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      "utf8": "In 1900, Greek divers stumbled\nupon a 2,000-year-old shipwreck"
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      "utf8": "whose contents would shake\nour understanding of the ancient world."
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      "utf8": "Among the remains were fragments\nof mangled wood and corroded metal,"
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      "utf8": "which archaeologists soon realized\ncontained an intricate series of gears,"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "resembling technology not believed\nto exist until centuries later."
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      "utf8": "These fragments were part of a device\nthat could calculate the movements"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "of the Sun, Moon, and planets."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Now known as the Antikythera mechanism,"
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      "utf8": "this instrument appears to be the oldest\ngeared device ever discovered"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "and humankind’s first computer."
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      "utf8": "Most modern devices,\nlike your phone or laptop,"
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      "utf8": "These systems store information\nin strings of zeros and ones"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "that they can then convert\ninto images on a screen"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "But more generally, a computer refers\nto any device that stores information"
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      "utf8": "and can convert it from one format\ninto another."
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      "utf8": "Rather than using binary bits,"
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      "utf8": "analog computers receive and store\nsignals from the real world,"
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      "utf8": "and convert that information\ninto something “readable.”"
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      "utf8": "Think of how a vinyl record\nstores impressions of sound."
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      "utf8": "The recording device—\na vinyl cutting system—"
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      "utf8": "writes mechanical analogs of the world:"
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  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "the physical force of sound waves\ncarves grooves into a disc,"
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      "utf8": "which a record player\nthen reads back into sound."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "The Antikythera is the first\nknown example of analog computing."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "So how did it work?"
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      "utf8": "Ancient Greek astronomers\nknew that celestial bodies"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "they'd need to perform\ncalculations by hand."
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 153441,
    "dDurationMs": 3795,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "This device likely made\nthat process much easier."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Setting the dial to a specific\nday drove a series of gears"
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    "tStartMs": 162658,
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "to calculate that day's\nastronomical personality."
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  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Metallic hands pointed\nto the positions of the Sun, Moon,"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "and what seemed to be the\nfive then-known planets"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "relative to the 12 constellations\nof the zodiac."
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    "segs": [ {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "another gear system likely spun a colored\nsphere representing the lunar phase."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "On another face, one of the five dials\nrevolved according to the Saros cycle—"
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  }, {
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      "utf8": "the approximately 6,585.3 days"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "to return to their exact\nrelative positions."
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    "segs": [ {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "like changing speeds\nand the Moon’s wobbly orbit."
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      "utf8": "The fact that these ancient gears\nwere precisely designed"
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      "utf8": "For example, the handshake\nbetween 13 gears automatically"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "that recreated our Moon’s orbit\nwas only seconds off from reality."
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      "utf8": "Analog computers, like the Antikythera,"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "For example, take a digital 4K movie,\nrepresented by 100 billion binary digits."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "These bits are fundamentally\ndevoid of an identity."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "They must be assembled by\nsoftware on your TV or laptop,"
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      "utf8": "While the exactness of binary code\nmakes it reliable,"
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      "utf8": "In contrast, consider an analog scale—"
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    "segs": [ {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "the force of your body weight\npresses down on a spring"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "which rotates a dial to reveal a number."
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      "utf8": "It’s a continuous input:"
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