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Roving Mind
Isaac Asimov's death on April 6, 1992, was a great loss to the world of literary science and freethought. The prolific author's vision is unmatched today, and his pointed honesty shines through in The Roving Mind, now reissued in this special tribute edition. This collection of essays is wide-ranging, reflecting Asimov's extraordinary skill in disseminating knowledge from across the spectrum of human thought. Some of the areas explored in this volume of 62 essays include creationism, pseudoscience, censorship, population, philosophy of science, transportation, computers and corporations of the future, and astronomy. His predictions about cloning which has only recently become the topic of public debate the theory of "technophobia," and other scientific developments are astounding.
In a lighter tone, Asimov includes several personal stories from his life including thoughts on his style of writing and memories of family in younger days. With tributes by Arthur C. Clarke, L. Sprague de Camp, Harlan Ellison, Kendrick Frazier, Martin Gardner, Donald Goldsmith, Stephen Jay Gould, E. C. Krupp, Frederik Pohl, and Carl Sagan.
In a lighter tone, Asimov includes several personal stories from his life including thoughts on his style of writing and memories of family in younger days. With tributes by Arthur C. Clarke, L. Sprague de Camp, Harlan Ellison, Kendrick Frazier, Martin Gardner, Donald Goldsmith, Stephen Jay Gould, E. C. Krupp, Frederik Pohl, and Carl Sagan.
380 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
59 people are currently reading
999 people want to read
About the author
Isaac Asimov
4,335 books27.5k followersWorks of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles,
The Foundation Trilogy
(1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
September 7, 2012
Isaac Asimov wrote over 500 books, and was one of the most prolific authors of all time. While he is best known for his science fiction and popular science books, his writings cover an extremely wide range of subjects. This book of short essays is a great sampling of his writings--just take a look at the bookshelf tags I've assigned to this book; astronomy, computers, essays, memoirs, politics, religion, science and technology. This amazing collection of essays was written in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Many of the essays are speculations about the future, so many seem rather "quaint" now. Nevertheless, it's fascinating to read Asimov's speculations, and to see that many of them have turned out to be true. For example, Asimov is responsible for coining the word "robotics". He foresaw that Pluto did not deserve to be called a planet. He foresaw the possibility of quantum computers.
On the other hand, some of his speculations have turned out to be really on the wrong track; for example, he worried about global cooling. He also was very very worried that the human race would destroy itself before the year 2000. After all, he wrote these essays during the height of the cold war. He also worried about over-population, famine, and the over-use of natural resources. Many of his essays start with something like: (paraphrasing) "... and here is my speculation on the future of technology in the next century--if humanity survives that long."
Asimov is still the voice of reason, of rational logic, common sense, and an innate sense of morality. This book contains essays about the future of transportation, communication, computers, space colonization, even of hotels and collecting--yes, collecting! Even though he speculated on a wide range of technological issues, when Byte Magazine asked him to write an essay about his experiences using a computer/word processor, he had to confess that he still used a typewriter! He was given a Radio Shack TRS-80 computer, and wrote a humorous essay about it, making himself sound like a real Luddite!
On the other hand, some of his speculations have turned out to be really on the wrong track; for example, he worried about global cooling. He also was very very worried that the human race would destroy itself before the year 2000. After all, he wrote these essays during the height of the cold war. He also worried about over-population, famine, and the over-use of natural resources. Many of his essays start with something like: (paraphrasing) "... and here is my speculation on the future of technology in the next century--if humanity survives that long."
Asimov is still the voice of reason, of rational logic, common sense, and an innate sense of morality. This book contains essays about the future of transportation, communication, computers, space colonization, even of hotels and collecting--yes, collecting! Even though he speculated on a wide range of technological issues, when Byte Magazine asked him to write an essay about his experiences using a computer/word processor, he had to confess that he still used a typewriter! He was given a Radio Shack TRS-80 computer, and wrote a humorous essay about it, making himself sound like a real Luddite!
January 13, 2015
Articoli di scienza e religione di un grande scrittore e scienziato e divulgatore.
Argomenti vari, approcci vari, ma sempre interessanti.
Argomenti vari, approcci vari, ma sempre interessanti.
January 18, 2022
Yet another author I would have loved to meet and talk with. The essays here are interesting for their predictions (many of which came true) and for the insights they offer into Asimov. The last story, about his father, was particularly touching.
February 6, 2017
Although some of the information is outdated (this was published in 1983) this is still a worthwhile book to read not only to learn some basics in science and pseudo-science but also how to write non-fiction. Asimov had an incredible gift for explaining hard-to-grasp concepts. I think he was a better non-fiction writer than fiction writer (ducks and runs for cover.)
April 12, 2024
This is a collection of essays Asimov wrote at the request of a large variety of magazines and newspapers including The NY Times newspaper back when it was the preeminent newspaper of the nation. As Asimov noted, because of this variety, there’s repetition in many of the essays. One of the themes that gets mentioned in these essays mostly written in the late 1970s or early 1980s is the issue of population growth which at the time was around 4 billion. He would be appalled to hear we did indeed reach 8 billion. Even with Covid, that didn’t set us back much, perhaps 16 million people. It is hard to understand how big 1 billion is! While he didn’t predict Covid, he did warn that a more interconnected overpopulated world could have widespread diseases.
Naturally, most are connected with science in some way. While somewhat repetitive as warned, it still shows the way he could tackle just about any subject clearly. I’d say my favorite may have been the last one, a tribute to his father. I do not agree with others who complain the essays are out of date. I’m more impressed with how many are still pertinent. His essays on having stations between the earth and moon (cislunar) as manufacturing worlds or agricultural cultural worlds are certainly not done yet and could be in the future, for example. I would not suggest these essays as a starting point to try Asimov literature. Try his book length nonfiction or fiction first. Unless you try his collection “I Robot” first. That would work too!
Naturally, most are connected with science in some way. While somewhat repetitive as warned, it still shows the way he could tackle just about any subject clearly. I’d say my favorite may have been the last one, a tribute to his father. I do not agree with others who complain the essays are out of date. I’m more impressed with how many are still pertinent. His essays on having stations between the earth and moon (cislunar) as manufacturing worlds or agricultural cultural worlds are certainly not done yet and could be in the future, for example. I would not suggest these essays as a starting point to try Asimov literature. Try his book length nonfiction or fiction first. Unless you try his collection “I Robot” first. That would work too!
August 10, 2018
A brilliant visionary. I have read all the foundation and robot series and they were remarkable. The articles in the The Roving Mind shows how his thought process works and how he has written his novels.
December 11, 2017
One of the books I’ve recently completed is: “The Roving Mind“, by Isaac Asimov (New Edition 1997©) originally copyrighted 1983©. The book is a collection of articles published over a 15 year span and covering a wide range of topics including Religion, Science, Population, the Future and some personal stories. The book is sort of mini-tribute to the author as it has brief tributes/forwards by some of the greatest science and science fiction writers of all time as an addition to the “new edition”.
Whenever you think of Science Fiction, you should think of the BIG three: Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein. But of these, Clarke and Asimov wrote about both fiction and science fact. I personally feel the comparison ends there. Asimov wrote over 500 books in his lifetime!! Many were fiction (science fiction), but he also wrote about history, philosophy, and basic sciences (math, chemistry and physics). But, stop for a minute and think about that – 500 books! That’s more than most people read in their lifetime, let alone write.
Anyway, I digress – as usual. If anyone could convince me to become either an agnostic or an atheist (they can’t, but if they could), it would be Asimov. For me, his writing is so clean and his reasoning and explanations so clear, it is hard for me to imagine there being anything in science or philosophy which Asimov could not turn into a popularized title for the general public.
This book has 62 articles and the first section (of six articles) is titled: “The Religious Radicals“. If you want to see where the country is headed and how the current path was predictable as early as 1983, this section is worth the price of the book itself. It is a bone-chilling, frightening indictment of anti-science / fundamental Christian faith in America which, if anything, is more true today than it was in 1983.
I grew up reading Asimov. When I was a teen I read his hundredth book: “Opus 100“, which was a book similar to this in that it was a collection of works. I was amazed back then that anyone could write 100 books. Forty odd years later, Asimov continues to amaze me and make me think. Asimov passed away in 1992 and we may never see his like again…
Highly recommended!!
Whenever you think of Science Fiction, you should think of the BIG three: Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein. But of these, Clarke and Asimov wrote about both fiction and science fact. I personally feel the comparison ends there. Asimov wrote over 500 books in his lifetime!! Many were fiction (science fiction), but he also wrote about history, philosophy, and basic sciences (math, chemistry and physics). But, stop for a minute and think about that – 500 books! That’s more than most people read in their lifetime, let alone write.
Anyway, I digress – as usual. If anyone could convince me to become either an agnostic or an atheist (they can’t, but if they could), it would be Asimov. For me, his writing is so clean and his reasoning and explanations so clear, it is hard for me to imagine there being anything in science or philosophy which Asimov could not turn into a popularized title for the general public.
This book has 62 articles and the first section (of six articles) is titled: “The Religious Radicals“. If you want to see where the country is headed and how the current path was predictable as early as 1983, this section is worth the price of the book itself. It is a bone-chilling, frightening indictment of anti-science / fundamental Christian faith in America which, if anything, is more true today than it was in 1983.
I grew up reading Asimov. When I was a teen I read his hundredth book: “Opus 100“, which was a book similar to this in that it was a collection of works. I was amazed back then that anyone could write 100 books. Forty odd years later, Asimov continues to amaze me and make me think. Asimov passed away in 1992 and we may never see his like again…
Highly recommended!!
May 17, 2021
This book was okay, but it was an archetypal bedtime book. That’s the name that I use for books that I read in bed, powering through a couple dozen pages at a time instead of having them as my main books and getting bored of them.
The problem here wasn’t so much the subject matter but the fact that the print was so small that it took an age to get through it. It’s also reasonably heavy going stuff because this is essentially a collection of Isaac Asimov’s essays on a variety of different subjects and loosely grouped together based on their subject.
Weirdly, a lot of them are virtually identical, essentially consisting of the same information but written in a different way for different audiences. In particular, the main thing that I took away is that Asimov really hated creationism, and that seems fair enough to me. In fact, it was interesting to see the scope of his hatred through the range of different publications that he wrote for to rail against it.
Asimov has always impressed me with his wide range of interests and his skill at writing all sorts of different awesome stuff. In his fiction, I love the fact that he prefaces all of his stories with a little bit of a blurb explaining what they’re all about and why they were written. This is basically a natural extension of that, except he’s writing about science and the world around him instead of about his own stories.
So yeah, I was down with this one, even though it was a slow burner and one that I read slowly as opposed to hurrying with it. It’s probably not for everyone, but if you’re interested in science and stuff then you’re going to have a lot of fun, and it’s also not bad if you’re a die-hard Asimov fan. Just be warned that it’s not exactly light reading, and it’s going to force you to think whether you like it or not. Asimov’s good at that.
The problem here wasn’t so much the subject matter but the fact that the print was so small that it took an age to get through it. It’s also reasonably heavy going stuff because this is essentially a collection of Isaac Asimov’s essays on a variety of different subjects and loosely grouped together based on their subject.
Weirdly, a lot of them are virtually identical, essentially consisting of the same information but written in a different way for different audiences. In particular, the main thing that I took away is that Asimov really hated creationism, and that seems fair enough to me. In fact, it was interesting to see the scope of his hatred through the range of different publications that he wrote for to rail against it.
Asimov has always impressed me with his wide range of interests and his skill at writing all sorts of different awesome stuff. In his fiction, I love the fact that he prefaces all of his stories with a little bit of a blurb explaining what they’re all about and why they were written. This is basically a natural extension of that, except he’s writing about science and the world around him instead of about his own stories.
So yeah, I was down with this one, even though it was a slow burner and one that I read slowly as opposed to hurrying with it. It’s probably not for everyone, but if you’re interested in science and stuff then you’re going to have a lot of fun, and it’s also not bad if you’re a die-hard Asimov fan. Just be warned that it’s not exactly light reading, and it’s going to force you to think whether you like it or not. Asimov’s good at that.
November 10, 2022
Although the last of the essays, "My father" really struck an emotional chord. The essay describes his father's wisdom and perseverance, which has had the highest contribution into the success of Isaac Asimov. His father's actions truly show us what a good parent does for the child; shows rather than tells.
Another essay on "Bacterial engineering" corresponds to the actual discoveries and inventions of the later period; e.g. oil eating bacteria, plastic consuming bacteria, and the advancement of Recombinant DNA technology among others.
In the essay "Future of the plants", he writes a fascinating account of how the space stations of tomorrow will be. He imagines various kinds of miniature Earths, each serving as a unique ecosystem.
I really enjoyed his writing, it was simple, engaging and enlightening. Many of the concepts which I was already aware of became clearer.
I learned a new fact from the essay on Bacterial engineering : The first insulin injected into the human body was extracted from the pancreas of animals (first dogs, later cows etc.)
Another essay on "Bacterial engineering" corresponds to the actual discoveries and inventions of the later period; e.g. oil eating bacteria, plastic consuming bacteria, and the advancement of Recombinant DNA technology among others.
In the essay "Future of the plants", he writes a fascinating account of how the space stations of tomorrow will be. He imagines various kinds of miniature Earths, each serving as a unique ecosystem.
I really enjoyed his writing, it was simple, engaging and enlightening. Many of the concepts which I was already aware of became clearer.
I learned a new fact from the essay on Bacterial engineering : The first insulin injected into the human body was extracted from the pancreas of animals (first dogs, later cows etc.)
January 12, 2019
Enjoyed the read. I would expect no less from a writer of Asimov's caliber. I know it would have rocked my socks off had I read it 25 years ago. His analysis of what we faced then was accurate. His extrapolations into the future credible. If his voice had been listened to back in the 1980's we would probably be in a better condition than we are. He couldn't be expected to have foreseen the detail but he nailed most of the driving forces that have cumulated in the ecological crisis we face. It's value now is in the clear exposition he had advancing an understanding of science and its vital importance to the rest of us. As a collection of essays, nothing could be in depth but I would still happily give this to someone with little knowledge of science despite it being "technically" out of date. They would get a good grounding and I think and enthusiasm to follow up for themselves.
