Leo Tolstoy hated geeks and Germans

Tolstoy's heroine Anna Karenina, being a considerate hostess, tries to draw the geeky (and German) steward of her lover's estate into the dinner table conversation by asking a technical question. But, as many a geek has since discovered, the suits and gowns don't really want to know the answer.

Here's the excerpt:

"Have you ever seen a reaping machine?" she said, addressing Darya Alexandrovna. "We had just ridden over to look at one when we met. It's the first time I ever saw one."

"How do they work?" asked Dolly.

"Exactly like little scissors. A plank and a lot of little scissors. Like this."

Anna took a knife and fork in her beautiful white hands covered with rings, and began showing how the machine worked. It was clear that she saw nothing would be understood from her explanation; but aware that her talk was pleasant and her hands beautiful she went on explaining.

"More like little penknives," Veslovsky said playfully, never taking his eyes off her.

Anna gave a just perceptible smile, but made no answer. "Isn't it true, Karl Fedoritch, that it's just like little scissors?" she said to the steward.

"Oh, ja," answered the German. "Es it ein ganz einfaches Ding [It's quite a simple thing]," and he began to explain the construction of the machine.

"It's a pity it doesn't bind too. I saw one at the Vienna exhibition, which binds with a wire," said Sviazhsky. "They would be more profitable in use."

"Es kommt drauf an.... Der Preis vom Draht muss ausgerechnet werden. [That depends...the cost of the wire must be taken into account.]" And the German, roused from his taciturnity, turned to Vronsky. "Das laesst sich ausrechnen, Erlaucht. [It can be calculated, your excellency.]" The German was just feeling in the pocket where were his pencil and the notebook he always wrote in, but recollecting that he was at a dinner, and observing Vronsky's chilly glance, he checked himself. "Zu compliziert, macht zu viel Klopot [too complicated, makes too much troubles]," he concluded.

"Wuenscht man Dochots, so hat man auch Klopots [a man who wants troubles will also have troubles]," said Vassenka Veslovsky, mimicking the German. "J'adore l'allemand [I love German]," he addressed Anna again with the same smile.

"Cessez [Stop it]," she said with playful severity.

Anna Karenina is one of my favourite novels, but when Anna throws herself under a train at the end of the novel, I have one reason different from Tolstoy's to say:

Vengeance is mine; I will repay