Seth's Crawl Space

It’s always a surprise to go digging in Seth’s crawl space – who knows what we’ll find! In this cramped never-never land, tucked between piles of spilled cat litter and old clarinet reeds, we stumble upon the language of whales … the future of technology … the secret to plant power … and the answer to whether photographic memory exists. Tune in, find out and, grab a broom, will you?

Listen to individual segments here:
Part 1 - Larry Squire
Part 2 - Oliver Morton
Part 3 - Fred Sharpe
Part 4 - Computer History Museum
Part 5 - Nathan Myhrvold

Seth's Crawl Space - Computer History Museum

Part 4 of Seth's Crawl Space, featuring a trip to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.

Seth's Crawl Space - Nathan Myhrvold

Part 5 of Seth's Crawl Space, featuring Nathan Myhrvold, CEO of Intellectual Ventures.

Check your Babbage

Charles Babbage created Difference Engine Number 2 in the mid 19th century. Created on paper, that is. He never got to see his creation completed, as it wasn't actually built until the early 1990's. In 2008, a second working Difference Engine Number 2 was installed at the Mountain View Computer History Museum, and is pictured above, top, in detail, and above, bottom, with human Molly Bentley. Hear more about Seth and Molly's trip to the Computer History Museum on this week's show.

Don't be so Antikythera

A century ago, a team of Greek divers, exploring the coast off the island of Antikythera, discovered a ship wreck which contained part of what is believed to be the oldest known complex scientific calculator, dated to the first century, BC. The top picture is a reconstruction of the entire mechanism. The bottom picture is the main fragment retrieved from the wreck. The mechanism was used as an astronomical clock, wherein a date was entered and the mechanism would calculate the position of the sun, moon, and other planets. It also provided information about the phases of the moon and was used to predict solar eclipses. Learn more about the Antikythera mechanism on this week's show.