Torch: U.S. Volume LXIV Summer 2015 | Page 2

Torch:U.S. Policy

The Torch:U.S. is published four times yearly as the official magazine of the National Junior Classical League. Issues are published in fall, winter, spring, and summer. It is entered as third-class material from the Oxford, Ohio, Post Office. The ideas expressed in the Opinion section are the comments of the Torch:U.S. and its staff and should not necessarily be considered the policy of the National Junior Classical League, its officers, or the National Committee. Readers are encouraged to express their opinions on any subject relevant to the classics or JCL in the Vo(i)ces Section. Your name and address or title must be included with your submission. All names will be published. Submissions may be sent to the editor or the advisor (see addresses to the left).

Photo Credits

Caitlin Johnston, Amol Punjabi, Jacob Summerville, Larry Dean, Narayan Sundararajan, Sarah Christian, Maya Nandakumar, Nature Magazine

Torch:U.S. Staff

Editor

Amol Punjabi

Advisor

Caitlin Johnston

Copy Editors

Nancy Sinacola

The Origins of the Digital Age

We all know that technology is taking over our lives. But you probably didn’t know the Greeks developed the first computer in history, the Antikythera Mechanism. In fact, the device you’re using right now evolved from a bronze clockwork mechanism originally used to determine the calendar and astronomical phenomena. In 2014, researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution used underwater robots and the latest diving technology to explore the Antikythera shipwreck but their expedition was cut short due to bad weather. They returned this past spring to undertake the first systematic investigation of the site. Turn to page 8 to delve into the enigma of the Antikythera Mechanism.

Volume I to LXIV

After 61 years of printing the Torch: U.S., the NJCL is transitioning to a digital format. To celebrate the chronicles of the JCL, we have compiled a timeline of landmarks in our history from a survey of the 200+ issues of the Torch:U.S. published to date. Look back at the introduction of Ludi, the inaugural National Classics Week, and the first example of a state update. As we usher in a new publishing medium, let us reflect on our past to see how far we've come.

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