6 ms·

The machines of Tatjana van Vark

224 points by jamez 4y ago

jamez 4y ago
This YouTube video (in Dutch, but with English subs) is also fascinating: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1ODwgX_KkQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1ODwgX_KkQ You can browse Tatjana van Vark's personal website here: http://www.tatjavanvark.nl/projects.html http://www.tatjavanvark.nl/projects.html
- michelb 4y ago
  Jaw-dropping craftsmanship.
- liendolucas 4y ago
  Truly mesmerizing. I absolute love the neatness and the quality of the materials that she uses. The way the red lights on the encryption machine turn on and the bronze board itself is delightful. Somehow the machines look like a cross between steampunk and art-deco styles. I also admire the fact that she explicitly admits that the machines are created for "nothing utilitarian", just for fun following the hacker tradition. Every single time I see again something about the antikythera mechanism I'm blown away that the ancients greeks came up with such device.
  - kragen 4y ago
    as i understand it, the advantages of steel over brass are that it is stronger, stiffer, melts at a higher temperature, and most of all, cheaper none of those are relevant here the great advantage of brass over steel is that it's much easier to machine, which is relevant here if she wanted to use materials to show off, instead of brass she'd use steel, titanium, inconel, nitinol, or granite i don't see what could be more utilitarian than fun
kragen 4y ago
Van Vark is an extreme hacker. Who else among us has a working telephone exchange in their basement? Or a military aircraft navigational system? Much less both. She honors the ancient hacker who made the Antikythera Mechanism with her own fine recreation of it.
neonate 4y ago
http://web.archive.org/web/20230407163229/https://craftsmanshipmuseum.com/artisan/tatjana-van-vark/ http://web.archive.org/web/20230407163229/https://craftsmans... https://archive.ph/h9GHP https://archive.ph/h9GHP
stevespang 4y ago
[dead]
jacquesm 4y ago
This woman is amazing. Math, hardware, mechanics, engineering, metalworking, software, optics, etc. You name it she has the skills and has produced a lifetime's worth of stuff that would take you a long time just to review casually.
llsf 4y ago
How many on earth can build those instruments from scratch ? Even one of those instruments ? What percentage of the global population ? I am wondering if we are building a civilization weakness, where only few can recreate those things. As we produce at scale, and with more and more layers of automation, we need less and less craftsmen... and if those few at the top get hit by a bus, the setback could be huge. Combined with technology that evolves faster than we can teach it, it feels like the number of experts is shrinking over time. Thoughts ?
- AriedK 4y ago
  These could be the Leonardo da Vincis of this age. They’re quite unique, and have been for centuries.
  - fuzzfactor 4y ago
    Not my downvote, corrective upvote really. >These could be the Leonardo da Vincis of this age. Well maybe somebody thinks that loads of well-known personalities today are just as brilliant as DaVinci all over the place, or ahead of their time. Or that they're so rare we don't have anything like DaVinci in our time. You never know. IMHO I would have to say DaVinci was a hacker of his age.
- WillAdams 4y ago
  The number of experts (who are expert in a single field) is increasing. See: https://www.openculture.com/2017/06/the-illustrated-guide-to-a-phd-12-simple-pictures-that-will-put-the-daunting-degree-into-perspective.html https://www.openculture.com/2017/06/the-illustrated-guide-to... The number of polymaths/jack of all trades types is maybe holding steady or possibly falling as a real number, but agree, as a percentage of the population seems to be decreasing.
  - jacquesm 4y ago
    There is just too much to learn and know. This knowledge explosion pretty much rules out knowing even a single field in its entirety.
mattkevan 4y ago
I’ve been fascinated by van Vark’s work for years - her craftsmanship is incredible. Even submitted her website to HN a few years ago. Her work is like transmissions from an alternate timeline where the transistor was never invented and electromechanical engineering was pushed as far as it could go.
- engineer_22 4y ago
  http://www.tatjavanvark.nl/projects.html http://www.tatjavanvark.nl/projects.html Here is her website
robocat 4y ago
(2008)
dajtxx 4y ago
She's the real thing alright. Amazing! Cherry Hill is another one. I wonder how many other women would be awesome machinists if it seemed a viable option. It's like anything else, potentially losing half of the talent available. I guess the US found this during WW II. I assume Germany did too. I did a welding course and there were only two women in it, and even that surprised me. One lived on a farm so wanted to be able to fix things there but the other was an actual welding apprentice. I'm seeing a push for women to take up trades but it looks like a long road still.
- ralfd 4y ago
  I don’t want to be impolite or state the obvious, but van Vark looks trans and the deep voice in the video gives it away. I think in the end it is simply the inherent interest in people vs things which is skewing female vs male.
  - sangnoir 4y ago
    At the risk of starting a flame war, I have to say "woman" is a gender. Female is a sex. GP said Tatjana is a woman and you're appear to be quibbling with that.
jwrallie 4y ago
Now I'm curious about the environment where she grew up and how she practiced (and see some of the failed attempts).
fdhfdjkfhdkj 4y ago
[dead]
acyou 4y ago
That's a pretty messy shop. There is crap thrown haphazardly all over the place. How can such order rise from such chaos?
- bboygravity 4y ago
  Ever been to the average academic or commercial RnD (electronics) lab? Basically if they're neat and tidy they're not being used.
- engineer_22 4y ago
  Some people just work that way. My father's shop is so messy I get anxiety just walking in there. He says he knows where everything is and when I was still living at home he'd get irritated if I cleaned up. I like my space to be tidy, I don't have the extra bandwidth to remember where I drop things. I have to clean up after every task or I'm less productive.
UberFly 4y ago
She is so amazing. One lifetime is not enough for someone like this.

