The Dead Media Notebook (48 page)

“In the reign of the Emperor Dao Guang (1821-1850) of the Qing Dynasty there lived in Jingxian County, Anhuin Province a schoolmaster named Zhai Jinsheng who made over 100,000 clay types after reading Dream Stream Essays. The work took him many years. With these clay types he printed Ni Ban Shi Yin Chu Bian (Initial Notes on Printing with Clay Types) and other books. Additional books printed later by the same method have been located in Beijing Library in recent years, demonstrating the accuracy of the records in Dream Stream Essays concerning Bi Sheng’s clay-type printing.”

Source: ANCIENT CHINA’S TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE, Compiled by the Institute of the History of Natural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. First Edition 1983. Published by the Foreign Languages Press, 24 Baiwanzhuang Road, Beijing, China. ISBN 0-8351-1001-X.

From Richard Kadrey

“Astrolabe History “Origins of Astrolabe Theory “The origins of the astrolabe were in classical Greece. Apollonius (ca. 225 BC), the great codifier of conic sections, probably studied the astrolabe projection.

“The most influential individual on the theory of the astrolabe projection was Hipparchus who was born in Nicaea in Asia Minor (now Iznik in Turkey) about 180 BC, but studied and worked on the island of Rhodes.
Hipparchus did not invent the astrolabe but he did refine the projection theory. :The earliest evidence of use of the stereographic projection in a machine is in the writing of the Roman author and architect, Vitruvius (ca. 88 - ca. 26 BC), who in De architectura describes a clock (probably a clepsydra or water clock) made by Ctesibius in Alexandria. Apparently, Ctesibius
’ clock had a rotating field of stars behind a wire frame indicating the hours of the day.

“The wire framework (the spider) was possibly constructed using the stereographic projection with the eye point at the north celestial pole. Similar constructions dated from the first to third century and have been found in Salzburg and northeastern France, so such mechanisms were apparently fairly widespread among Romans.

“The first major writer on the projection was the famous Claudius Ptolemy (ca. AD 150) who wrote extensively on it in his work known as the Planisphaerium. There are tantalizing hints in Ptolemy’s writing that he may have had an instrument that could justifiably be called an astrolabe. Ptolemy also refined the fundamental geometry of the Earth-Sun system that is used to design astrolabes.

“Early Astrolabes “No one knows exactly when the stereographic projection was actually turned into the instrument we know today as the astrolabe. Theon of Alexandria (ca. 390) wrote a treatise on the astrolabe that was the basis for much that was written on the subject in the Middle Ages.

“Synesius of Cyrene (378-430) apparently had an instrument constructed that was arguably a form of astrolabe. This is plausible since Synesius was a student of Hypatia, Theon’s daughter. The earliest descriptions of actual instruments were written by John Philoponos of Alexandria (a.k.a. Joannes Grammaticus) in the sixth century and a century later by Severus Sebokht, Bishop of Kenneserin, Syria, although it is likely that Sebokht’s work was derivative of Theon. It is certain that true astrolabes existed by the seventh century.”

Source: astrolabes.org [kadrey remarks: This page was constructed and written by James E. Morrison, who teaches an Introduction to Astronomy course at Montgomery College at Tokoma Park in Connecticut. If you’re really interested in astrolabes, he sells cool, working models through the site.]

From Richard Kadrey

“The Astrolabe in Islam “The astrolabe was introduced to the Islamic world (Istanbul Observatory) in the eighth and ninth centuries through translations of Greek texts. The astrolabe was fully developed during the early centuries of Islam. Arab treatises on the astrolabe were published in the ninth century and indicate a long familiarity with the instrument (the oldest existing instruments are Arabic from the tenth century, and there are nearly 40 instruments from the 11
^th
and 12
^th
centuries).

“The astrolabe was inherently valuable in Islam because of its ability to determine the time of day and, therefore, prayer times and as an aid in finding the direction to Mecca. It must also be noted that astrology was a deeply imbedded element of early Islamic culture and that astrology was one of the principle uses of the astrolabe.
.

“Persian astrolabes became quite complex, and some were genuine works of art. There are a number of interesting stylistic differences between astrolabes from the eastern Islamic areas (the Mashriq), Northern Africa (the Maghrib) and Moorish Spain (Andalusia). The astrolabe was also used in Moslem India in a simplified and less artistic form.”

