Liar! (short story)
by Isaac Asimov
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Re-reading this at sixty, it seems a little histrionic, but rationality prevails at the end, even if the "rational man" is a woman in the midst of a mid-life crisis.
You can find this in I, Robot, The Complete Robot and Robot Visions.
The first full Susan Calvin, Robopsychologist, story is about a mind reading robot. Susan is called into action to try to find out what went wrong when it was made, but the robot gets to read her mind and things go off on a bit of a tangent.
A good little story exploring how reading human minds may conflict with the three laws.
And the next robot story is Satisfaction Guaranteed
The first full Susan Calvin, Robopsychologist, story is about a mind reading robot. Susan is called into action to try to find out what went wrong when it was made, but the robot gets to read her mind and things go off on a bit of a tangent.
A good little story exploring how reading human minds may conflict with the three laws.
And the next robot story is Satisfaction Guaranteed
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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
- Canonical title
- Liar! (short story) (short story)
- Original title
- Liar! [short story]
- Original publication date
- 1941
- People/Characters
- Susan Calvin; Alfred Lanning; Milton Ashe; RB-34 (Herbie); Peter Bogert
- Important places
- U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men factory
- Related movies
- Out of the Unknown:Liar! (1969 | s3e2 | IMDb); El robot embustero (1966 | IMDb)
- First words
- Alfred Lanning lit his cigar carefully, but the tips of his fingers were slightly trembling.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"Liar!"
- Original language
- English
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 813.08762
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction, Science Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 813.08762 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English By type Genre fiction Adventure fiction Speculative fiction Science fiction
- LCC
- PE1128 — Language and Literature English language English Modern English
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 23
- Popularity
- 1,150,806
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.00)
- Languages
- English, German
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 1
