Tom Wujec demos the 13th-century astrolabe

Prevoditelj: Vedrana Čemerin Recezent: Tilen Pigac - EFZG

As technology progresses,

Kako se tehnologija razvija,

and as it advances,

i kako napreduje,

many of us assume that these advances

mnogi od nas pretpostavljaju kako nas taj napredak

make us more intelligent,

čini inteligentnijima,

make us smarter and more connected to the world.

pametnijima i povezanijima sa svijetom.

And what I'd like to argue

Želio bih dokazati

is that that's not necessarily the case,

kako to nije nužno tako,

as progress is simply a word for change,

jer razvitak je naprosto naziv za promjenu,

and with change you gain something,

a s promjenama se nešto dobiva,

but you also lose something.

ali se ponešto i gubi.

And to really illustrate this point, what I'd like to do

Kako bih vam zorno prikazao tu tvrdnju, htio bih

is to show you how technology has dealt with

vam pokazati kako se tehnologija nosila s

a very simple, a very common, an everyday question.

vrlo jednostavnim, uobičajenim i svakodnevnim pitanjem.

And that question is this.

To pitanje glasi ovako.

What time is it? What time is it?

Koliko je sati? Koliko je sati?

If you glance at your iPhone, it's so simple to tell the time.

Ako bacite pogled na svoj iPhone, lako je reći koliko je sati.

But, I'd like to ask you, how would you tell the time

No, želim vas upitati, kako biste odredili vrijeme

if you didn't have an iPhone?

kad ne biste imali iPhone?

How would you tell the time, say, 600 years ago?

Kako biste odredili vrijeme, recimo, prije 600 godina?

How would you do it?

Kako biste to učinili?

Well, the way you would do it is by using a device

Pa, učinili biste to koristeći napravu

that's called an astrolabe.

zvanu astrolab.

So, an astrolabe is relatively unknown in today's world.

Astrolab je u suvremenom svijetu relativno nepoznat.

But, at the time, in the 13th century,

No, u ono doba, u 13. stoljeću,

it was the gadget of the day.

bio je to posljednji krik tehnologije.

It was the world's first popular computer.

Bilo je to prvo popularno računalo na svijetu.

And it was a device that, in fact, is a model of the sky.

Ta je naprava, u biti, model neba.

So, the different parts of the astrolabe, in this particular type,

Različiti dijelovi astrolaba, kod ove konkretne vrste,

the rete corresponds to the positions of the stars.

reta ("mreža") se podudara s položajem zvijezda.

The plate corresponds to a coordinate system.

Ploča se podudara s koordinatnim sustavom.

And the mater has some scales and puts it all together.

A mater ima skalu i povezuje sve zajedno.

If you were an educated child,

Ako ste bili obrazovano dijete,

you would know how to not only use the astrolabe,

znali biste ne samo kako upotrebljavati astrolab,

you would also know how to make an astrolabe.

već i kako izraditi astrolab.

And we know this because the first treatise on the astrolabe,

To znamo zato što je prvi traktat o astrolabu,

the first technical manual in the English language,

prvi stručni priručnik na engleskom jeziku,

was written by Geoffrey Chaucer.

napisao Geoffrey Chaucer.

Yes, that Geoffrey Chaucer, in 1391,

Da, onaj Geoffrey Chaucer, godine 1391.

to his little Lewis, his 11-year-old son.

za svog malog Lewisa, svog 11-godišnjeg sina.

And in this book, little Lewis would know the big idea.

I u toj knjizi, mali Lewis bi raspoznao osnovnu ideju.

And the central idea that makes this computer work

Osnovna ideja na temelju koje ovo računalo radi

is this thing called stereographic projection.

zove se stereografska projekcija.

And basically, the concept is,

U osnovi, koncept je,

how do you represent the three-dimensional image

kako prikazati trodimenzionalnu sliku

of the night sky that surrounds us

noćnog neba koje nas okružuje

onto a flat, portable, two-dimensional surface.

na ravnoj, prijenosnoj, dvodimenzionalnoj površini.

The idea is actually relatively simple.

Ideja je zapravo relativno jednostavna.

Imagine that that Earth is at the center of the universe,

Zamislite da se Zemlja nalazi u središtu svemira,

and surrounding it is the sky projected onto a sphere.

a okružuje je nebo projicirano na sferu.

