Wonder-making and philosophical wonder in Hero of Alexandria

Abstract

In his treatises Hero of Alexandria describes a range of devices for producing spectacles and generating wonder that have frequently been treated as marginal by historians of technology and science. In this paper I shall show that these devices and Hero's emphasis on wonder-making are of central importance to the image that Hero presents of mechanics. Hero uses the concept of wonder to add an intellectual component to the utility of mechanics, to strengthen the epistemological claims of mechanics and to relate mechanical expertise to divine cunning. He is thereby able to present mechanics as a form of knowledge which is epistemically on a par with philosophy, but which still maintains powerful practical consequence.

Trading Luxury Glass, Picturing Collections and Consuming Objects of Knowledge in Early Seventeenth‐Century Antwerp

“…Hero's descriptions of catoptrical systems underscored the epistemic superiority of the mathematician, who understood the underlying optical foundations, over the unknowing audience, who only experienced the optical effects. 74 The message that these art cabinets embodied was, in a similar vein, that their users (who are knowledgeable of optics) will not be deceived, only the ignorant. Antwerp art dealers who commissioned and exported art cabinets thus traded in Hero's wonders creating an intellectual and social boundary between the effects and the mechanism that produced it and between those who understood the causes and those who were deceived.…”

Detection methods of carcinogens in estuaries: a review

“…Ctesibius was the first automated system introduced in Egypt over two thousand years ago. It kept time by regulating the water level in a vessel [54]. Later, a variety of automatic devices have been implemented to accomplish tasks or for entertainment.…”

“…To avoid this phenomenon from happening, fast and accurate detection of carcinogenic concentrations in water is crucial. This paper presents a review of various detection methods of carcinogenic compounds in watercourses via biological , physical [54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66] and chemical approaches [67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76].…”

“…Physical approaches have the integration of automated detections with science and engineering approaches, particularly sensors. Automated detection is an application of computer programming basis and the fundamentals of electrical and electronic engineering studies [54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66]. Sensors are handy and have a relatively higher speed and sensitivity compared with biological approaches [54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66].…”

Varieties of wonder:

“…6 See e.g. Céard (1986), Pomian (1988), Findlen (1996), Daston and Park (1998), Campbell (1999), Benedict (2001), Tybjerg (2003), Evans and Marr (2006). Especially Marr (2006) is essential background reading for this article, as it treats of automata and wonder-working.…”