Archimedes discovery

EC2 · Post by **EC2** » Wed January 28th, 2009, 4:44 pm

A report on a work by Archimedes. Interesting!

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic ... Archimedes

annis · Post by **annis** » Wed January 28th, 2009, 5:01 pm

Fascinating! Shades of Ross King's "Ex-Libris" which features a mysterious palimpsest whose text is restored through chemical agents to show the original work. Truth is stranger than fiction and all that

Volgadon · Post by **Volgadon** » Wed January 28th, 2009, 5:05 pm

I hate math but this is fascinating. I mean discovering a hidden book, wow!

Leyland · Post by **Leyland** » Wed January 28th, 2009, 5:22 pm

Very true, Volgadon. How many other 'recycled' brilliant ancient theories or other works are floating around in global attics or closets? It doesn't get much more thrilling than stumble across these lost items.

But I can see National Treasure 3, Book of Ancient Secrets coming up now!

Ariadne · Post by **Ariadne** » Wed January 28th, 2009, 5:45 pm

Fascinating! I'm the math buyer for my library and be looking out for the book they mention that'll be out in November. I'm sure there'll be plenty of others.

Ariadne · Post by **Ariadne** » Wed January 28th, 2009, 5:48 pm

Oops, never mind, the book (Archimedes Codex) was out in Nov '07 and I bought a copy back then. Title sounded very familiar so I checked my order records.

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Wed January 28th, 2009, 6:02 pm

What an amazing discovery, fascinating!

SM

Libby · Post by **Libby** » Wed January 28th, 2009, 8:26 pm

Interesting. Thanks for the link.

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Thu January 29th, 2009, 5:30 am

Fascinating. I saw a public TV special awhile back about another one of these books that was written over. I don't recall who the expunged author was, but it wasn't Archimedes. The story reminds me of the monk in charge of the library in Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. All those scientific books ... so dangerous! Or, at least, not of any apparent value. We were talking about the term "Dark Ages" in another thread, and this is part of why some used to feel it appropriate to call this period "Dark," because so much knowledge was lost.

annis · Post by **annis** » Thu January 29th, 2009, 6:50 pm

Yes- there were so many ancient books lost which we only know of through mention elsewhere. I wonder what happened to Tiro's memoirs of Cicero?

Books have often been regarded with awe and suspicion.
After all, it is a type of magic, or alchemy, which allows one person to transmute their ideas and opinions into the written word which another person can then read, refine upon and pass on to others. Not surprising that this subversive alchemy has been seen as a threat to religious or political regimes.
Destroying books ( and their authors) has frequently been a tool used to maintain the status quo. And it’s not that long ago in history that the Nazis were burning books for that very reason.

Though maybe now this role of spreading information authorities would prefer suppressed, though still using the written word, has to some extent been taken over by electronic media- text, internet etc?.

I can think of a few novels which I’ve read recently which have had this theme of knowledge suppressed. Ross King’s “Ex-Libris” is one. Richard Blake’s “Conspiracies of Rome”, set in early 7th century Rome, has the main character, Aelric, horrified at the righteous destruction of ancient works by monks and nuns of the Roman Church, and frantically trying to rescue what he can.
Adriano Petta’s novels “Hypatia of Alexandria” and “The Path of the Sun” reflect his fascination with the ongoing conflict in history between Reason and Religion, and are set at times when Reason is overthrown by the forces of religious zealotry.