairly advanced.

        Actually, it was the "new" monotheistic religions, Christianity first and Islam later, which, having that strange idea of the "holy book where everything true is written from god's advice, and everything not written is false, dangerous an demoniac" started to destroy everything that could "prove" the book was "false" (you still find some in US and Middle East...)

        Later both, once power was conquered, understood some sciences could also be useful (as long as carefully controlled to avoid they could used against the power itself), but just after doing a lot of damage.

        1. Bob Dole (tm)

          Re: Does it start with

          >>Actually, it was the "new" monotheistic religions, ..

          I wonder if, in say 10,000 years, people will look back on the time period we are currently living in and call it the Dark Ages.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Does it start with

            After some excavations in Kansas, probably...

          2. Tomas Metcalfe

            Re: Does it start with

            Probably, given the way humans treat each other and the planet. It's barbaric to say the least.

      3. Tom 7

        Re: Does it start with

        Its seems this may have been made by Archimedes who was indeed killed by the romans, Though not 'intentionally'.

        However I'm still at a loss to discover why he was called 'Top Thinker' from birth!

        1. Stoneshop
          Pint

          made by Archimedes

          Ah, he of Acorn Computers and ARM.

          (computer chips, when submerged in beer, are subject to an upwards force equal to the weight of the displaced beer volume)

        2. Ken Hagan Gold badge

          Re: Does it start with

          "However I'm still at a loss to discover why he was called 'Top Thinker' from birth!"

          He invented a time machine, came back once to change his own name, and came back a second time as a Roman soldier to dispose of the evidence.

  3. Forget It
    Joke

    Is still in Beta?

    1. TRT Silver badge

      Prototype?

      Now according to this we should be... at least 1200 yards away from Antikythera's underwater rock of doom. See? *rubbing hands* Oh ho! This is going to revolutionise maritime navigation. This time next year Rhodes.

      1. energystar
        Trollface

        Re: Prototype?

        No, leaved on SysOps hands.

        [Neither there were 'Clouds' on sight.]

  4. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge
    Coat

    In other words, a user manual.

    Sounds more like online help to me...

    1. Tom 7

      Re: In other words, a user manual.

      Have you tried re-booting it over the side?

  5. hammarbtyp

    Its the first EULA

    By opening this box you surrender your legal rights to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display this device...

    1. TRT Silver badge

      Re: Its the first EULA

      Ah, the voyage of EULAscees

  6. Alan Bourke

    WWDC 2107

    Microsoft Antikythera

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: WWDC 2107

      Microsoft Antikythera

      No, this device showed signs it may have actually worked.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wait for tim

    To claim it was from Job's first incarnation on earth, behold the i-navigator

    1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

      Re: Wait for tim

      "I told you that you weren't holdng it right. Now you jump in and fetch it.

    2. Naughtyhorse

      Re: Wait for tim

      well those corners do look quite rounded to me.....

    3. G.Y.

      Jobs'

      !

      Job was someone else; Job control language was invented to torment him (&others)

  8. Stevie

    Bah!

    Nothing like it? Rubbish! Worrabout Stonehenge? Bigger, tougher and based on advanced Flash* technology so no moving parts.

    Less portable, of course, but that can be said about anything made in Britain.

    * of Sunlight

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Bah!

      "Less portable, of course, but that can be said about anything made in Britain."

      Reminds me of a cartoon strip in the 1970s**. Probably "B.C." which was set in the Stone Age - and a recurring*** theme was about useless inventions like "the wheel".

      One invention was a neat device for your wrist which presaged the current smart watches. As the inventor then pointed out - the extremely large battery was also necessary.

      ** looking up an explanatory link - it is a surprise to find the cartoons are still running.

      http://johnhartstudios.com/bc/

      *** another theme was dictionary definitions like:

      "Recursion" - see "recursion".

      1. Mephistro
        Thumb Up

        Re: Bah! (@ AC)

        "http://johnhartstudios.com/bc/"

        THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!! for that link. I still own a few Wizard of Id booklets, that I purchased when I was a teen, and still re-read occasionally.

        Absolutely side-splitting, those comics!

        1. VinceH
          Pint

          Re: Bah! (@ AC)

          "THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!! for that link."

          Indeed. Now added to my feed. That AC deserves many of these -->

    2. Alister

      Re: Bah!

      Worrabout Stonehenge? Bigger, tougher and based on advanced Flash* technology so no moving parts.

      A triumph of silicon chunk technology!

      (With apologies to Sir pTerry)

      1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

        Re: Bah!