Each point on the surface of the sphere

Svaka točka na površini sfere

is mapped through the bottom pole,

preslikava se kroz donji pol,

onto a flat surface, where it is then recorded.

na ravnu površinu, gdje se zatim zabilježava.

So the North Star corresponds to the center of the device.

Tako Sjevernjača odgovara središtu naprave.

The ecliptic, which is the path of the sun, moon, and planets

Ekliptika, što je putanja sunca, mjeseca i planeta

correspond to an offset circle.

odgovara izduženom krugu.

The bright stars correspond to little daggers on the rete.

Sjajne zvijezde odgovaraju malim bodežima na reti.

And the altitude corresponds to the plate system.

Nadmorska visina odgovara sustavu ploče.

Now, the real genius of the astrolabe is not just the projection.

Prava genijalnost astrolaba nije samo projekcija.

The real genius is that it brings together two coordinate systems

Prava je genijalnost u tome da on združuje dva koordinatna sustava

so they fit perfectly.

tako da se savršeno poklapaju.

There is the position of the sun, moon and planets on the movable rete.

Na pomičnoj reti nalazi se položaj sunca, mjeseca i planeta.

And then there is their location on the sky

A onda imamo njihov položaj na nebu

as seen from a certain latitude on the back plate. Okay?

kao što se vidi iz određene geografske širine na stražnjoj ploči. U redu?

So how would you use this device?

Dakle, kako biste upotrebljavali ovu napravu?

Well, let me first back up for a moment.

Pa, da uzmem pomagalo.

This is an astrolabe. Pretty impressive, isn't it?

Ovo je astrolab. Prilično je impresivan, zar ne?

And so, this astrolabe is on loan from us

Ovaj je astrolab kod nas na posudbi

from the Oxford School of -- Museum of History.

iz oksfordskog Povijesnog muzeja.

And you can see the different components.

Možete vidjeti različite sastavne dijelove.

This is the mater, the scales on the back.

Ovo je mater, skale sa stražnje strane.

This is the rete. Okay. Do you see that?

Ovo je reta. U redu. Vidite li ovo?

That's the movable part of the sky.

Ovo je pomični dio neba.

And in the back you can see

Straga možete vidjeti

a spider web pattern.

uzorak poput paukove mreže.

And that spider web pattern corresponds to the local coordinates in the sky.

Taj mrežasti uzorak podudara se s lokalnim koordinatama na nebu.

This is a rule device. And on the back

Ovo je ravnalo. Na stražnjoj su strani

are some other devices, measuring tools

još neke sprave, mjerni alati

and scales, to be able to make some calculations. Okay?

i skale, kako biste mogli vršiti računske operacije. U redu?

You know, I've always wanted one of these.

Znate, uvijek sam želio jedan ovakav.

For my thesis I actually built one of these out of paper.

Za svoj sam doktorat čak izradio jedan od papira.

And this one, this is a replica

Ovaj je replika

from a 15th-century device.

naprave iz 15. stoljeća.

And it's worth probably about three MacBook Pros.

Vrijedi otprilike kao tri MacBook Pro-a.

But a real one would cost about as much as my house,

Pravi bi koštao otprilike kao moja kuća,

and the house next to it, and actually every house on the block,

i kuća do nje, zapravo svaka kuća u ulici,

on both sides of the street,

na obje strane ulice,

maybe a school thrown in, and some -- you know, a church.

možda da ubacimo i školu, i -- znate, crkvu.

They are just incredibly expensive.

Nevjerojatno su skupi.

But let me show you how to work this device.

Dajte da vam pokažem kako raditi s ovom napravom.

So let's go to step one.

Započnimo s prvim korakom.

First thing that you do is you select a star

Prvo što učinite jest da odaberete zvijezdu

in the night sky, if you're telling time at night.

na noćnom nebu, ako određujete vrijeme noću.

So, tonight, if it's clear you'll be able to see the summer triangle.

Dakle, noćas, ako je vedro moći ćete vidjeti Ljetni trokut.

And there is a bright star called Deneb. So let's select Deneb.

U njemu se nalazi sjajna zvijezda zvana Deneb. Odaberimo Deneb.

Second, is you measure the altitude of Deneb.

