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  • Gerbert and a Tenth-Century Robot? February 27, 2018

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Medieval
    Gerbert and a Tenth-Century Robot?

    Did you hear the one about the tenth-century robot created by a pope no less? Several books and authors credit the invention of a talking, walking machine by Gerbert of Aurillac (Pope Sylvester II, obit 1003) and the source is interesting. But, of course, there are no microchips, no nuts and bolts and, in fact, […]

    Boethius’s Astronomy: Did it Exist? October 4, 2011

    Author: Beach Combing | in : Medieval

    Beach has always had a thing about Boethius (obit 525). Boethius penned the great Consolation of Philosophy, a strangely affecting study of human priorities, while waiting for his execution. Boethius hovers between Neo-Platonism and Christianity: he is, in some senses, the missing link between the two religions. Then Boethius also  wrote books that do not […]