        But it's still based on Twig TechnologyTM.

    3. Naughtyhorse

      Re: Bah!

      Huge maintenance costs....

      every bloody leap year

    4. ICPurvis47

      Re: Bah!

      Must have been made by good old BTH* (Big, Thick, and Heavy).

      * British Thomson Houston, later Allied Electrical Industries (AEI), and then General Electric Company (GEC) before being subsumed by the french Alst(h)om Group (Bah!!!)

      1. Stevie

        Re: Bah! (Synchronicity)

        My dad worked for BTH, then AEI.

        A colleague I have worked closest to for years knew Johnny Hart in passing.

        And thus the circle is closed.

        PS currently listening to Spinal Tap so circle is apparently Mobius Strip.

  9. CustardGannet

    "almost two millennia under water..."

    "The machine has become crushed, its gears mashed together and some parts are missing..."

    ... and I bet it still works better than Windows 10

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Joke

      Re: "almost two millennia under water..."

      It looks the ship crashed and sank when someone from India attempted to install παράθυρο I on the machine.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "almost two millennia under water..."

      "The machine has become crushed, its gears mashed together and some parts are missing..."

      So warranty is probably void then?

      1. TRT Silver badge

        Re: "almost two millennia under water..."

        They chucked it overboard as the cost of getting it repaired at an authorised centre...

      2. Darryl

        Re: "almost two millennia under water..."

        Wonder if they spent the extra drachma and got AntikytheraCare on it...

    3. energystar
      Linux

      ...better than Windows 10,

      but Navigator unable to handle beyond UEFI. Incompatibility raised.

  10. getHandle

    Trouble figuring out how it worked?

    And only now they thought to RTFM? Sheesh...

    1. Valerion

      Re: Trouble figuring out how it worked?

      They were on hold to the outsourced support line for the past 2000 years.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Trouble figuring out how it worked?

      Like all manuals, you have first to "interpret" them to understand what they actually mean.

      1. John Tserkezis

        Re: Trouble figuring out how it worked?

        "Like all manuals, you have first to "interpret" them to understand what they actually mean."

        "This product comes pre-installed with Windws 10".

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh yes they did!

    "The Antikythera Mechanism is a scientific and archaeological marvel, because nothing like it has ever been found."

    Yes it has! There was one found by the island of Antikythera! (Yes, I hate sentences that miss off words, like '...elsewhere', in the above case)

    1. Tony W

      Re: Oh yes they did!

      Is this a troll? It sure ain't English.

  12. Rich 2 Silver badge

    Old news

    I remember watching a documentary some years ago about this. A CT scanner was bully specially to examine it. They said back then (must have been 5 or so years ago now - not sure) that it predicted eclipses etc and explained how it worked.

    All good stuff but not new news

    1. Simon Sharwood, Reg APAC Editor (Written by Reg staff)

      Re: Old news

      It's news that the theories have been confirmed and detailed, IMHO.

      1. Rich 2 Silver badge

        Re: Old news

        Ok. Granted.

    2. VinceH
      Thumb Up

      Re: Old news

      "I remember watching a documentary some years ago about this."

      The Two Thousand Year Old Computer perchance? An excellent documentary - the sort of thing that makes the licence fee worthwhile.

      Edit: While looking for the lego version on YouTube, I found the documentary itself there.

  13. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

    "The Antikythera Mechanism is a scientific and archaeological marvel, because nothing like it has ever been found. A few classical sources mention geared devices, but the Mechanism is the only one to survive from antiquity."

    That's because at that time the 'Amalgated Union of Professional Thinkers'* strongly opposed the idea of their work being done by machines eventually. So they tried to nip these worrying tendencies in the bud and had the ship sunk and all records destroyed.

    * If both my sources and the translation I have are correct. Attic Greek has never been my strong suit. And my sources are a bit dodgy.

    1. roytrubshaw
      Pint

      "That's because at that time the 'Amalgated Union of Professional Thinkers'* strongly opposed the idea of their work being done by machines eventually."

      So was there a sudden increase in wandering academic pundits at about this time?

      Was the mechanism designed to find the answer* or the question**?

      (Oh all right *42, **"What do you get if you multiply six by nine?")

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    TIL that the Greeks were the first people to use water cooling in computers.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    A modern mechanical interpretation:

    http://www.ablogtowatch.com/hublot-antikythera-calibre-2033-ch01-watch-is-a-re-imagined-greek-masterpiece/

    http://www.ablogtowatch.com/hublot-antikythera-sunmoon-watch-hands/

    (both links safe for work).

