In the past few days you may have seen a photo making the rounds on social media that shows a carved stone relief dating back to ancient Greece along with the word "laptop" displayed prominently in the headline.
The relief shows a woman lounging in an armchair, her right arm stretched out toward a shallow box with its lid open. The box is held up by a young girl the Getty Museum describes as a servant. What else looks like a shallow box with its lid open? A laptop, of course! It doesn't take much imagination to see the coincidence. Oh, how I wish it were true.
This isn't the first time the ancient "laptop" has emerged on the Internet. It made the rounds in 2014. The current revival is due to an article in the UK's Daily Mailthat gives voice to "conspiracy theorist" beliefs that it depicts a piece of modern technology. That's all it takes to spark a fresh round of social-media shares.
the museum writes. The relief is part of the Getty's collection but isn't currently on view.
There's a part of me that would love to run wild with the conspiracy theorists, to throw logic to the capricious winds and jump in with ideas of time travel and aliens and modern technology invading the past. If this really were a laptop, then all bets are off: "Doctor Who" is real, history would be rewritten, and I would legally change my name to Fox Mulder.
The relief shows a woman lounging in an armchair, her right arm stretched out toward a shallow box with its lid open. The box is held up by a young girl the Getty Museum describes as a servant. What else looks like a shallow box with its lid open? A laptop, of course! It doesn't take much imagination to see the coincidence. Oh, how I wish it were true.
This isn't the first time the ancient "laptop" has emerged on the Internet. It made the rounds in 2014. The current revival is due to an article in the UK's Daily Mailthat gives voice to "conspiracy theorist" beliefs that it depicts a piece of modern technology. That's all it takes to spark a fresh round of social-media shares.
There's a part of me that would love to run wild with the conspiracy theorists, to throw logic to the capricious winds and jump in with ideas of time travel and aliens and modern technology invading the past. If this really were a laptop, then all bets are off: "Doctor Who" is real, history would be rewritten, and I would legally change my name to Fox Mulder.