Source: astrolabes.org [kadrey remarks: This page was constructed and written by James E. Morrison, who teaches an Introduction to Astronomy course at Montgomery College at Tokoma Park in Connecticut. If you’re really interested in astrolabes, he sells cool, working models through the site.]

From Richard Kadrey

“The Astrolabe in Europe “The astrolabe moved with Islam through North Africa into Spain (Andalusia) where it was introduced to European culture through Christian monasteries in northern Spain.

“It is likely that information about the astrolabe was available in Europe as early as the 11
^th
century, but European usage was not widespread until the 13
^th
and 14
^th
centuries. The earliest astrolabes used in Europe were imported from Moslem Spain with Latin words engraved alongside the original Arabic. It is likely that European use of Arabic star names was influenced by these imported astrolabes.

“By the end of the 12
^th
century there were at least a half dozen competent astrolabe treatises in Latin, and there were hundreds available only a century later. European makers extended the plate engravings to include astrological information and adapted the various timekeeping variations used in that era. Features related to Islamic ritual prayers were generally discarded in European instruments.

“The astrolabe was widely used in Europe in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, peaking in popularity in the 15
^th
and 16
^th
centuries, and was one of the basic astronomical education tools. A knowledge of astronomy was considered to be fundamental in education, and skill in the use of the astrolabe was a sign of proper breeding and education. Their primary use was, however, astrological.

“Geoffrey Chaucer thought it was important for his son to understand how to use an astrolabe, and his 1391 treatise on the astrolabe demonstrates a high level of astronomical knowledge.

“Astrolabe manufacturing was centered in Augsburg and Nuremberg in Germany in the fifteenth century, with some production in France. In the sixteenth century, the best instruments came from Louvain in Belgium.

“By the middle of the seventeenth century astrolabes were made all over Europe.
A particularly interesting workshop was founded by Georg Hartmann in Nuremberg in about 1525. It is clear that Hartmann used an early form of mass production to produce his high quality instruments. It is very likely that most workshops acquired parts of finished instruments from specialists, or other shops were employed for services such as gilding
.

“Brass astrolabes were quite expensive, and only the wealthy could afford a good one. Paper astrolabes became available as printing developed, and many were surely made, although few survive.

“Several interesting astrolabe variations to make a single instrument usable in all latitudes were invented in the 15
^th
and 16
^th
centuries, but due to their high cost and complex operation, never gained the popularity of the planispheric type.”

Source: astrolabes.org [kadrey remarks: This page was constructed and written by James E. Morrison, who teaches an Introduction to Astronomy course at Montgomery College at Tokoma Park in Connecticut. If you’re really interested in astrolabes, he sells cool, working models through the site.]

From Richard Kadrey

[Bruce Sterling remarks: It’s a pleasure to welcome noted poet and diplomat Geoffrey Chaucer (appr. 1340-1400) back to the Dead Media Project. The following contains selected highlights from Chaucer’s treatise on the astrolabe, originally some 14,811 Middle-English words. This document is said to be the earliest known “technical manual” in the English language. It was originally written for a child of ten, “lyte Lowes” or ‘little Lewis,’ who is thought to have been the son of a friend of Chaucer’s. Sadly, the boy succumbed to the high child- mortality rates of the plague-ridden 14
^th
century, and Chaucer’s tech manual was never completed. Personally, I find this document well-nigh unreadable. Keep in mind, however, that this is probably a “Big Dummies’ Guide to the Astrolabe,” since it was once considered proper reading for a child of ten. This may be as close as we can get to imagining what a Windows 95 software manual might look like to people six hundred years from today]

A TREATISE ON THE ASTROLABE
by Geoffrey Chaucer, appr. 1391
“Lyte Lowys my sone, I aperceyve wel by certeyne evydences thyn abilite to lerne sciences touching nombres and proporciouns; and as wel considre I thy besy praier in special to lerne the tretys of the Astrelabie.
by mediacioun of this litel tretys, I purpose to teche the a certein nombre of conclusions aperteynyng to the same instrument
.

