of automons and geishas

A couple of posts ago, I wrote about the books I was reading. I ended up liking the mechanical turk best, because it was filled with cool bits of trivia, like how the invention of the hand loom inspired the idea of punch cards, which led to computers. In Europe in the 18 and 19th century, inventors and scientists had to 'show off' in front of kings and queens, to secure funding. (Hmm, sounds familiar.) The best way was to build automons, little machines, somewhat like the toy dogs and dinosaurs stores are trying to hock for christmas. Austrian inventor Kempelen came up with a chess playing machine in six months to win a dare. It played against humans in matches all over Europe, winning and losing, while people tried to figure out its secret. Could it be possible? Other inventors had built machines that could play flutes, drums, etc.

And the secret is: There was a man inside. Sigh. Even though the machinery to operate the turk's hand was complicated, I found it disappointing to learn that it was all an illusion. In the end, the book is as much about the history of magic as it is about science.

forgot to add the bit about geishas cos i was tired. The other book, by kawabata, I didn't enjoy too much. There was too much reading between the lines to do, it wasn't so much pretentious as it was boring (to me). The premise is interesting. Men don't really go to hot spring and snow resorts to ski, but to enjoy the company of women. And these geishas are not the high class sort found in the cities, they are forced to sleep with customers because they are so dependent on travellers passing through. So a geisha is hoping that a man will rescue her, but knows deep down that he won't... the story follows these two people for several years, and it ends abruptly in a fire where the geisha's maid dies. If this was a movie, it would be an art film where you go huh? at the end.