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Was the Antikythera Mechanism the world’s first computer? (2007)

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Re: Was the Antikythera Mechanism the world’s first computer? (2007)

#11

Post by basementcat »

jws wrote: post #6
tdons wrote: post #3

YouTube channel of a guy recreating the mechanism: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZioPDnFPNsHnyxfygxA0...

It's a beautiful device, and for some reason I could watch Mr. Clickspring file brass for hours. Most of the device is clockwork – gears and bearings, so… physical manifestations of multiplication and division. But… The first couple of minutes of Episode 9 amaze me. There is a section where two gears with slightly offset axis are joined with a pin and slot to approximate the nonlinear angular movement of the moon cau…

Every advanced ancient civilization had astronomical observatories and political leaders routinely relied upon personnel at these facilities for information about when to plant and harvest crops. If your livelihood depends on this sort of thing, there may be an incentive to invest in improving instruments and models.

The artifacts that we have found represent a small fraction of what these people produced and used. Are there going to be any iPhones (or Commodore 64’s)that will survive to thousands of years from now? If so, will future archaeologists be able to turn one on?

Re: Was the Antikythera Mechanism the world’s first computer? (2007)

#13

Post by scoot »

elorant wrote: post #7
tdons wrote: post #3

YouTube channel of a guy recreating the mechanism: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZioPDnFPNsHnyxfygxA0...

There's also this made by Legos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLPVCJjTNgk

“With LEGO”, rather than “by LEGO”. A remarkable achievement nonetheless, but nothing compared to the original Greek mechanism – the independently acquired celestial knowledge, mathematical ability, and the technical skill required to complete it is mind boggling given the era.

Re: Was the Antikythera Mechanism the world’s first computer? (2007)

#15

Post by fermienrico »

When I think of a computer, the first thing that pops up in my mind is whether the Antikythera computer is Turing complete? The article makes no mention of this.

To give it a title as the first computing device, I think there should be some analysis of operations that it can perform and whether they can constitute as a universal turing machine.

Otherwise, we can call stones as computers. They can do addition and subtraction by the virtue of counting. I am not familiar with Turing's thesis on a theoretical basis (having only read the popular "Turing's Vision" by Chris Bernhardt), is it possible to determine turing completeness of this mechanism?

Re: Was the Antikythera Mechanism the world’s first computer? (2007)

#18

Post by empath75 »

fermienrico wrote: post #15

When I think of a computer, the first thing that pops up in my mind is whether the Antikythera computer is Turing complete? The article makes no mention of this. To give it a title as the first computing device, I think there should be some analysis of operations that it can perform and whether they can constitute as a universal turing machine. Otherwise, we can call stones as computers. They can do addition and subt…

It’s not that kind of computer. It calculates astronomical events.

Re: Was the Antikythera Mechanism the world’s first computer? (2007)

#19

Post by jacquesm »

fermienrico wrote: post #15

When I think of a computer, the first thing that pops up in my mind is whether the Antikythera computer is Turing complete? The article makes no mention of this. To give it a title as the first computing device, I think there should be some analysis of operations that it can perform and whether they can constitute as a universal turing machine. Otherwise, we can call stones as computers. They can do addition and subt…

> whether the Antikythera computer is Turing complete?

Of course it isn't. Just like many analogue computers put together for the computation of ballistic trajectories or some other physical modeling task are not Turing complete. That doesn't mean they are not computers, just not general purpose computers.

Re: Was the Antikythera Mechanism the world’s first computer? (2007)

#20

Post by AnaniasAnanas »

fermienrico wrote: post #15

When I think of a computer, the first thing that pops up in my mind is whether the Antikythera computer is Turing complete? The article makes no mention of this. To give it a title as the first computing device, I think there should be some analysis of operations that it can perform and whether they can constitute as a universal turing machine. Otherwise, we can call stones as computers. They can do addition and subt…

Not even our modern computers are Turing complete as they do not have unbounded tape.
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