The 1751 Machine That Made Everything

Youtube ^ | Mar 15, 2018 | Machine Thinking

[buwaya]

An early precision lathe - France, 1751, Jacques de Vaucanson

Lathes are fundamental to modern science and industry. Every last thing in modern tech starts from that. You can trace European (and later global) "economic takeoff" to this thing.

ALL human progress and change, and history, comes from advances in technology. Religion, philosophy, warfare, all matter little or nothing, or are rather reactions to technological change.

[bert]

Rather than Christendom, another choice of words would be White Europeans.

[Verginius Rufus]

The important event in 1619 was the beginning of self-government in Virginia. Self-government in the colonial era is what set the English colonies apart from the other European colonies and paved the way eventually for the creation of the successful federal system in 1787. The Spanish colonies had a much rockier start after independence because everything had been controlled from Spain and the officials in the colonies were mostly "Peninsulares" born in Spain as opposed to the whites born in the colonies.

Slavery had been going strong in the Americas for more than a century before 1619 on the part of the Spanish, and for a very long time on the part of the native tribes.

[dfwgator]

Makes me think of the series “Connections”, still the best documentary show I’ve ever watched.

[buwaya]

““Connections”, still the best documentary show I’ve ever watched.”

Ditto.

[niteowl77]

Lathes are fundamental to modern science and industry. Every last thing in modern tech starts from that. You can trace European (and later global) "economic takeoff" to this thing.

I still have an old copy of L.T.C. Rolt's "Short History of Machine Tools" that does a pretty good job of showing the progression of lathes as they became "the machine tool that made all other machine tools possible" (it is, like many of Rolt's books, quite readable by those of us who don't possess engineering backgrounds).

Two big bugbears of the time were the accuracy of machined threads, and truly accurate end measurement. Rolt discusses these matters in his book, as does George Eschol Sellers in his collection of engineering reminiscences.

[ansel12]

Until the left took over during the feminist movement, news used to be about the serious man stuff, the newspapers had a women’s section for the stuff that dominates the news today, news magazines were information based and with few pictures and little celebrity mention, even the network news was information that men needed, delivered dry and without the theatrics.

[marktwain]

The best history is that of homo faber, man the maker!

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I love the history of science and technology. An important part of it is how, without a supportive political environment, technological breakthroughs often were suppressed so they were not widely used until they reached a supportive polity.

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China technicians knew how to make excellent steel, long before those in Europe. The tech was suppressed or lost because of the politics.

China knew about gunpowder long before Europe. The tech was suppressed. Serious advances in gunpowder weapons happened when the tech reached Europe.

China knew about printing blocks and paper long before Europe. It had little impact because of the complicated Chinese writing system. The tech passed through the Islamic empires before reaching Europe.

In Europe, it was advanced and promulgated.

A fair argument is Europe had competing polities, but the Chinese and Islamics always had competing polities, perhaps not as many as in Europe.

However, Europe had Christendom, the others did not.

[buwaya]

“L.T.C. Rolt’s “Short History of Machine Tools””

Thanks for the suggestion!

[sasquatch]

Got a lathe in my basement. Working on a silicon boule for a friend.

[FirstFlaBn]

Anyone who sees the march of history as being driven by one factor or another has completely missed the boat. Let’s call it materialistic determinism. Anybody recognize the phrase?

[buwaya]

I had a small lathe (and etc) in my garden room. Had to sell it all, or give it away when we moved abroad.

[aquila48]

There is no question that the biggest disrupted of the status quo and culture is technological advances.

In recent times the pill, internet, smart phone have upended the status quo and now AI will do the same.

Change is the only permanent thing.

[buwaya]

Well, “1619” was the NYT’s take on what the newspaper thought was important.

[marktwain]

Without the rule of law, the right to own property and the fruits of your labor unmolested by government, technological advancement does little.

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You and I are saying pretty much the same thing.

However, much technological advance was made in Europe between 1400 and 1700, setting the stage for the Industrial Revolution. The Reformation and the Renaissance overlap in that period. They were highly dependent on each other. They were, in effect parts of the same revolution in human thought.

[telescope115]

Maybe this is slightly off subject, but in all of this we must not forget the the standardization of weights and measures.

[buwaya]

My previous career was metrology. I was a metrology consultant. Our tech of the time, just coming in then, were these things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZaWx8-oetQ

[Lurker]

“Makes me think of the series “Connections”, still the best documentary show I’ve ever watched.”

It was an incredible piece of work.

L

[wildcard_redneck]

"The US simply wasn't significant to world history until it became the leading technological player. All the words generated in the US, the constitution, the declaration of independence, all the law libraries, which Americans like to worship, are futile superstitions. Merest words. What actually mattered were lathes and Bessemer converters. These days, probably space rockets and AI systems, TBD."

The "foreigner" just oozes out from you like puss from a wound. You say that you are now holed up now in Spain, isn't there a Spanish forum that you can inflict your inane opinions on?

[wildcard_redneck]

You need a zot foreigner.

[buwaya]

I suggest you think a little. Is it such a novel concept?
Whatever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrCPIrs90eg

If I make your brain hurt you should maybe go read something else.