Join Ed and Ron for a discussion with John Farrell, author of The Clock and the Camshaft: And Other Medieval Inventions We Still Can’t Live Without.

A bit more about John W. Farrell…

John W. Farrell is a writer and producer working in Boston. He is the author of The Day Without Yesterday: Lemaître, Einstein and the Birth of Modern Cosmology from Basic Books, and The Clock and the Camshaft: And Other Medieval Inventions We Still Can’t Live Without, just out from Prometheus Books. A graduate of Harvard College with a B.A. in English and American Literature, Farrell has written for Commonweal, Aeon, Skeptic, Cosmos Magazine, New Scientist, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Boston Globe, Salon, National Review, Forbes and The Tablet of London. His fiction has appeared in Dappled Things, his poetry in Penwood Review and First Things, and he is a longstanding member of Boston’s creative writing community at Grub Street.

Use these show notes to follow along with the audio…(scroll a bit further to see what a bot came up with)

Segment one:

So what are we talking about with John today? His new book is called “The Clock and the Camshaft: And Other Medieval Inventions We Still Can't Live Without” https://www.amazon.com/Clock-Camshaft-Medieval-Inventions-Without-ebook/dp/B07P9MQFPS
In the case of farming tools, many breakthroughs were “breakwiths”. People would pick up tools nearby and repurpose them in ingenious ways starting with the fall of the Roman Empire.
One thing John discovered while researching his book is that humanity had the hand crank for quite some time. Then it sort of disappeared and THEN showed up again a few centuries later. More in his book: https://www.amazon.com/Clock-Camshaft-Medieval-Inventions-Without-ebook/dp/B07P9MQFPS
Let’s talk about the evolving camshaft. It was probably used earliest in China and then in the Roman Empire, the camshaft eventually was picked up by a Muslim scientist and continued to spread. The inventor is likely lost to history.

Segment two:

John defines technology in quite a cool way: Tools and techniques plus practical skills AND knowledge needed to invent, manufacture, and improve upon things.
Watermills were initially put together from pieces of constituent parts used for farming. Not only were the original mills used to power other tools, they were also used to help drive water out into fields for irrigation especially in the Middle East.
More often than not, large tools after the fall of the Roman Empire were simply too expensive for an individual and required public investment from the community.
While the horse ultimately replaced the oxen, horses required significantly more maintenance. They were initially adopted by feudal lords and monasteries — in other words, those who could afford them.
The camshaft is the first example of programming in human history. Depending on the mlll you were developing, the way you positioned the cams allowed you to time the hammers.

Segment three:

Chapter 7 is John’s new book is called “From Greek to Arabic and back again”. It talks about one of the Medieval translation movements and how many of the Classics (such as Aristotle’s works) were almost completely lost. https://www.amazon.com/Clock-Camshaft-Medieval-Inventions-Without-ebook/dp/B07P9MQFPS
The fact that everyone could speak Latin along with the return (and translation) of many of the Classics directly resulted in a scientific revolution in Europe.
It seems that we had some knowledge of lenses for quite a while but it was some time until we arrived at eyeglasses. For years, people would use a natural ball filled with water as a reading aid!

Segment four:

In chapter 4, “the paper explosion”, John talks about the adoption of paper and what it replaced. Had it not been for the availability of inexpensive paper, we would not have had the explosion of independent book shops for the masses. https://www.amazon.com/Clock-Camshaft-Medieval-Inventions-Without-ebook/dp/B07P9MQFPS
When using parchment instead of paper it took about 300 cattle to make one copy of the Bible. Paper really exploded as a use for early accounting and bookkeeping!
Another book by John is called “The Day Without Yesterday” and covers what he calls Big Bang 1.0 — more here: https://www.amazon.com/Day-Without-Yesterday-Lemaitre-Cosmology/dp/1560259027
A big THANK YOU to John Farrell for joining us today to talk about his book, “The Clock and the Camshaft: And Other Medieval Inventions We Still Can't Live Without” https://www.amazon.com/Clock-Camshaft-Medieval-Inventions-Without-ebook/dp/B07P9MQFPS

The bots are coming for us!

For a few weeks now, we have been experimenting with a new feature from Otter.ai. Many of you will know that some of the current AI solutions have caught Ron and Ed’s attention during the bonus episodes. We let Otter.ai loose on the audio version of this show and here is what it (he? she? they?) came up with:

Ron’s book orders are up. 0:02
Introduction to the show. 4:04
What’s next for the podcast? 5:58
Introduction to John Farrell. 8:04
What are some of the breakthroughs in medieval technology? 11:25
The evolution of water-powered mills. 15:42
Sponsor: Melio, an accounts payable solution. 22:22
How much of medieval technology still comes down to the modern day and how much of it comes from the caveman. 24:38
Horses as the primary draft animal in the Middle Ages. 31:12
Sponsor: 90Minds.com. 37:46
The Re-conquest of Spain. 41:05
The dangers of inventing in the Renaissance. 47:47
How the Romans were more innovative than the Greeks, and why the Greeks were ashamed of innovating. 52:28
The Cathedral Crusade and how it was financed. 59:36
John’s other book, Day Without Yesterday. 1:02:57

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

This past week was bonus episode 412 - podcast.ai. Here are some links discussed: