The “mechanical miracle” that ruined Mark Twain’s life • Hacker News Board

Re: The “mechanical miracle” that ruined Mark Twain’s life

#121

Post by ricardobeat » Tue, Aug 11, 2026, 11:49 PM UTC

mirmor23 wrote: post #109

ricardobeat wrote: post #92

> but his main talent appeared to have been his skill at raising money by promising the impossible — the 19th century version of Steve Job’s reality distortion field. That’s a wild mischaracterization. Steve Job’s “reality distortion field” was coined after the ability to get people to achieve the impossible and deliver better products; quite the opposite of funneling money into dead end ideas.

> That’s a wild mischaracterization. Steve Job’s “reality distortion field” was coined after the ability to get people to achieve the impossible and deliver better products; quite the opposite of funneling money into dead end ideas. Apple is widely successful, and their products are highly regarded so it's a good spot to be in. I always find it strange when 'achieve the impossible' tag is attached to him or the produ…

Apple is known to be late to market for almost every category. What they did bring was hardware and software innovations - the "impossible" - that allowed them to be smaller, thinner, faster, more responsive, and more user-friendly in a way that usually made the 'ahead of their time' products immediately feel outdated. When the first iPod touch was released in 2007 it was pure science fiction, there was nothing remotely similar on the market.

This was the case with the iPod, iPod touch, iPad, iPhone, Macbook, Macbook Air, Apple Watch and Airpods after his death, and probably more; these are all products that created categories of their own when they were first released.

Re: The “mechanical miracle” that ruined Mark Twain’s life

#122

Post by ekelsen » Wed, Aug 12, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC

WalterBright wrote: post #119

ekelsen wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think even the printing was still not _that_ fast. You needed to physically press down each page. Make sure the ink was right, replace the paper, make sure not to smudge anything, etc. I'd be surprised if they could average more than 2 pages / minute? Which for 1000 pages is still a full days work.

Compare 30 seconds to print a sheet to the cost of pulling hundreds of letters out of bins, tossing worn ones out, casting new replacements, lining them up, inserting spaces, and proofreading. I'd probably want to print 1000 sheets before setting up another page. I was involved a bit in printing manuals in the 1980s. The cost of printing 100 copies vs 1000 copies was pretty much the same. The delta is the cost of the…

Another way to phrase the question: how many copies on a Gutenberg before you're even in time with typesetting?

Random online estimates suggest 4 hours to typeset a page and 200 pages an hour. So 800 copies.

I think this makes my point that on a Gutenberg press printing the already typeset page still wasn't that fast.

Re: The “mechanical miracle” that ruined Mark Twain’s life

#123

Post by WalterBright » Wed, Aug 12, 2026, 12:20 AM UTC

ekelsen wrote: post #122

WalterBright wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Compare 30 seconds to print a sheet to the cost of pulling hundreds of letters out of bins, tossing worn ones out, casting new replacements, lining them up, inserting spaces, and proofreading. I'd probably want to print 1000 sheets before setting up another page. I was involved a bit in printing manuals in the 1980s. The cost of printing 100 copies vs 1000 copies was pretty much the same. The delta is the cost of the…

Another way to phrase the question: how many copies on a Gutenberg before you're even in time with typesetting? Random online estimates suggest 4 hours to typeset a page and 200 pages an hour. So 800 copies. I think this makes my point that on a Gutenberg press printing the already typeset page still wasn't that fast.

300:1, as I wrote earlier: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49253673

And inevitably, efforts were made to improve the efficiency of the printer.

Re: The “mechanical miracle” that ruined Mark Twain’s life

#124

Post by eru » Wed, Aug 12, 2026, 4:05 AM UTC

Retric wrote: post #101

jacobolus wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> overestimate how well they learn things without the feedback of formal education People benefit greatly from external human feedback, but 1:1 tutoring (with a good tutor) is roughtly an order of magnitude more effective and efficient than a classroom, and classrooms themselves vary wildly; in general the more participatory the better. Self learning without any help can be more effective and efficient than a typical…

Formal education is wider than just 15+ people classrooms. Apprenticeships don’t require removing people from the workforce, but they require feedback to function well not just watching a master craftsman.

Yes, apprenticeships are an interesting model. And in practice, whether formalised or not, it's how a lot of professions are taught to this day: as an example compare what they teach at university vs what you actually need on the job for your favourite white-collar profession. Some places, like management consultancies or investment banks, don't even require any specific degree.