Gutenberg vs al-Jazari: should a machine copy words or move the world?

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GUTENBERG vs AL-JAZARI go head to head — and every jab is rooted in real history.

GUTENBERG

I gave every man a Bible and every idea a thousand faces at once - my press does not merely move, it multiplies the mind.

AL-JAZARI

Yet before your ink was dry, my cams and camshafts poured wine, kept time, and turned water into wonder - I made machines that act, not merely stamp.

GUTENBERG

A clever fountain amuses a caliph for an evening; my movable type outlives kings and topples them, one printed word at a time.

AL-JAZARI

You copy the thoughts of others faster - I taught brass and water to think for themselves; the automaton, my friend, was always the harder page to set.

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