[gmw]

‘A steam engine toy,’ Mori said. ‘It’s an old design. The Ancient Greeks had them.’
‘The Ancient Greeks? If they had steam engines, why didn’t they have trains?’
Mori twitched his shoulder. ‘They were philosophers; they put two and two together and got a goldfish.

Although one could still do proper science with a magnet and some iron filings, it felt professional to have made something that looked like a mutated windmill. Science had to have some mystery, otherwise everyone would find out how simple it was.

-- Natasha Pulley, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street (2015)

(Need I mention that I am enjoying this book? )