224 points by jamez 4y ago

This YouTube video (in Dutch, but with English subs) is also fascinating: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1ODwgX_KkQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1ODwgX_KkQ You can browse Tatjana van Vark's personal website here: http://www.tatjavanvark.nl/projects.html http://www.tatjavanvark.nl/projects.html

michelb 4y ago
Jaw-dropping craftsmanship.
liendolucas 4y ago
Truly mesmerizing. I absolute love the neatness and the quality of the materials that she uses. The way the red lights on the encryption machine turn on and the bronze board itself is delightful. Somehow the machines look like a cross between steampunk and art-deco styles. I also admire the fact that she explicitly admits that the machines are created for "nothing utilitarian", just for fun following the hacker tradition. Every single time I see again something about the antikythera mechanism I'm blown away that the ancients greeks came up with such device.
- kragen 4y ago
  as i understand it, the advantages of steel over brass are that it is stronger, stiffer, melts at a higher temperature, and most of all, cheaper none of those are relevant here the great advantage of brass over steel is that it's much easier to machine, which is relevant here if she wanted to use materials to show off, instead of brass she'd use steel, titanium, inconel, nitinol, or granite i don't see what could be more utilitarian than fun

kragen 4y ago

Van Vark is an extreme hacker. Who else among us has a working telephone exchange in their basement? Or a military aircraft navigational system? Much less both. She honors the ancient hacker who made the Antikythera Mechanism with her own fine recreation of it.

neonate 4y ago

http://web.archive.org/web/20230407163229/https://craftsmanshipmuseum.com/artisan/tatjana-van-vark/ http://web.archive.org/web/20230407163229/https://craftsmans... https://archive.ph/h9GHP https://archive.ph/h9GHP

stevespang 4y ago

[dead]

jacquesm 4y ago

This woman is amazing. Math, hardware, mechanics, engineering, metalworking, software, optics, etc. You name it she has the skills and has produced a lifetime's worth of stuff that would take you a long time just to review casually.

llsf 4y ago

How many on earth can build those instruments from scratch ? Even one of those instruments ? What percentage of the global population ? I am wondering if we are building a civilization weakness, where only few can recreate those things. As we produce at scale, and with more and more layers of automation, we need less and less craftsmen... and if those few at the top get hit by a bus, the setback could be huge. Combined with technology that evolves faster than we can teach it, it feels like the number of experts is shrinking over time. Thoughts ?

AriedK 4y ago
These could be the Leonardo da Vincis of this age. They’re quite unique, and have been for centuries.
- fuzzfactor 4y ago
  Not my downvote, corrective upvote really. >These could be the Leonardo da Vincis of this age. Well maybe somebody thinks that loads of well-known personalities today are just as brilliant as DaVinci all over the place, or ahead of their time. Or that they're so rare we don't have anything like DaVinci in our time. You never know. IMHO I would have to say DaVinci was a hacker of his age.
WillAdams 4y ago
The number of experts (who are expert in a single field) is increasing. See: https://www.openculture.com/2017/06/the-illustrated-guide-to-a-phd-12-simple-pictures-that-will-put-the-daunting-degree-into-perspective.html https://www.openculture.com/2017/06/the-illustrated-guide-to... The number of polymaths/jack of all trades types is maybe holding steady or possibly falling as a real number, but agree, as a percentage of the population seems to be decreasing.
- jacquesm 4y ago
  There is just too much to learn and know. This knowledge explosion pretty much rules out knowing even a single field in its entirety.

mattkevan 4y ago

I’ve been fascinated by van Vark’s work for years - her craftsmanship is incredible. Even submitted her website to HN a few years ago. Her work is like transmissions from an alternate timeline where the transistor was never invented and electromechanical engineering was pushed as far as it could go.

engineer_22 4y ago
http://www.tatjavanvark.nl/projects.html http://www.tatjavanvark.nl/projects.html Here is her website

robocat 4y ago

(2008)

dajtxx 4y ago

She's the real thing alright. Amazing! Cherry Hill is another one. I wonder how many other women would be awesome machinists if it seemed a viable option. It's like anything else, potentially losing half of the talent available. I guess the US found this during WW II. I assume Germany did too. I did a welding course and there were only two women in it, and even that surprised me. One lived on a farm so wanted to be able to fix things there but the other was an actual welding apprentice. I'm seeing a push for women to take up trades but it looks like a long road still.

ralfd 4y ago
I don’t want to be impolite or state the obvious, but van Vark looks trans and the deep voice in the video gives it away. I think in the end it is simply the inherent interest in people vs things which is skewing female vs male.
- sangnoir 4y ago
  At the risk of starting a flame war, I have to say "woman" is a gender. Female is a sex. GP said Tatjana is a woman and you're appear to be quibbling with that.

jwrallie 4y ago

Now I'm curious about the environment where she grew up and how she practiced (and see some of the failed attempts).

fdhfdjkfhdkj 4y ago

[dead]

acyou 4y ago

That's a pretty messy shop. There is crap thrown haphazardly all over the place. How can such order rise from such chaos?

bboygravity 4y ago
Ever been to the average academic or commercial RnD (electronics) lab? Basically if they're neat and tidy they're not being used.
engineer_22 4y ago
Some people just work that way. My father's shop is so messy I get anxiety just walking in there. He says he knows where everything is and when I was still living at home he'd get irritated if I cleaned up. I like my space to be tidy, I don't have the extra bandwidth to remember where I drop things. I have to clean up after every task or I'm less productive.

UberFly 4y ago

She is so amazing. One lifetime is not enough for someone like this.