Thanks to skippy the bush kangaroo for putting up this picture which indicates that Borat is a fan of Discworld. I know about the hat he’s wearing: it’s only found in XXXX.
This BBC article on the Antikythera Mechanism describes a mechanical calculator from the first century BCE that predicted astronomical events using precision gears. It would be a millennium before we regained that level of technology.
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6 comments
I just noticed the article on the Antikythera mechanism this morning. It’s an astonishing bit of technology. The question in my mind, a question that may be unanswerable, is whether the device is a unique work of a single genius, or is indicative of a level of technological accomplishment heretofore unsuspected. Meanwhile, I can only stand in awe. Devices of similar mechanical complexity are available for viewing in the Smithsonian… but those are mostly from the 18th century.
It goes a little earlier to the clock mechanisms as it requires a return to brass and bronze to get the detail, and iron work predominated for a very long time. Von Liebnitz’s calculator is the device I would think was comparable.
It seems to have caught a lot of eyes, including mine. It is a truly fascinating machine.
Two steps forward and one step back. It requires a stable government and a leisure class will to pay for these advances.
Don’t know why…but the whole *Borat* thing leaves me cold (or bored). My teen daughter even said it was bascially a movie of stupid jokes (harsh criticism from a 15 yr old!) *wink*
As far as British comedy goes, Borat has more in common with Benny Hill than Monty Python. I understand the point, but that’s the problem: I understand, I don’t react to it. If you have explain a pun, it didn’t work.