The Torch Magazine,
The Journal and Magazine of the
International Association of Torch Clubs
For 82 Years
A Peer-Reviewed
Quality Controlled
Publication
ISSN Print 0040-9440
ISSN Online 2330-9261
Winter 2014
Volume 87, Issue 2
Articles in the
Winter 2014 Issue
The Antikythera
Mechanism
by Karl R. Schaefer
Over the past
century, several researchers have
tried to decipher the structure and
purpose of a mechanical device built
more than 2000 years ago. This
paper traces the growth of
understanding about the Antikythera
Mechanism and the role played by
various personalities in the pursuit
of that understanding.
Myths About
Movies
by Mark
Lore
Many of our
conceptions about the film
industry are outdated,
reflecting a past when theaters
were the way most people viewed
movies and when commercial and
"artistic" films were thought to
occupy different spheres.
Technology has changed the
economic scene. Films
today are not dependent on box
office receipts, nor is there
much difference between
commercial and art movies.
Often films with low budgets
gather the highest incomes.
That Wondrous
Product Salt
by Anne Miller
This paper will present a
brief history of how salt has been
produced and used for diverse
purposes, including the preservation
of food, the creation of wealth,
influencing the outcome of wars and
the quality of medical care.
Why Are We So
Divided?
by Arthur Gunlicks
It is easy
to forget that in the United
States there is a long history of
conflict--even bitter
conflict--over political
differences. The
relationship between the
Federalists and
Republican-Democrats, the former
led by Washington and Hamilton and
the latter by Jefferson and
Madison, was not exactly
cordial. Such divisions
continue today.
Detective Fiction
by Ann Foard
The genre of detective
fiction has been popular since its
inception in the 19th century, and
continues to be so. Why do
some people enjoy murder mysteries
so much? Because they appeal
to two of the defining
characteristics of our
species: we love stories and
we like to think.
The Civil War in
Song
by Charles W. Darling
Music
was important in the 1860s because
songs told stories and documented
history before the advent of
electricity, the telephone, and
recorded music. Songs inspired
the troops to carry on. Examples
are given of how songs influenced the
history of the war and nation.
The Rise and Fall
of the Bethlehem Steel Empire
by Ted Haas
Bethlehem Steel filed for
bankruptcy protection on October 17,
2001. This once-mighty
industrial empire was no more.
What went wrong? A company
with 115,720 employees in 1974, and
having produced the steel found in
famous projects such as The Empire
State Building, simply
disappeared. This article,
enriched by interviews with former
employees, explores the reasons why
the company failed.
The Terrible
Novels and Not at All Helpful
Politics of Ayn Rand
by P.
Scott Stanfield
This
paper advances two claims. The
first is that the novels of Ayn Rand
are, as novels, worse than mediocre
performances. The second is that
those novels have injured the tone of
our civic and political culture.
