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A collection of essays about such future developments as the cloning of body parts, scientific improvement of mental telepathy, and space colonization.Tags
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Ismov Glimpses on future, which was written in 80s. The future he talks about then is 20 years down, which is now and almost accurately described :) It seems to me that he predicted the influence of world wide web in our lives pretty well. The idea that Adult Education will become extremely important and Internet will be an enabler was a bulls eye. He also streaches his thoughts well beyond decades and centuries and write's how the world would have change by then. I liked everything in this book.
This is a collection of essays written from 1974 to 1981 for the American Airlines in-flight magazine "American Way". They were therefore entertaining fluff on sciency subjects for bored travellers. Twentyfive years ago, the book was an entertaining quick read, but it isn't of any real interest today.
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2,399+ Works 292,931 Members
Isaac Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Russia, on January 2, 1920. His family emigrated to the United States in 1923 and settled in Brooklyn, New York, where they owned and operated a candy store. Asimov became a naturalized U.S. citizen at the age of eight. As a youngster he discovered his talent for writing, producing his first original fiction at show more the age of eleven. He went on to become one of the world's most prolific writers, publishing nearly 500 books in his lifetime. Asimov was not only a writer; he also was a biochemist and an educator. He studied chemistry at Columbia University, earning a B.S., M.A. and Ph.D. In 1951, Asimov accepted a position as an instructor of biochemistry at Boston University's School of Medicine even though he had no practical experience in the field. His exceptional intelligence enabled him to master new systems rapidly, and he soon became a successful and distinguished professor at Columbia and even co-authored a biochemistry textbook within a few years. Asimov won numerous awards and honors for his books and stories, and he is considered to be a leading writer of the Golden Age of science fiction. While he did not invent science fiction, he helped to legitimize it by adding the narrative structure that had been missing from the traditional science fiction books of the period. He also introduced several innovative concepts, including the thematic concern for technological progress and its impact on humanity. Asimov is probably best known for his Foundation series, which includes Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. In 1966, this trilogy won the Hugo award for best all-time science fiction series. In 1983, Asimov wrote an additional Foundation novel, Foundation's Edge, which won the Hugo for best novel of that year. Asimov also wrote a series of robot books that included I, Robot, and eventually he tied the two series together. He won three additional Hugos, including one awarded posthumously for the best non-fiction book of 1995, I. Asimov. "Nightfall" was chosen the best science fiction story of all time by the Science Fiction Writers of America. In 1979, Asimov wrote his autobiography, In Memory Yet Green. He continued writing until just a few years before his death from heart and kidney failure on April 6, 1992. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1981
- Quotations*
- Se apparteniamo dunque alla piccola e fortunata minoranza che trova facile e piacevole la lettura, il libro, in tutte le sue manifestazioni, è insostituibile e insuperabile, e questo perché richiede la nostra partecipazione... (show all). Difatti, per quanto possa essere gradevole fare da spettatori, partecipare è meglio.
Alla fine, se riuscissimo a costruire un computer sufficientemente complesso e sufficientemente grande, perché non dovrebbe raggiungere un'intelligenza umana? Alcune persone non sono disposte ad accettare questa affermazione... (show all), e dicono: «Come può un computer scrivere una grande sinfonia, darci una grande opera d'arte, o una nuova grande teoria scientifica?» In questi casi, io ho sempre la tentazione di ribattere: «Perché, “lei” ne è capace?»
Ma se i computer diventeranno più intelligenti degli esseri umani, non finiranno per sostituirsi a noi? Be', perché non dovrebbero farlo? Può darsi che oltre a essere intelligenti siano anche di buon cuore, e che ci lascin... (show all)o consumare per usura. Poterbbero tenere alcuni di noi come animaletti da salotto, o nelle riserve. Ma consideriamo anche tutto ciò che stiamo facendo in questo stesso momento: a noi, agli altri organismi viventi e al pianeta dove abitiamo. Forse “è ora” di essere sostituiti. Forse il vero rischio è che i computer non riescano ad arrivare abbastanza in fretta a un livello di sviluppo sufficientemente elevato per sostituirci.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- Members
- 118
- Popularity
- 275,856
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.60)
- Languages
- English, Italian, Spanish
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 4