    1. A Ghost
      Boffin

      The existence of the Antikythera mechanism really calls into question what we know about the ancient world, and makes you wonder just how much knowledge was lost.

      From your second link. As I was saying in my other comment.

      If the minds that created this (not the watch, the original mechanism) had passed this knowledge on and nurtured it through the centuries, would we have had to wait so long for a Babbage to come along?

      And as I understand it, his first invention was just a glorified calculator (please correct me if I'm wrong), which seems so 'brute-force'. But the Antikythera mechanism displays such complexity abstracted down to such simplicity (if you knew how to work it), that they must have had some pretty good calculating devices to get the original data in the first place. Would an abacus have been sufficient?

      Never mind what it does, how the hell did they 'work out' how to get it to do what it does (did)? I'm talking about the original 'manufacturers'.

      Sorry, didn't explain that very well - bit scramble brained today.

      Thanks for the link though.

      1. energystar
        Childcatcher

        "...and nurtured it through the centuries..."

        "If the minds that created this ... had passed this knowledge on and nurtured it through the centuries, would we have had to wait so long for a Babbage to come along?"

        As for me, not the minimal interest on 'nurturing' dusted patents about to go public domain. Not competitive anymore. So, what has changed?

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        In ancient times (and even not so ancient), when patents did not exist, or were difficult to enforce (maybe an emperor cold grant you some monopoly, but you'd need to be a good friend of him...), often craftsmen, artists, and even "scientists" keep their most advanced knowledge highly secret, passing them down to selected disciples only, and only when really needed. If something bad happened before, the knowledge could go lost forever.

        What happened to the Antikythera Machine creators?

        1. A Ghost

          Ah yes, forgot about that. Silly me.

          You are quite right.

          Knowledge was hoarded and used as currency, then, as it is now. Let's not even get into patents.

          Like I said, I'm an old romantic.

          Let me rephrase the question slightly: How much further could we all be along as humans, if humans through the ages had decided to share their knowledge instead of hoarding it?

          Of course, then there is little personal gain, and less political gain for the would be masters of the universe.

          It must have been quite a buzz knowing there was about to be a total eclipse of the Sun the next week, and telling all your uneducated peasants that you were a god and could predict the future. Your scientists being under pain of death to keep their big traps shut, and just keep enjoying the grapes and wine and young nubile peasants (so I guess it wasn't all bad for them).

          The people, however.

          As for the AM creators? Who knows. So much knowledge of the knowledge, lost . You would think we would have set up a mechanism ourselves for passing on the knowledge, and the knowledge of the knowledge.

          But alas, just like Ozymandias, look on my works ye mighty and despair.

        2. fidodogbreath

          What happened to the Antikythera Machine creators?

          According to Wikipedia, Antikythera was bought out by Το Εργοστάσιο Σοκολάτας (Factorius Chocolatus) in 103 BCE. Their intention was to position Antikythera's Mechanism line as a high-end reference design for gear-driven advertising delivery and user tracking. However, Factorius Chocolatus shut down Antikythera in 102 BCE and sold its remaining Mechanism assets to the Tang Dynasty at a substantial loss.

  16. AIBailey

    Ancient tech support

    What's the ancient Greek translation for "Have you tried turning it off and on again"?

    1. Stoneshop
      Headmaster

      Re: Ancient tech support

      In modern Greek it's 'έχετε δοκιμάσει την απενεργοποίηση και ξανά?' (échete dokimásei tin apenergopoíisi kai xaná ?). Now all you have to do is wait until around Y4K, and this will have become ancient Greek too.

    2. energystar
      Trollface

      "Have you tried turning it off and on again"

      "If dials blocked drop gently and pray your gods not to break it" [It's in the recently translated inscriptions]

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I was going to say something about file compression, but now I cant be arsed.

    1. Naughtyhorse

      Iwasgoingtosaysomethingaboutfilecompression,butnowIcantbearsed.

      Thought i'd give it a go...

      turns out i cant be arsed either

      1. energystar
        Windows

        "i cant be arsed either"

        Try base64 [or 69]

  18. Jim Howes
    WTF?

    Perhaps now they can start work on a translation for the 'manual' of the hard disc enclosure I bought some years ago, which said

    "Insert both bed plates with thrusting into the reserve holes"

    Makes about as much sense as the local chinese restaurant's "Vegetarian sweet and sour pork"

    1. TRT Silver badge

      Was it made from fresh vegetarians?

      1. Stoneshop

        That would be "Vegetarian sweet and sour long pork"

  19. A Ghost
    Alien

    I often wonder

    If there is some kind of old lost technology in the form of a computer.

