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From:
http://www.asimovonline.com/ol...

Let me add as a teaser:

"...
And out there beyond are the stars.

And the interesting thing is that if we can get through the next thirty years, there's no reason why we can't enter into a kind of plateau which will see the human race last, perhaps, indefinitely...till it evolves into better things...and spread out into space indefinitely. We have the choice here between nothing...and the virtually infinite. And the nice thing about it is that you guys in the audience today, when I say guys I mean it in a general term embracing gals...when you guys in the audience today will still be barely middle-aged when you will know which choice has been made.

See, I've been so shrewd that I fixed it so that I was born in 1920.

[group laughs]

Which means I'll be safely dead."

Just to clarify. Isaac Asimov has written AT LEAST 509 books inside of 75 years (counting joke books, but not counting research papers, of which he has several).
http://www.asimovonline.com/oldsite/asimov_titles.html

Wikianswers lists it at 512-515
http://preem.tejat.net/~tseng/Asimov/Alphabetical.html#C

One of these books is "I, Robot". None of them are sequels to this book. "I, Robot" was published in 1950. He wrote AT LEAST 507 books after it. You have to think that if he had wanted a sequel, he would have jotted down a note, or started writing it, or, you know, said in an interview that he planned one.

Also, they are short stories set in a universe that he wrote (rather prolifically) in. It isn't exactly like he he gave up on the concept of a "3 Laws of Robotics" book.

Don't be insulting. Isaac Asimov would never besmirch his name by writing for a lascivious, nudity-ridden rag like Playboy. The very idea is beyond contempt.

Asimov wrote The Union Club Mystery stories for Gallery.

Ahem.

(And yes, I'm aware that Asimov did, indeed, write for Playboy - and fittingly, darned near every other publication on the planet. Words to Asimov were like water to Niagara Falls.)

While I understand that it doesn't meet the exact definition of the question asked, I remember reading a couple of books by Asimov that covered Physics and especially Quantum Physics in a very readable style. Of course Google works for stuff that you've forgotten -- Go to http://www.asimovonline.com/oldsite/asimov_catalog ue.html and search for NONFICTION. It covers areas beyond just Physics!

I agree, the robot was properly protected. There could have been more safety devices, but a fence and "big red switch" should be sufficient.

On the other hand, there are not three, but four laws of robotics: http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html#series 13

The "Zeroth Law" (from Robots and Empire) is "A robot may not injure humanity or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm." It is not acceptable by all robots, only by the most advanced. It was developed by R. Giskard and R. Daneel, not by humans.

If you like, you may interpret this accident as protected by the zeroth law ...

Tux2000

http://www.asimovlaws.com/articles/

http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/SOS/Asim ov.html

Every Robot and Foundation Story by Asimov and the three Bs.
More Info :http://www.asimovonline.com/ Not one mention of the Zeroeth Law in the whole thread, you people disgust me.

Yes, losers like Scott Adams, Isaac Asimov and (my favourite) pr0n star Asia Carrera. Like always on Slashdot, you got modded up for not knowing anything at all about the subject under discussion...

From Isaac Asimov FAQ:

Asimov joined Mensa, the high-IQ society, in the early 1960s, but found that many of the members were arrogant about their supposed intelligence, so he let his membership lapse. However when he moved back to New York, he became an active member once again, and gave speeches to groups of Mensans on a number of occasions. Yet once again membership became a burden for him, so he resigned from the group.

Sure, they'll probably file it in the trash before they look at it, perhaps even sending you a polite rejection letter if you're lucky. Be sure to send a short synopsis of the plot and major waypoints of the storyline you intend along with the story, and be sure to mail a copy to yourself (which remains unopened until court) in case your idea gets robbed.

Before BigBiz started doing this stuff, the major Sci-Fi outfits (eg Astounding Science Fiction, Amazing Storeis and Thrilling Wonder Stories) were happy to receive submissions from readers. Many would be rejected, but a lucky few, including Isaac Asimov had several stories published and went on to forge careers from Sci-Fi because people enjoyed their work. Right now, the ratings for Enterprise are low, not because there's no demand for sci-fi or because the market's too saturated, but because Enterprise is still using alien time-traveling nazis. And once you've seen B5, or V, or read Foundation, or hell, even watched Andromeda, this level of surrealism just doesn't belong in the kind of thing which expects an hour of my life every week. If the show is to be popular, it needs to decide if its audience is

• a) Lowest common denominator
• b) Sci-Fi fans

Send them some ideas. They could really use them.

Wasn't it in one of the later Foundation novels that Isaac Asimov had a troupe of robots performing folk dances in the interests of keeping the dances "alive"?

Just another nail in the coffin of good predictive SciFi, I guess.

But at least with Diebold's electronic system even if no one knows who really won the election, at least there won't be any of those nasty residual questions. The machine says who won, and that's it.

While I sadly realise that you are right, I think it sounds a lot like the reality described in Franchise by Isaac Asimov. I don't know if it is available anywhere on-line but it is certainly worth buying and reading because this little half a century old story disturbingly keeps getting less and less unimaginable. I believe it is better to read it while it is still science fiction for the entertaining value if nothing else.

for those too young to know
Isaac Asimov

For a brief synopsis of the positronic meme, see here.

because it had just one Vacuum Tube. That's why Asimov had to develop Multivac.

The Official FAQ: http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html

Thanks for the story. :)

A qaint remark made on the BS7 post about Shakespeare being the definitive resource for characterisation. Could Asimov also be considered a resource for ideas on science, thinking and learning?

Consider the plot for Profession . This story outlines a similiar observation mentioned above. Where,

...In a world where education is managed by two imprintings by a machine--the first at eight to learn how to read and the second a decade later, to imprint additional knowledge one needs for one's ideal career--George Platen finds himself in the unenviable category of one of the few whom the machine cannot educate. ...

[Isimov.I., Profession, 1957 (republished - Nine Tomorrows) - information compiled by John Jenkins]

What about a few summer books, as well as books for fall, winter and spring???

I don't mean to troll, but c'mon one book for the whole summer? I know schooling systems are getting worse everywhere, but I expected more of the /. crowd.

Reading is good for you. Books stimulate your brain, improve your writing skills, and good ones are fun as hell to read! (Even the not so good ones can be fun, sometimes).

My picks would be anything by Robert A. Heinlein, Frank Herbert or Isaac Asimov. Maybe also Phillip J. Farmer or Gordon Dickson. Don't want Sci-Fi, how about Umberto Eco? Feeling esoteric? Try Fritjof Capra. If you're also onto trippy stuff, how about Carlos Castaneda (he's just passed away, so let's pay him homage).

On a final note, take some suggestions you find in this thread, spare a couple of hours and go to a local library or book store (used or new). Get a few books and enjoy. Oh, and please don't watch the movies (like these: RAH, FH, PJF) instead of the books. Only afterwards... maybe.

As for the Asimov quote, he's ha[r]dly pure. The premise of humans originating from aliens (the Pak, in his Known Space books) is about as "illogical" as can be. But he's trying to write SF, and so that's what it is.

It was Niven, not Asimov, who gave us "Known Space." I'm trying to think of an example from Asimov that might make your point, but nothing's coming to me at the moment.

Regardless, I agree that authors should be able to employ a McGuffin here and there without losing their "Certified SF" seal of approval. It should be done well, and sparingly, however. I've read a number of novels where the authors took things too far and completely lost my interest/respect because of their illogical and impossible devices. Suspension of disbelief is something that you have to earn, not expect, from your reader, IMHO.