Here you are, standing in a sea of cardiovascular equipment at the gym – rows upon rows of treadmills, elliptical machines, stair steppers, rowing machines, stationary bikes, and more.
A useless machine, sometimes known as a 'useless box', is a device which has a function but no direct purpose. It may be intended to make a philosophical point, as an amusing engineering 'hack', or as an intellectual joke. Devices which have no function or which malfunction are not considered to be 'useless machines'.
The most well-known 'useless machines' are those inspired by Marvin Minsky's design, in which the device's sole function is to switch itself off by operating its own 'off' switch. More elaborate devices and novelty toys, having some obvious function or entertainment value, have been based on these simple 'useless machines'.
- Studies have shown that few covid-19 patients on ventilators survive, and those that do often have to remain on the machines for weeks, raising the risks of fatal complications.
- Historians do not know Redheffer's background prior to the hoax, according to Ord-Hume. But nothing is known about the device or what became of Redheffer. Simanek noted that most perpetual.
- Other Styles of Machines that Do Nothing. There are other modern-day Do-Nothing Machines in the form of showing how various mechanisms, such as cogs, wheels and pistons work. I have found several books on these machines and an occasional one here and there in other books. 'Making Mechanical Marvels in Wood' by Raymond Levy, c.1991.
History[edit]
The Italian artist Bruno Munari began building 'useless machines' (macchine inutili) in the 1930s. He was a 'third generation' Futurist and did not share the first generation's boundless enthusiasm for technology, but sought to counter the threats of a world under machine rule by building machines that were artistic and unproductive.[1]
The version of the useless machine that became famous in information theory (basically a box with a simple switch which, when turned 'on', causes a hand or lever to appear from inside the box that switches the machine 'off' before disappearing inside the box again[2]) appears to have been invented by MIT professor and artificial intelligence pioneer Marvin Minsky, while he was a graduate student at Bell Labs in 1952.[3] Minsky dubbed his invention the 'ultimate machine', but that sense of the term did not catch on.[3] The device has also been called the 'Leave Me Alone Box'.[4]
Minsky's mentor at Bell Labs, information theory pioneer Claude Shannon (who later also became an MIT professor), made his own versions of the machine. He kept one on his desk, where science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke saw it. Clarke later wrote, 'There is something unspeakably sinister about a machine that does nothing—absolutely nothing—except switch itself off', and he was fascinated by the concept.[3]
Minsky also invented a 'gravity machine' that would ring a bell if the gravitational constant were to change, a theoretical possibility that is not expected to occur in the foreseeable future.[3]
Commercial products[edit]
In the 1960s, a novelty toy maker called 'Captain Co.' sold a 'Monster Inside the Black Box', featuring a mechanical hand that emerged from a featureless plastic black box and flipped a toggle switch, turning itself off. This version may have been inspired in part by 'Thing', the disembodied hand featured in the television sitcomThe Addams Family.[3] Other versions have been produced.[5] In their conceptually purest form, these machines do nothing except switch themselves off.
It is claimed that Don Poynter, who graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1949 and founded Poynter Products, Inc., first produced and sold the 'Little Black Box', which simply switched itself off. He then added the coin snatching feature, dubbed his invention 'The Thing', arranged licensing with the producers of the television show, The Addams Family, and later sold 'Uncle Fester's Mystery Light Bulb' as another show spinoff product.[6][7]Robert J. Whiteman, owner and president of Liberty Library Corporation, also claims credit for developing 'The Thing'.[8][9] (Both companies were later to be co-defendants in landmark litigation initiated by Theodor Geisel ('Dr. Seuss') over copyright issues related to figurines.)[10][6]
Both the plain black box and the bank version were widely sold by Spencer Gifts, and appeared in its mail-order catalogs through the 1960s and early 1970s. As of 2015, a version of the coin snatching black box is being sold as the 'Black Box Money Trap Bank' or 'Black Box Bank'.[citation needed]
Do-it-yourself versions of the useless machine (often modernized with microprocessor controls) have been featured in a number of web videos[11] and inspired more complex machines that are able to move or which use more than one switch.[12] As of 2015, there are several completed or kit form devices being offered for sale.[13]
Cultural references[edit]
Machines That Do Nothing Youtube
In 2009, the artist David Moises exhibited his reconstruction of The Ultimate Machine aka Shannon's Hand, and explained the interactions of Claude Shannon, Marvin Minsky, and Arthur C. Clarke regarding the device.[14]
Episode 3 of the third season of the FX show Fargo, 'The Law of Non-Contradiction', features a useless machine[15] (and, in a story within the story, an android named MNSKY after Marvin Minsky).[16]
10 Useless Machines That Do Nothing
See also[edit]
References[edit]
Wooden Do Nothing Machine
- ^Munari, Bruno (15 September 2015). 'official website, 'Useless Machines''.
