A Postmodernist of the 1600's Is Back in Fashion

[John Bailey]

On Kirchner and his wonderful machines, see...
http://www.stanford.edu/group/shl/Eyes/machines/

'This article attempts to situate Kircher’s machines in a Baroque culture of 
artificial magic...The game of deducing the natural causes behind the 
strange effects produced by Kircher’s magical machines, such as a clepsydra 
apparently pouring water upwards into a “watery heaven”, really caused by a 
hidden mirror, was somewhat akin to fox-hunting or golf in our society: if 
you could play the game, your identity as part of a particular social elite 
was confirmed. If you could not play the game, and had to assume that 
demonic forces were responsible for the strange effects you were witnessing, 
you were doomed to the ranks of the vulgar masses.'

Kind of Pynchonian, that last line, perhaps, mmmm?


>From: Dave Monroe <davidmmonroe at yahoo.com>
>To: pynchon-l at waste.org
>Subject: A Postmodernist of the 1600's Is Back in Fashion
>Date: Sat, 25 May 2002 02:58:34 -0700 (PDT)
>
>From Sarah Boxer, "A Postmodernist of th 1600's Is
>Back in Fashion," NY Times, Saturday, May 25th, 2002
>...
>
>A puckish question was raised on Thursday night at New
>York University: "Was Athanasius Kircher the coolest
>guy ever, or what?" For those who have no idea who
>Kircher was, let's begin with the "or what."
>

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