When my girls, 7 and 10, and I were learning about computers last year, I was surprised to discover that the first known computer was built in 1770–an automaton known as the Mechanical Turk. The Turk won almost every game of chess it played against a human being, and riveted audiences for 50 years. An automaton that could think was beyond their imagination, and this one was brilliant. The proof was right before their eyes.
In 1820, the Turk’s secret was revealed: there was an ordinary human being inside the box, underneath the chess board, controlling the Turk’s movements.
The Secret of the Mechanical Turk
Today we have Genius Turks: brilliant and creative people who are seen as superhuman, unlike the rest of us.
We can expose the secret to our children, and ourselves, by reading biographies–they reveal the normal human being behind the enigma, working hard to feed an obsession.
Biographies are a necessary tool in our family’s survival pack as we navigate our own paths through the jungle of Real Learning. They are the map that shows us the way.
Nourishing Genius 