The Mythology of Machines. The History of Mechanisms That Both Scare and Fascinate Us

Daniel Strassberg examines the relationship between humans and machines through a historical-psychological lens and shows where our modern fears of technology originate. At the dawn of technological development, the floating deities of ancient theater, the flutist, and Jacques de Vaucanson's... duck primarily served to amaze the audience.
However, mechanisms by definition evoke in humans a mix of admiration and anxiety; Strassberg calls these complex emotions affects. The amusing curiosities of the cabinet of curiosities symbolized that God is an all-powerful creator. 
The invention of the clockwork mechanism paved the way for a mechanistic understanding of the state and nature.
The steam engine measured the labor of workers and inspired the prophets of industrial capitalism. But our desire to use technology is countered by a fear of divine punishment, a fear that has long been inherent in European culture.