Kao drugo, izmjerite visinu Deneba.

So, step two, I hold the device up,

Drugi korak, podignem napravu,

and then I sight its altitude there

zatim ondje poravnam njenu visinu

so I can see it clearly now.

tako da je sada mogu jasno vidjeti.

And then I measure its altitude.

Zatim mjerim njenu visinu.

So, it's about 26 degrees. You can't see it from over there.

Ona iznosi otprilike 26 stupnjeva. Ne možete je vidjeti odande.

Step three is identify the star on the front of the device.

Treći korak je identifikacija zvijezde na prednjoj strani naprave.

Deneb is there. I can tell.

Deneb je ondje. Vidim.

Step four is I then move the rete,

Četvrti je korak pomicanje rete,

move the sky, so the altitude of the star

pomicanje neba, tako da visina zvijezde

corresponds to the scale on the back.

odgovara skali na stražnjoj strani.

Okay, so when that happens

U redu, događa se to

everything lines up.

da se sve poravna.

I have here a model of the sky

Ovdje imam model neba

that corresponds to the real sky. Okay?

koji odgovara stvarnom nebu. U redu?

So, it is, in a sense,

To je, na neki način,

holding a model of the universe in my hands.

kao da u rukama držim model svemira.

And then finally, I take a rule,

Na kraju, uzmem ravnalo,

and move the rule to a date line

i pomaknem ga do linije datuma

which then tells me the time here.

pomoću koje zatim ovdje odredim vrijeme.

Right. So, that's how the device is used.

Dobro. Tako se, dakle, naprava koristi.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

So, I know what you're thinking:

Znam što mislite:

"That's a lot of work, isn't it? Isn't it a ton of work to be able to tell the time?"

"To je mnogo posla, zar ne? Nije li to masu posla da bi se odredilo koje je vrijeme?"

as you glance at your iPod to just check out the time.

dok gledate na svoj iPod kako biste provjerili koje je vrijeme.

But there is a difference between the two, because with your iPod

No, postoji razlika između tih dvaju naprava, jer s vašim iPodom

you can tell -- or your iPhone, you can tell exactly

možete odrediti -- ili vašim iPhoneom, možete odrediti točno

what the time is, with precision.

koje je vrijeme, precizno.

The way little Lewis would tell the time

Način na koji bi mali Lewis odredio vrijeme

is by a picture of the sky.

jest pomoću slike neba.

He would know where things would fit in the sky.

Znao bi gdje bi se stvari uklapale na nebu.

He would not only know what time it was,

Ne bi samo znao koje je vrijeme,

he would also know where the sun would rise,

također bi znao i gdje će sunce izaći,

and how it would move across the sky.

i kako će se kretati preko neba.

He would know what time the sun would rise, and what time it would set.

Znao bi u koje će vrijeme sunce izaći, i u koje će vrijeme zaći.

And he would know that for essentially every celestial object

Znao bi to u suštini za svako nebesko tijelo

in the heavens.

na nebesima.

So, in computer graphics

Dakle, u računalnoj grafici

and computer user interface design,

i računalnom dizajnu korisničkog sučelja,

there is a term called affordances.

postoji izraz zvan pogodnosti.

So, affordances are the qualities of an object

Pogodnosti su svojstva objekta

that allow us to perform an action with it.

koja nam omogućavaju da njime vršimo neku radnju.

And what the astrolabe does is it allows us,

Ono što astrolab čini jest to da nam omogućava,

it affords us, to connect to the night sky,

pogoduje nam, da se povežemo s noćnim nebom,

to look up into the night sky and be much more --

da pogledamo u noćno nebo i budemo mnogo više --

to see the visible and the invisible together.

da zajedno vidimo ono vidljivo i nevidljivo.

So, that's just one use. Incredible,

To je samo jedan od načina upotrebe. Nevjerojatno,

there is probably 350, 400 uses.

postoji vjerojatno 350 ili 400 vrsta primjene.

In fact, there is a text, and that has over a thousand uses

Zapravo, postoji tekst, i u njemu više od tisuću načina upotrebe

of this first computer.

ovog prvog računala.

On the back there is scales and measurements

Na stražnjoj su strani skala i mjerila

for terrestrial navigation.

za zemaljsku navigaciju.

You can survey with it. The city of Baghdad was surveyed with it.