    An abacus is a certain type of computer, of course, but thinking more along the lines of mechanisms such as this.

    What other stuff lies out there, buried at the bottom of the ocean? Or perhaps covered by vines deep in the Amazonian forest...

    I'm a romantic, I know, but still, I'd bet there is something out there that would blow people's minds.

    This thing though is pretty mind-blowing by itself, not least the fact that they found the thing, then worked out what it does. It looks like a rusty can of dog-food to me, but I believe them.

    I want to believe.

    1. energystar
      Alien

      "I want to believe".

      Better do. They're here.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    parts missing?

    This really annoys me.

    Why do manufacturers keep making things for which parts / updates are not available?

    If you're an ancient Greek hipster, great, take it to the Geniuses by otherwise totally non-serviceable by the end user.

    1. Hollerithevo

      Re: parts missing?

      Built in China; typical, you open the box it came in and stuff is missing. Now do you return it, try eBai for spares, or just toss the damn thing overboard?

  21. Mike Shepherd

    Abort, retr.......????

    Oh, chuck it in the sea.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      IT Angle

      Re: Abort, retr.......????

      This is also history's first example of getting rid of your old gear in e-Bay!!

  22. Keir Snelling

    But can it play Far Cry?

  23. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

    Greek geeks grok great gyrating ... okay, now I'm stuck.

    Anyway, the little plaque at the back saying Ithaca Business Machines should have been a dead giveaway.

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      Gizmo, obviously.

      Or if you want a word that's a bit more old fashioned, gewgaw.

      Greek geeks grok great gyrating gewgaw.

      1. Swarthy

        I went with Gears. But we could combine our efforts: "Greek geeks grok great gyrating geared gizmo"

        1. Will Godfrey Silver badge
          Happy

          You forgot they were aristorcrats of their time, so:

          "Grand Greek geeks graciously grok great gyrating geared gizmo"

          1. Swarthy
            Thumb Up

            Re: You forgot they were aristorcrats of their time, so:

            Will,

            GoodOnYa'!

  24. Antron Argaiv Silver badge
    Pint

    But, seriously...

    The comments here are brilliant :-)

    I heard about T.A.M. as a young 'un, and at that time, no one knew what it was. To have lived long enough to see its mysteries revealed is a great privilege. To find that it had an operating manual engraved on it (good design...can't lose the manual), AND to have some of that manual decoded...well, that's just the icing on the cake.

    Well done, those researchers. Have a couple of pints.

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
      Linux

      Re: But, seriously...

      Rubbish! Until they can get it to run Linux, it's no sale.

      Actually Antikythera is quite a good name for a distro. Or when Ubuntu go past Zebra, they can go for oscure pieces of technology. So Awesome Antikythera, Brilliant Beam Engine, etc.

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Windows

    Well, i am glad to hear that the original functionality was documented...

    Before the mandatory Windows 10 download screws everything up!

    (Oh come on. This is el Reg--you KNEW that joke was coming.)

  26. Mike 16

    @ A Ghost

    In re your comment about "If it had been known to Babbage..." "

    -- And as I understand it, his first invention was just a glorified calculator (please correct me if I'm wrong), which seems so 'brute-force'. --

    The Difference Engine (far from his first invention, but that's a digression for another time) was both more and less than a Calculator. It could only do one operation (Addition, but of course could subtract by complement addition), but had 6 or 7 (depending on version) accumulators to do that addition. Using the previously known method for calculating mathematical tables, it served a particular purpose.

    Yet a general one. Vary the initial input and get a different table.

    More to the point to contrast with the Antikythera Mechanism, the DE was Digital, not Analog. That is, the "locks" served to re-quantize the state of the machine after each step of computation. The advantage of digital technology is that it allows reliable systems to be built from less-than-perfect parts. The Industrial Revolution was enabling the production of copious amounts of less-than-perfect parts, so coming up with a way to use them for ever more complicated mechanism was important.

    Without that notion (not that Babbage was the only one to think of it. I'm not doing Connections here) we would be unable to enlist the work of hordes of truly funky looking (in an electron microscope) transistors in the noble yet daunting task of displaying glorious 4K cat videos.

    1. A Ghost
      Thumb Up

      Re: @ Mike 16

      Thank you for your excellent explanation.

      I was musing generally off the top of my head, and not specifically comparing it per se to the DE.

      But I get that you understood that also.

      I am corrected, educated and enlightened in one fell swoop!

      (particularly liked the Digital/Analog erudition)

      Cheers.