“I seie a certein of conclusions, for thre causes. The first cause is this: truste wel that alle the conclusions that han be founde, or ellys possibly might be founde in so noble an instrument as is an Astrelabie ben unknowe parfitly to eny mortal man in this regioun, as I suppose. An-other cause is this, that sothly in any tretis of the Astrelabie that I have seyn there be somme conclusions that wol not in alle thinges parformen her bihestes; and somme of hem ben to harde to thy tendir age of ten yeer to conceyve.

“This tretis, divided in 5 parties, wol I shewe the under full light reules and naked wordes in Englissh, for Latyn ne canst thou yit but small, my litel sone.
“Now wol I preie mekely every discret persone that redith or herith this litel tretys to have my rude endityng for excusid, and my superfluite of wordes, for two causes. The first cause is for that curious endityng and hard sentence is ful hevy at onys for such a child to lerne. And the secunde cause is this, that sothly me semith better to writen unto a child twyes a god sentence, than he forgete it onys.

“And Lowys, yf so be that I shewe the in my light Englissh as trewe conclusions touching this mater, and not oonly as trewe but as many and as subtile conclusiouns, as ben shewid in Latyn in eny commune tretys of the Astrelabie, konne me the more thank. And preie God save the king, that is lord of this langage, and alle that him feith berith and obeieth, everich in his degre, the more and the lasse. But considre wel that I ne usurpe not to have founden this werk of my labour or of myn engyn. I n’am but a lewd compilator of the labour of olde astrologiens, and have it translatid in myn Englissh oonly for thy doctrine. And with this swerd shal I sleen envie.
“PART I “Here begynneth the descripcioun of thin Astralabie.

“1. Thyn Astrolabie hath a ring to putten on the thombe of thi right hond in taking the height of thinges. And tak kep, for from henes forthward I wol clepen the heighte of any thing that is taken by the rewle “the altitude,” withoute moo wordes.

“2. This ryng renneth in a maner toret fast to the moder of thyn Astrelabie in so rowm a space that it distourbith not the instrument to hangen after his right centre.

“3. The moder of thin Astrelabye is thikkest plate, perced with a large hool, that resceiveth in hir wombe the thynne plates compowned for diverse clymates, and thy reet shapen in manere of a nett or of a webbe of a loppe.”. “6. Tlle est syde of thyn Astrolabie is clepid the right syde, and the west syde is clepid the left syde. Forget not thys, litel Lowys.”. PART II “1. To fynde the degre in which the sonne is day byday, after his cours aboute.

“Rekne and knowe which is the day of thy month, and ley thy rewle up that same day, and than wol the verrey poynt of thy rewle sitten in the bordure upon the degre of thy sonne.

“Ensample as thus: -The yeer of oure Lord 1391, the 12 day of March at midday, I wolde knowe the degre of the sonne. I soughte in the bakhalf of myn Astrelabie and fond the cercle of the daies, lo the whiche I knowe by the names of the monthes writen under the same cercle. Tho leyde I my reule over this forseide day, and fond the point of my reule in the bordure upon the firste degre of Aries, a litel within the degre. And thus knowe I this conclusioun.”.

From Stefan Jones

“3-D TV is here
“Scientists generally believe that our ability to perceive depth is the result of our binocular vision. Now, challenging this concept, three University of Southern Carolina scientists have developed a technique that makes 3-D television, movies and slides a reality for everyone, even those with poor vision or vision in only one eye.

“No special glasses, cameras, projectors or television sets are needed. And unlike traditional 3-D, the Visual Image Depth Enhancement Process (VISIDEP) produces images which have realistic depth and fullness, rather than exaggerated images which seem to leap outward.

“Drs. Edwin Jones, LeConte Cathey and Porter McLaurin, experts in optics, electronics and media production, respectively, developed their novel approach by observing how a visually impaired person perceives depth. ‘We discovered that a one-eyed person perceives depth by moving his head and comparing a sequence of visual ‘frames’ from different angles,’ Dr. Cathey told PM. This concept was once considered impossible by physiologists.

“VISIDEP simulates the optics of a one-eyed person by using conventional video equipment, plus a special encoding device which produces a time-sequence display of images captured from two different points of view on a single channel.