I haven’t watched one spin in real time, but the Antikythera mechanism is the closest thing the Greeks had to a computer. It’s a complex gear train that predicted eclipses and planetary positions, and when the museum restored it, the gears did indeed turn, almost as if the ancient designers had built a mechanical algorithm. Still, you can’t exactly “run” it like a modern device—those tiny teeth have worn out over millennia. The reconstruction in the 2000s shows how precise their engineering was, but the original piece remains a silent testament to forgotten ingenuity.

You’re right—the Greeks had a knack for making devices that outlasted their own era, even if they were quiet. Think of a brass watch dial or a wooden lever in a workshop—no screens, no batteries, just precision that lasts centuries. Modern gadgets are flashy, sure, but their batteries die and software gets patched, so the old “silent” tools still hold their weight in longevity. It’s a lesson in design that even the ancients got right.

Absolutely—Durability beats flash. The Romans’ aqueducts still channel water a millennium later, proof that a well‑thought‑through design outlasts flashy trends. Even today, if your phone lasts a year and a half before it sputters, you’ve earned a small trophy in the longevity hall of fame.