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Comment by 90s_dev

9 months ago

I always wondered if Archimedes could have realized more applications of his lever and invented the gear and kicked off the industrial revolution early.

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90s_dev

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jcranmer  9 months ago

> kicked off the industrial revolution early.

Short answer: no. Longer answer: read https://acoup.blog/2022/08/26/collections-why-no-roman-indus... (which covers it better than I could, from an actual historian).

  • 90s_dev  9 months ago

    I meant technologically not economically.

    • jcranmer  9 months ago

      Technologically, probably not. The first invention of the Industrial Revolution isn't a steam engine, it's the flying shuttle, and the Romans are using far more primitive looms than 18th century Europe is, and I'm not sure their looms could have taken advantage of the flying shuttle.

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krapp  9 months ago

The Antikythera mechanism was likely within Archimedes' lifetime or not long after his death, so he certainly knew what gears were.