6 Scientific American, May 2022
MECHANICAL MYSTERY
“Wonder of the Ancient World,” by Tony
Freeth, describes the Antikythera mecha-
nism, a Greek astronomical calculation ma-
chine. As a biologist with an interest in en-
gineering, I was amazed by the device’s
construction. Just how did the ancients
make it? I doubt they had tools such as
lathelike machines to cut the gears, divid-
ing heads to index them, accurately made
drills, and so on.
Gerald Legg Hurstpierpoint, England
Now that the design of the Antikythera
mechanism is understood, my question is:
Did it really work? And if so, how was that
feat accomplished? For a device of such
complexity to have functioned, the parts
would have needed to be incredibly well ma-
chined. A working mechanism would seem
to require the build quality of a fine watch—
a device that only emerged centuries later.
Norman L. Gilinsky Eastsound, Wash.
FREETH REPLIES: My colleagues and I
share Legg’s amazement. In the University
College London Antikythera Research Team,
our two Ph.D. students are exploring the is-
sues he raises. It is difficult to see how the
device’s components—such as gears, arbors
and coaxial output tubes—could have been
made without a lathe, and we are research-
ing the evidence for lathes in ancient Greece.
Its creators must have had some form of
drill, as well as files or chisels for cutting
gear teeth. The coaxial tubes raise many
questions. Our students are part-time, so it
may take a while to resolve these issues.
In response to Gilinsky: The Antikythera
mechanism must indeed have been made
with great precision for its time—it was per-
haps not as accurate as a modern watch but
very well made for ancient Greece. Friction
must have been a huge issue—particular-
ly because many of the parts were in con-
tact with one another in a way that would
not happen in a modern instrument.
Did it work? We cannot be sure, but two
pieces of evidence suggest it likely did. The
first is Roman politician Cicero’s first-cen-
tury b.c.e. descriptions of Greek devices
that sound similar: two made by mathe-
matician Archimedes in the third century
b.c.e. and one by philosopher Posidonius
in the first century b.c.e. The second comes
from modern models—particularly those
of Michael Wright, a U.K.-based “historian
of mechanism” and a former curator at
London’s Science Museum. His models
work remarkably smoothly—although he
does use 19th-century lathes to make them.
Researchers on our team are exploring
whether our latest theoretical model works.
First, they are building a model with mod-
ern machinery to check whether there are
serious design issues. Then they will build
one (or parts of one) using techniques we
believe were available in ancient Greece.SECURITY BESEECH
In “Hacking the Ransomware Problem” [Sci-
ence Agenda], the editors describe strategies
for addressing ransomware attacks, in which
hackers encrypt data in a target’s comput-
er system and demand payment to free it.
There are multiple issues that allow ran-
somware to survive. Removing the incen-
tive for criminals to use it is great, but that
works only for companies that report the at-
tack. The vast majority seem to feel govern-
ment involvement is more of a hindrance
than a help. Having worked in the security
and networking side of companies, I can saythe biggest issue that allows ransomware to
persist is companies’ reluctance to imple-
ment good security architecture and prac-
tices. This results from a combination of
problems, but in general, the implementors
do not know what they are implementing
or why. Inevitably one area will be closed
off under direction from a security person
or audit, but another 50 will remain open.
Companies cherry-pick good practices and
do not realize that they are exponentially
more secure if you implement them in tan-
dem with complementary practices.
Brett Littrell
CTO, Alum Rock Union School DistrictCLIMATE STRATEGIES
In “Eat to Save the Planet” [Observatory],
Naomi Oreskes argues that people can help
mitigate the climate emergency by cutting
back on red meat consumption but notes
that some “have argued that calls for indi-
vidual action actually distract us from cor-
porate responsibility.”
Asking individuals to take responsibil-
ity for climate change does not distract us
from pressuring larger entities to do the
same. This movement requires everyone to
participate to the maximum extent possi-
ble. Individuals can fight climate change in
many ways that do not require a lot of time
or increased expense. The tools are avail-
able to change our transportation, the en-
ergy used in gases emitted by our homes,
our consumer purchases and donations to
offset our carbon usage. Next time, don’t
tell readers one thing they can do. Tell them
the 20 things they can do.
Samuel Bennett via e-mailVIOLENCE AND IDEOLOGY
Kudos to Amy Cooter for “Inside America’s
Militias,” her article on a move to more vi-
olent extremism among such groups. Down
here in rural Alabama, we own an interest
in land next to a militia training camp, com-
plete with obstacle courses, firing ranges,
and fields for simulated combat and tacticalJanuary 2022
LETTERS
[email protected]
“Asking individuals to take responsibility
for climate change does not distract us from
pressuring larger entities to do the same.”
samuel bennett via e-mail