  27. Winkypop Silver badge
    Devil

    Don't plug it in!!!!!

    Windows 10 will try and auto load!

  28. captain_solo

    It resembled the Babylonian mechanism, but most technologists felt that since the API had pretty much been re-implemented in a clean room it was an acceptable fair use and not a violation of the copyright granted in Ur. After the Persian empire took over though, they decided to litigate and are appealing all decisions related to the copyright of ancient astronomical calculating mechanisms using gears and asking for damages related to several centuries of lost sales.

  29. MrKrotos

    It was all working fine....

    Till the Windows 10 upgrades hit it...

  30. Cynic_999

    The End is Nigh

    It could only "predict" past events correctly, but nevertheless was touted as being an accurate mathematical model of the solar system that provided convincing scientific proof that Man's unnatural activities were the cause of solar eclipses and other frightening astronomical events, so if Man did not stop immediately the World would come to an end within 100 years. Fortunately the Greek government was able to solve the problem by raising taxes, otherwise we would not be here.

  31. Chris G

    Weather, or not

    A likely reason for the Antikythera to be at the bottom of the sea, could be, having determined the 'clockwork' reliablity of the celestial bodies and their predicted movements via the machine, they went on to asume it could do the weather just as accurately.

    " A bloody tempest? It didn't predict that!"

  32. kmac499

    Actually it was...

    An all singing all dancing very expensive time piece bought by a premier league charioteer. Unfortunately like all sportsmen down the ages, Sporting ability is inversley proprtional to Intellect and once his mates on the tour galley ribbed him about not having a setting for baylon time. He got bored and chucked it over the side..

  33. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Just goes to show ..

    .. just how long ago it was that you still got a user manual with something that wasn't in badly translated Chinese ..

  34. MondoMan
    Thumb Up

    Cool gadget

    This is a really excellent article, Simon! Great context and a clear description of the many important new conclusions.

    One minor clarification: polynomial *texture* mapping is a method to look at the *exterior* of an object by synthesizing images of it taken under different lighting conditions.

  35. Graham Lockley

    Given the breadth of comments here and the background of the comenteers I am gobsmacked that there hasn't been a single 'underseas outsourcing' comment.

  36. crediblywitless

    /* you are not expected to understand this */

    But then, the manual is going to be appallingly bad Greek translated from Babylonian by a Sumerian.

  37. Agent Tick

    They should watch Pitch Black (2000) - they got that machine fully working!

  38. David Pollard

    Epicycles may be better

    Copernicus and Kepler did indeed provide an improved explanation of how and why the planets move as they do. But it's a rather cumbersome task to work out how they will appear seen from Earth at any given time, to predict eclipses or to navigate. Even with an an ephemeris to hand, trig tables and logs it isn't by any means easy to draw a picture of the planets in the sky.

    Epicycles, on the other hand can be quite quick and simple; particularly if the model can use integer arithmetic, with a couple of analogue wobbles in appropriate gear wheels. The epicyclic model may not have been the best in terms of explanatory power, but it was certainly the way to go in terms of providing a pragmatic solution to the problems of calculation.

  39. Fool Ish

    Translation

    Be... Sure... To... Drink... Your... Ovaltine.

  40. fidodogbreath

    RTFM

    They've been puzzling over how to use this thing for 116 years, and no one thought to crack open the manual...

  41. steelpillow Silver badge

    The Prime Numbers game

    Think of all those gear ratios as the standard cosmological model for over a thousand years, comparable to today's Inflation + Relativity. That explains a lot, see:

    http://www.steelpillow.com/blocki/philosophy/antikythera.html

  42. lukewarmdog

    sabotage

    On a state sponsored industrial scale no less.

    Having worked up a method to prove, once and for all, that the world rotated around the Sun with Greece as it's central point and having further detailed the theory on the front of the device so that both theory and practice could be observed taking place at the same time, Euroipedes took his device out to sea to a suitable distance to show that the Greek sphere of influence was not affecting the working of the device as had been suggested by certain Roman colleagues. Upon finding out that he was absolutely correct the legionnaire from the Centre for the Furtherance of Roman Interests who was there to observe the experiment, accidentally threw the device and the operator overboard. The Centre has apologized for the accident which occurred when the legionnaire became overexcited and rushed to give Euroipedes a congratulatory back slap. It has now recalled its observer and has declined to help attempt retrieve either the object or its creator due to the sea being unfortunately incredibly deep at the spot they picked for the experiment to take place.

  43. Captain Badmouth

    The original golden compass, the ship sank due to an excessive fall of dust.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon