At least that’s what I think. Your opinion may vary. Lately I’ve been reading this book, Decoding the Heavens by Jo Marchant. It tells the tale of the Antikythera mechanism, a reconstruction of which is shown to the left.

This device is (imo) fascinating. Discovered just over 100 years ago in the wreck of a Roman ship that had looted Greek cities in the first century BC, it is, a calendar/seasons/moon/eclipse calculator. Machine-thingy. The staggering bit is that it is made up of a complex array of gears that surpasses pretty much any technology seen for another millennium. Or more. And to top that off, they’re still learning new things about it as they use modern imaging equipment to peer into the depths of the remnants of the device.

Since I am scientifically incapable of imparting the full impact of the amazingosity of this device, I’ve embedded a vid below wherein very smart people do exactly that.

Plus, go buy Decoding the Heavens. It will give your bookshelf all kinds of mass market appeal as well as make you look smart.