Antikythera mechanism may have been used for public demos
It’s long been assumed that the complex and mysterious Antikythera mechanism was some sort of device for modelling astronomical movements. [image from Wikimedia Commons]
However, it was always thought to be a tool for the astronomers themselves. Now, new translations of the inscriptions on the device show localised names for months that may well locate the device’s origins in the Sicily region, suggesting that the Antikythera machine was used to demonstrate the ’science’ of astronomy to people unfamiliar with its language.
Given the prevalence of computers in the classrooms of our own time, it’s a piquant thought to imagine the earliest computer yet known being used for educational purposes as well.
