Was reading Walter Benjamin and came across this passage on “the mechanical turk” hoax that happened in the late 1800s:
“The story is told of an automaton constructed in a way that it could play a winning game of chess, answering each move of an opponent with a countermove. A puppet in turkish attire and with a hookah in its mouth sat before a chessboard placed on a large table. A system of mirrors created the illusion that this table was transparent from all sides. Actually, a little hunchback who was an expert chess player sat inside and guided the puppet’s hand by means of strings. One can imagine a philosophical counterpart to this device. The puppet called “historical materialism” is to win all the time. It can easily be a match for anyone if it enlists the services of theology, which today, as we know, is wizened and has to keep out of sight.” (Benjamin Illuminations p 253) (italics mine)
Peep game on the mechanical turk on wikipedia if you want
Bonus Madlib (not the beat conductor):
The puppet called “______________” is to win all the time. It can easily be a match for anyone if it enlists the services of ______________, which today, as we know, is wizened and has to keep out of sight.”
Protip: I think there’s an actual correct answer for this fill-in-the-blank that applies to right now, with specific regards not to historical analysis but to what music signifies to people. What puppet is “rigged” to win all the time nowadays, and what is hiding behind it, relying on being hidden in order to operate?
inb4 tl; dr