- ^Moises, David (15 September 2015). ''The Ultimate Machine nach Claude E. Shannon' (video)'.
- ^ abcdePesta, Abigail (12 March 2013). 'Looking for Something Useful to Do With Your Time? Don't Try This'. Wall Street Journal. p. 1. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- ^Seedman, Michael. '(Homepage)'. Leave Me Alone Box. LeaveMeAloneBox. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
- ^'Little Black Box'. Grand Illusions. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
- ^ abReiselman, Deborah (2012). 'Alum Don Poynter gains novelty reputation on campus and off'. UC Magazine. University of Cincinnati. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^Cancilla, Sam. 'Little Black Box'. Sam's Toybox. Sam Cancilla. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
- ^'About'. Liberty: The Stories Never Die!. Liberty Library Corporation. 2012. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
- ^Whitehill, Bruce. 'Bettye-B'. The Big Game Hunter. The Big Game Hunter. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
- ^Nel, Philip (2003). 'The Disneyfication of Dr Seuss: faithful to profit, one hundred percent?'. Cultural Studies. Taylor and Francis, Ltd. 17 (5): 579–614. doi:10.1080/0950238032000126847. ISBN9780203643815. S2CID144293531.
- ^Seedman, Michael. 'What Others Have Done'. Leave Me Alone Box. LeaveMeAloneBox. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
- ^Fiessler, Andreas. 'Useless Machine Advanced Edition'. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^'[search results: 'useless machine kit']'. Amazon. Amazon.com. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
- ^Krausse, Joachim; et al. (2011). David Moises: Stuff Works (in English and German). Nürnberg: Verlag für moderne Kunst. pp. 30–31. ISBN978-3-86984-229-5.
- ^Travers, Ben (3 May 2017). ''Fargo' Review: Carrie Coon Heads to La La Land in Bananas Episode That Upends Expectations For Year 3'. Indiewire.
- ^Grubbs, Jefferson (3 May 2017). 'Is The Planet Wyh a Real Book? Fargo Features an Pulp Sci-Fi Hit'. Bustle.
While the world usually judges a machine regarding its applicability and practicality; anyone who understands the magic of mathematics would appreciate the 'Do Nothing Machine.'
Below is a mechanism called the Trammel of Archimedes, or more infamously known as Kentucky do-nothings, nothing grinders and do nothing machines. The mechanism consists of shuttles, enclosed into two perpendicular channels or rails, pivoted at two fixed positions along the rod. The shuttles' motion along the channel produces an elliptical path.
Though the world may think that the machine is good for nothing; a few people do know that it is used in an ellipsograph. The ellipsograph is a device utilized to draw, cut, and create ellipses, on sheet materials e.g. wood. An ellipsograph uses a pencil, knife or a router attached to the rod to make the elliptical shapes which can then, be modified in size by adjusting the distances a and b between the two axes of the slider joints.
The ellipsographs are believed to date back to the time of Proclus and even to Archimedes, hence, the fancy name. Currently, these devices are used to produce toys and collectible items.
Grand vision gaming. Not so useless after all, is it?
