Returning to the subject of dolls, I came across the perfect doll for the book via Jonathan Carroll's site. In brief:
- it's called The Writer
- it's from the 1770s
- it was one of three automatons made by fancy watch/mechanical bird maker Jaquet Droz
- there's debate over whether it should be considered an android or not
- it can be programmed to write up to 40 characters
- apparently the inventor used to get it to write 'Cogito ergo sum' to slag off Descartes
- its head and eyes follow the text as it writes. Creepy.
The Jaquet Droz business is now owned by Swatch.
2 comments:
oh my god that is so creepy. there goes sleep for a week.
where do you find this stuff?
love T
Isn't is bizarre! Jonathan Carroll mentioned it on his blog. The other two automatons Jaquet Droz made are equally unsettling - there's a piano player who you can see breathing as she plays, and a child who sketches, eyes following his work. For more weirdness see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5lDkYBh-fQ (this one is more magical than menacing).
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