Njime možete premjeravati. Grad Bagdad je premjeren njime.

It can be used for calculating mathematical equations of all different types.

Može ga se koristiti za izračun matematičkih jednadžbi različitih vrsta.

And it would take a full university course to illustrate it.

Bio bi potreban čitav sveučilišni predmet da ga se prikaže.

Astrolabes have an incredible history.

Astrolabi imaju nevjerojatnu povijest.

They are over 2,000 years old.

Stari su više od 2.000 godina.

The concept of stereographic projection

Koncept stereografske projekcije

originated in 330 B.C.

nastao je 330. god. prije Krista.

And the astrolabes come in many different

Astrolabi dolaze u mnogo različitih

sizes and shapes and forms.

veličina i oblika i vrsta.

There is portable ones. There is large display ones.

Postoje prijenosni. Postoje veliki pokazni.

And I think what is common to all astrolabes

Mislim da je svim astrolabima zajedničko

is that they are beautiful works of art.

to što su prekrasna umjetnička djela.

There is a quality of craftsmanship and precision

Kvaliteta izrade i preciznost

that is just astonishing and remarkable.

naprosto su zapanjujuće i izvanredne.

Astrolabes, like every technology, do evolve over time.

Astrolabi se, kao i svaka tehnologija, razvijaju s vremenom.

So, the earliest retes, for example, were very simple and primitive.

Na primjer, najranije su rete bile vrlo jednostavne i primitivne.

And advancing retes became cultural emblems.

Napredne su rete postale kulturni simboli.

This is one from Oxford.

Ovaj je iz Oxforda.

And I find this one really extraordinary because the rete pattern

Ja ga smatram doista izvanrednim jer uzorak rete

is completely symmetrical,

je posve simetričan,

and it accurately maps a completely asymmetrical, or random sky.

i točno mapira posve asimetrično, ili slučajno nebo.

How cool is that? This is just amazing.

Nije li to fantastično? Upravo je nevjerojatno.

So, would little Lewis have an astrolabe?

Dakle, bi li mali Lewis imao astrolab?

Probably not one made of brass. He would have one made out of wood,

Vjerojatno ne mjedeni. Imao bi jedan načinjen od drveta,

or paper. And the vast majority of this first computer

ili papira. Najveći dio ovih prvih računala

was a portable device

bile su prijenosne naprave

that you could keep in the back of your pocket.

koje ste mogli držati u stražnjem džepu.

So, what does the astrolabe inspire?

Što, dakle, astrolab nadahnjuje?

Well, I think the first thing is that

Pa, prvo što mi pada na pamet

it reminds us just how resourceful people were,

jest to da nas podsjeća koliko su snalažljivi ljudi bili,

our forebears were, years and years ago.

naši preci, prije mnogo godina.

It's just an incredible device.

To je naprosto nevjerojatna naprava.

Every technology advances.

Svaka tehnologija napreduje.

Every technology is transformed and moved by others.

Svaka se tehnologija mijenja i na nju utječu druge.

And what we gain with a new technology, of course,

Ono što dobivamo s novom tehnologijom, naravno,

is precision and accuracy.

su preciznost i točnost.

But what we lose, I think, is

No, mislim da je ono što gubimo

an accurate -- a felt sense

točan -- osjećaj

of the sky, a sense of context.

neba, osjećaj konteksta.

Knowing the sky, knowing your relationship with the sky,

Poznavanje neba, poznavanje vašeg odnosa s nebom,

is the center of the real answer

je središte pravog odgovora

to knowing what time it is.

na poznavanje točnog vremena.

So, it's -- I think astrolabes are just remarkable devices.

Tako da -- mislim da su astrolabi jednostavno izvanredne naprave.

And so, what can you learn from these devices?

Dakle, što možete naučiti od tih naprava?

Well, primarily that there is a subtle knowledge

Pa, kao prvo to da postoji suptilno znanje

that we can connect with the world.

da se možemo povezati sa svijetom.

And astrolabes return us to this subtle sense

I astrolabi nam vraćaju taj suptilni osjećaj

of how things all fit together,

toga kako se stvari uklapaju jedne s drugima,

and also how we connect to the world.

i kako smo mi povezani sa svijetom.

Thanks very much.

Mnogo vam hvala.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)