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Interesting article. One note... "[...] the whole structure of astronomical mechanical complications – whether in the Strasbourg cathedral clock, or in watches
by danielam 9y ago
Interesting article. One note...
"[...] the whole structure of astronomical mechanical complications – whether in the Strasbourg cathedral clock, or in watches like Caliber 89 – is a manifestation of a world view."
The idea of a "clockwork universe" is a mechanistic, modern, Enlightenment-era idea. Astronomical clocks predate that worldview by quite some time.
- pavel_lishin 9y agoBut people have been watching the skies for a long time, and have been noting regularities and using them for millennia - at least since the development of agriculture. The idea of Celestial Spheres alone dates from greek antiquity.
- lisper 9y agoYes, but until Newton people thought that gods were involved in moving them around.
- eru 9y agoNewton was a supreme weirdo who believed in all kinds of mystical things. If anything the best Greek scientists like Archimedes were probably more rational and less inclined to believe in Gods running things. If you changed you sentence to "but until Leibniz" I'd be more willing to by it. Even though it's the same time.