Maelzel's Chess Player
by Edgar Allan Poe
On This Page
Description
Maelzel's Chess Player by Edgar Allan Poe is a riveting exploration of one of the 19th century's greatest mechanical marvels, the famed "Mechanical Turk" chess-playing automaton. In this essay, Poe employs his signature analytical mind to unravel the mystery behind the automaton, which captivated audiences across Europe and America. The Mechanical Turk, a creation that seemed to think and play chess like a human, sparked widespread debate about its authenticity. Poe dives deep into this show more intrigue, arguing with sharp reasoning that the automaton is a clever hoax, controlled by a concealed human operator. Written in 1836, this essay showcases Poe's early foray into scientific analysis, a precursor to the detective fiction he would later pioneer. His detailed breakdown of the mechanisms behind the Turk is not just a technical investigation but also a reflection of society's growing fascination with technology and the blurred line between human ingenuity and machine capabilities. This clas... show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
I love reading & hearing about historical intersections! Right before this I read a nonfiction write-up about Maelzel exhibiting the chess-playing atomaton, The Turk, throughout North America. In his essay, Poe provides numerous details (that I've never heard before) from relevant second-hand observations, and he provides some interesting & very logical arguments. A lot of them weren't that far off from the truth!!
Other approaches to the most well-known faked chess robot of the 19th century had been written prior to Poe’s essay. Different to them, he did not postulate, that a human being operated the machine, but « a mind ».
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
3,808+ Works 107,410 Members
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. In 1827, he enlisted in the United States Army and his first collection of poems, Tamerlane and Other Poems, was published. In 1835, he became the editor of the Southern Literary Messenger. Over the next ten years, Poe would edit a number of literary journals including the show more Burton's Gentleman's Magazine and Graham's Magazine in Philadelphia and the Broadway Journal in New York City. It was during these years that he established himself as a poet, a short story writer, and an editor. His works include The Fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Mystery of Marie Roget, A Descent into the Maelstrom, The Masque of the Red Death, and The Raven. He struggle with depression and alcoholism his entire life and died on October 7, 1849 at the age of 40. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Maelzel's Chess Player
- Original title
- Maelzel's Chess Player
- Original publication date
- 1836-04
- Related movies*
- Histoires extraordinaires: Le joueur d'échecs de Maelzel (1981 | IMDb)
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 34
- Popularity
- 836,989
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.75)
- Languages
- English, French, Italian
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 10
- ASINs
- 1
