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The Machine That Thinks (1904)

Episode 12 of the Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 084 by Various podcast, hosted by LibriVox, titled "The Machine That Thinks (1904)" was published on April 11, 2026 and runs 9 minutes.

April 11, 2026 ·9m · Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 084 by Various

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Short Nonfiction Collection Vol. 031 by Various LibriVox Fifteen short nonfiction works in the public domain, independently chosen by the readers. Topics include the Faust Legend, Stephen Crane, Sundials and the Statue of Liberty. (Summary by Sue Anderson) Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 083 by Various LibriVox “Oh, mother, I would like to know everything.” “You can never know everything, my child, but you can learn many things from books.” According to children's book author James Baldwin (1841-1925), book reading was the key to success in life (Read and You Shall Know). Several vol. 083 selections tackle the thorny questions of how to foster open-mindedness, creativity, and compassion in the child and adult: (The Road to Success; Young People and Insurance; William Paley on Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy; Letter from Françoise d'Aubigné; Looking Ahead for Democracy (1919): How Five Notable Women Were Educated; Winter Talk; and the Fantastic Imagination). Even Rural Free Mail delivery, new in 1900, is seen as effecting a “social revolution.” Invention and science are celebrated in Eratosthenes; Who is Browning?; and Light House Illumination. Heroism in wartime is honored in The Death of the Lusitania and Murder at Sea; while the evils of warfare are made plain in Fort Duquesne Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 085 by Various LibriVox "A regard for decency, even at the cost of success, is but the regard for one's own dignity" was novelist Joseph Conrad's take on fame, a quote from the preface to his autobiography A Personal Record (1912). Other lives chosen by readers to examine in vol. 085 include the Borgias; the Cynocephali; Hermann von Helmholtz; Edgar Allan Poe; John Burroughs; a pre-Revolutionary War magnate named Browne, who built a mansion on the ridge of a hill; women as a social class; and an 1821 rabies victim named Thomas, who exhibited hydrophobia. Political history receives scrutiny in Some Materials and a Possibility; The House Famine; Cracow; The Dutch East India Company; and Across Africa by Air and Rail. The art of Japanning illuminates an ancient craft. Literature, by Irvin Cobb, is welcome humor. And for hungry souls, there are recipes for ice cream and for Army chow! Summary by Sue Anderson. Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 086 by Various LibriVox "The democracy of the future will sicken of a chronic and mortal boredom," was Aldous Huxley's prophecy for the United States in 1923. You won't be bored listening to these 20 recordings, selected by their readers, with topics ranging from Leacock's humorous Manual of Education to Unamuno's Tragic Sense of Life. There's an artist's diary (Thomas Cole); an after-dinner speech (Mark Twain); reflections on Beauty by John Burroughs; Willa Cather and Christopher Morley on writing; and Leibniz on the Origin of Things. Political topics include the Power of Third Parties; the House of Commons; the 1904 South Dakota Land Lottery; and an NAACP anti-lynching poster. The 1918 Influenza Epidemic mirrors today's Covid quarantine and mask requirements; while virtual adventure beckons in Königstein Fortress; an Equatorial Chinese Wedding; Nellie Bly; and An Humane Skeleton of Extraordinary Size. Finally, acts of heroism are celebrated in A Pioneer Girl and in Poland's Tadeusz Kościuszko. (Summary by S
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