Comments on: The Funny Things About Foundation

By: Fahim Farook

Fahim Farook — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:25:29 +0000

Interesting that you should have picked the same subject I wrote an entry about the very same thing today (though not in as much detail as you did …) and was looking around to see if anybody else had noticed this about the Foundation novels when I came across your post.

By: MyNetFaves : Web 2.0 Social Bookmarking

MyNetFaves : Web 2.0 Social Bookmarking — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 11:35:29 +0000

MyNetFaves : Public Faves Tagged Asimov…

Marked your site as asimov at MyNetFaves!…

By: The Great Geek Manual » Geek Media Round-Up: September 1, 2008

The Great Geek Manual » Geek Media Round-Up: September 1, 2008 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:43:16 +0000

[...] Are Asimov’s Foundation novels dated? Yeah, but what would the future be without a few damsels in distress? [...]

By: Bob Hawkins

Bob Hawkins — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 19:33:56 +0000

If medicine advances sufficiently, tobacco might make a comeback. If cancer goes the way of smallpox…

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:10:14 +0000

Oh sure, Asimov definitely included computing and networked media in his later stories, and I’m sure you’re also right about paper surviving in various forms far into the future. But I’m not conceding on newspapers . Thanks for stopping by.

By: Steven DiStefano

Steven DiStefano — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:16:42 +0000

I’m not sure when it was written, but in a short story by Asimov, ‘The Last Question” if I remember correctly, he did predict, sort of, where modern computing seems to be heading. (I know this thread is about the Foundation…meh) In it he describes a sort of main frame system where everyone has a terminal in their homes connected to a central computer. In the story, the characters use the terminals to ask the semi-(and eventually fully) sentient central computer questions (google, anyone?) to further the story line. This can be seen as a prediction of not only the Internet but cloud computing. Which as far as my feeble understanding goes is essentially what Asimov presents with the exception that there is no central computer, but it is spread out over many thousands of processors, servers, etc… Basically it is our current internet with our home pc’s becoming mere terminals to the clouds processing power.

Again I know this thread is about the Foundation books, but I just had to respond. If am wrong about any of this. please feel free to correct me. And, yes, I thoroughly enjoyed this article, but I would alsoo take exception to the paper aspect. Paper will be around as long as humanity communicates. Files can be copied and stolen, encryption can be broken, but a sealed envelope that can be destroyed with nothing more than an atomic ashtray…need I say more?

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:08:34 +0000

Good point! I haven’t gotten all the way through my second read yet, so no doubt I have forgotten that. In any case “Uncle Isaac” needs no defenders . It’s humorous to point out the quaintness of SF from that era, but a much longer piece could be written about what he got right over the years.

By: Jayme Lynn Blaschke

Jayme Lynn Blaschke — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:44:54 +0000

To be wholly fair to Uncle Isaac, in some of the later books in his Foundation universe he introduced a subtle clarification (retcon?) that the “Atomics” so liberally used in the series were fusion-based, with the characters reacting in disbelief that any society–no matter how primitive–would use “Nuclear,” ie fission, reactors.

A small point, but he did eventually recognize that shortcoming and attempted a fix.