Radical Robots: Can You Be Replaced

by George Harrar

Examines the design, construction, and applications of robots, discussing what they can and cannot do and the extent to which they can develop their own intelligence

48 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1990

About the author

I write fiction for middle grade readers through adults and hold the distinction of having had three novels published by three different publishers for three different age groups in a single year. REUNION AT RED PAINT BAY (Other Press) is my latest book, about a newspaper editor in Maine and his family who engage in a full-scale psychological battle with a stalker without even knowing it. The novel was adapted in 2018 as a French-language film titled "Examen de Conscience." My earlier book, THE SPINNING MAN (Penguin), was also released in 2018 as a film starring Guy Pearce, Minnie Driver and Pierce Brosnan. It is available On Demand and on DVD. A new paperback edition of my novel with a film-theme cover was reissued by Amazon. For YA readers I wrote NOT AS CRAZY AS I SEEM (Houghton Mifflin) about a 15-year-old coping with his OCD "tendencies." PARENTS WANTED (Milkweed),for middle-grade readers, is my semi-autobiographical story of a 12-year-old boy's struggle to fit in with his adoptive family. Of my 12 published short stories, "The 5:22" won the Carson McCullers Prize and was selected for Best American Short Stories, 1999.

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1942, Isaac Asimov wrote “Runaround,” the classic science fiction story that introduced the Three Laws of Robotics that would come to govern the actions of robots in his robotic-based stories as well as those of other science fiction writers. Since that time, robots have been a mainstay of science fiction and Hollywood tales of space exploration from the days of “Metropolis” to C3PO and R2D2 in “Star Wars.”

But robots aren’t just for movie sets and the pages of futuristic fiction.

This Scholastic NOVA Book is divided into three sections . . . Why Robots Can’t Tie Shoelaces But Can Go To Mars, Memorizing The Encyclopedia Doesn’t Make You Intelligent, and If Computers Are So Smart, How Come They Didn’t Invent Artificial Intelligence . . . and helps upper elementary grade readers investigate to learn exactly what robots can and cannot do as they explore the possibilities of robots in their futures. With technology becoming ingrained in the students’ everyday lives, this book introduces them to an assortment of robots, including astrobots, Dinamation dinobots, and Hollywood’s own Robbie, C3PO, R2D2, and Hal.

Colorful drawings, photographs, sidebar essays, and an easy-to-read text all work together to help readers understand robots and computers. A timeline of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence shows the highlights of robotic science and gives young readers a look at the research and what might come next. It’s an engaging first look at artificial intelligence. From supercomputers to Gary Kasparov challenging a computer to a chess match, the diverse information here is sure to spark the imaginations of young readers.

Recommended, especially for readers interested in science and robotics.