I guess I owe an update on my mission to finish my reconstruction of Bessler’s wheel and publish the result in September.
Frustratingly, I discovered the solution to Bessler’s wheel more than two years ago, but it was just the concept and not all of the detail. In fact I didn’t ‘discover‘ it, I found it in Bessler’s clues. Although I had managed to extract much of the design from his clues, that is where I got stuck. I thought I had identified all of the clues I needed and yet there were problems making some parts of the mechanism work in the way I had planned it, according to the concept I had found. I knew if I was right then Bessler must have provided useful hints for every problem encountered, by providing clues showing the correct solution, but it was a struggle to identify more clues and interpret them correctly, it was like pulling teeth! But slowly, bit by bit I found them and got to understand their meaning and eventually I knew I had the whole thing worked out and ready for assembly.
Under the best conditions the design calls for skills and equipment I no longer have, but I’m carrying on with my amateurish efforts and I’m hopeful that I’ll finish soon. Even with the clues there are still occasions where trial and error are necessary, and progress happens in fits and starts. Some clues don’t become meaningful until the build has progressed to a certain point, and then realisation suddenly illuminates one’s mind.
Frustratingly, I discovered the solution to Bessler’s wheel more than two years ago, but it was just the concept and not all of the detail. In fact I didn’t ‘discover‘ it, I found it in Bessler’s clues. Although I had managed to extract much of the design from his clues, that is where I got stuck. I thought I had identified all of the clues I needed and yet there were problems making some parts of the mechanism work in the way I had planned it, according to the concept I had found. I knew if I was right then Bessler must have provided useful hints for every problem encountered, by providing clues showing the correct solution, but it was a struggle to identify more clues and interpret them correctly, it was like pulling teeth! But slowly, bit by bit I found them and got to understand their meaning and eventually I knew I had the whole thing worked out and ready for assembly.
Under the best conditions the design calls for skills and equipment I no longer have, but I’m carrying on with my amateurish efforts and I’m hopeful that I’ll finish soon. Even with the clues there are still occasions where trial and error are necessary, and progress happens in fits and starts. Some clues don’t become meaningful until the build has progressed to a certain point, and then realisation suddenly illuminates one’s mind.
According to the solution certain actions needed to take place but try as I might I was unable to make one movement in particular, act as I expected and it has taken me until this year to understand how it works. It works in a counter-intuitive way, but I had unconsciously applied assumptions to its action which turned out to be wrong and prevented my seeing it moving as required. My own thoughts or preconceptions had guided my expectations which blinded me to the truth and obstructed the desired result. But I got there in the end.
One thing is certain, I would never have been able to conjure up this design myself, it is no wonder no one apart from Bessler has ever succeeded. Karl the Landgrave’s opinion that it was very simple is misleading; if you watch a mechanism working you can get an understanding of how it works, but, although Karl clearly understood what he was seeing, he had never actually made something himself so may not have understood how difficult it would be to build. . Watching Bessler’s mechanisms in action would be fascinating (and will be I hope!) but to see and realise all the complex interactions that occur very quickly could take a lot longer than a few minutes of study.
Finding and decoding all of Bessler’s clues requires patience and imagination, something I’m not so well equipped with at my age, and although I am sure I am right, in the end I might make a mistake, a simple error, which is why I’m so determined to get all of this work out into the public domain. You can be the judge. Of course I hope to have a working model to prove my work, but if it fails I’m sure there will be enough information for someone to succeed.
I know I’ve said this before, but anyone who thinks we’ll never know how Bessler’s wheel worked can think again, he left information about every aspect of his wheel. To us it looks obscure and ambiguous, but clearly Bessler was worried that someone might easily understand his clues if he made them any easier, so he placed a number of clues in various places and styles and then hid them under an invisibility cloak!
One more thing. Many people have suggested that a sim would prove once and for all whether the design I’m working on would work, that may be so, I have little experience of them, but I think that a sim of my design would prove quite difficult to make. I can’t remember seeing any sims with such complex actions. Perhaps a more sophisticated software or experienced simulator could manage it.
Still seeking donations for Amy’s crowdfunding page at
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-our-amy-to-walk-again
https://gf.me/u/ymprif
For news and videos of my granddaughter Amy who is suffering from CRPS, FND, PTSD and unable to walk and who’s left hand has suffered from fixed contracture you should take a look at her TikTok page. She has over 28,000 followers and climbing!
She is improving, particularly in her attitude to recovering from this nightmare disease.
NB Today, 24 August, just three weeks since I posted this blog, Amy now has over 50,000 followers, and 1.2 million likes!
https://www.tiktok.com/@amyepohl
JC
One more thing. Many people have suggested that a sim would prove once and for all whether the design I’m working on would work, that may be so, I have little experience of them, but I think that a sim of my design would prove quite difficult to make. I can’t remember seeing any sims with such complex actions. Perhaps a more sophisticated software or experienced simulator could manage it.
Still seeking donations for Amy’s crowdfunding page at
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-our-amy-to-walk-again
https://gf.me/u/ymprif
For news and videos of my granddaughter Amy who is suffering from CRPS, FND, PTSD and unable to walk and who’s left hand has suffered from fixed contracture you should take a look at her TikTok page. She has over 28,000 followers and climbing!
She is improving, particularly in her attitude to recovering from this nightmare disease.
NB Today, 24 August, just three weeks since I posted this blog, Amy now has over 50,000 followers, and 1.2 million likes!
https://www.tiktok.com/@amyepohl
JC