[HN Gopher] The machines of Tatjana van Vark ___________________________________________________________________ The machines of Tatjana van Vark Author : jamez Score : 100 points Date : 2023-04-07 16:30 UTC (6 hours ago) (HTM) web link (craftsmanshipmuseum.com) (TXT) w3m dump (craftsmanshipmuseum.com) | jacquesm wrote: | 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. | mattkevan wrote: | 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. | neonate wrote: | http://web.archive.org/web/20230407163229/https://craftsmans... | | https://archive.ph/h9GHP | stevespang wrote: | [dead] | llsf wrote: | 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 wrote: | These could be the Leonardo da Vincis of this age. They're | quite unique, and have been for centuries. | kragen wrote: | 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. | jamez wrote: | This YouTube video (in Dutch, but with English subs) is also | fascinating: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1ODwgX_KkQ | | You can browse Tatjana van Vark's personal website here: | http://www.tatjavanvark.nl/projects.html | michelb wrote: | Jaw-dropping craftsmanship. | robocat wrote: | (2008) ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2023-04-07 23:00 UTC)