January 10, 2017
Asimov's passionate view of what humanity could be is engaging and draws you in to his vision. I loved every essay and marked so many places for later thought that the book was festooned with tags!
"As for myself, I may be defeated at last, but I intend to struggle to the end. I will not surrender, embrace ignorance, and kiss its hideous face."
This pretty much sums up Asimov's whole life. He wanted to spread knowledge and he did a darn good job!
"As for myself, I may be defeated at last, but I intend to struggle to the end. I will not surrender, embrace ignorance, and kiss its hideous face."
This pretty much sums up Asimov's whole life. He wanted to spread knowledge and he did a darn good job!
February 8, 2017
A brilliant collection of scientific essays that enlighten the spirit and the intellect of those who care to read it. Prolific, inventive, genius, Isaac Asimov's work is one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century.
April 14, 2015
A collection of essays from Asimov. Definitely made me think about a lot of different things.
July 22, 2022
Una lettura interessante a volte un po' prolissa. Asimov comunque si rivela un vero scienziato e vero divulgatore scientifico.
Un libro a tutto tondo sul futuro a 360 gradi. Si parla di tecnica, società, lavoro. Scritto 40 anni fa. Asimov non ha paura a sbilanciarsi e avanza tante ipotesi. A volte sbaglia, a volte azzecca in modo clamoroso. In generale fa molto pensare.
Per esempio il terrore di Asimov al tempo era la sovrappopolazione. Secondo Asimov non si sarebbe arrivati al 2000 perchè con 4 miliardi di persone la società sarebbe implosa... Difatto questo "terrore" è presente in ogni capitolo del libro.
Altra topica è la carenza di risorse in generale, non solo di cibo. Al tempo comunque venivamo da una crisi petrolifera e dalla teoria del picco del petrolio che ci sarebbe stato a breve.
Per non parlare dell'inquinamento che sta raffreddando la terra...
Vi sono però poi anche previsioni clamorosamente azzeccate. Difatto ha predetto internet, le e-mail, il cellulare, le videochiamate per il lavoro
Clamorosa anche la sua critica alle persone e ai mass-media del tempo che lasciano spazio a pseudoscienziati che con facili pensieri orientano l'opinione pubblica nel modo sbagliato. Sono un paio di capitoli che andrebbero bene bene paro paro nei giorni nostri.
Una lettura valida secondo me anche ai giorni nostri. Come chiave di lettura della nostra società e della scientificità attuale
Un libro a tutto tondo sul futuro a 360 gradi. Si parla di tecnica, società, lavoro. Scritto 40 anni fa. Asimov non ha paura a sbilanciarsi e avanza tante ipotesi. A volte sbaglia, a volte azzecca in modo clamoroso. In generale fa molto pensare.
Per esempio il terrore di Asimov al tempo era la sovrappopolazione. Secondo Asimov non si sarebbe arrivati al 2000 perchè con 4 miliardi di persone la società sarebbe implosa... Difatto questo "terrore" è presente in ogni capitolo del libro.
Altra topica è la carenza di risorse in generale, non solo di cibo. Al tempo comunque venivamo da una crisi petrolifera e dalla teoria del picco del petrolio che ci sarebbe stato a breve.
Per non parlare dell'inquinamento che sta raffreddando la terra...
Vi sono però poi anche previsioni clamorosamente azzeccate. Difatto ha predetto internet, le e-mail, il cellulare, le videochiamate per il lavoro
Clamorosa anche la sua critica alle persone e ai mass-media del tempo che lasciano spazio a pseudoscienziati che con facili pensieri orientano l'opinione pubblica nel modo sbagliato. Sono un paio di capitoli che andrebbero bene bene paro paro nei giorni nostri.
Una lettura valida secondo me anche ai giorni nostri. Come chiave di lettura della nostra società e della scientificità attuale
December 8, 2024
Libro intetessante che raccoglie più di 50 articoli di Asimov apparsi negli anni 70/80 in veri riviste.
Le idee del celebre scrittore sono notevoli ma spesso pecca di ottimismo sul futuro e la natura della raccolta di articoli porta molti temi a essere ripetuti alla nausea.
Da leggere per i fan ma non consigliato al lettore medio
Le idee del celebre scrittore sono notevoli ma spesso pecca di ottimismo sul futuro e la natura della raccolta di articoli porta molti temi a essere ripetuti alla nausea.
Da leggere per i fan ma non consigliato al lettore medio
October 27, 2018
Essays, most worth reading.
May 18, 2019
I always love reading Asimov. This is no exception.
March 17, 2024
Some of the essays repeat themselves- but all in all a good collection.
The final one about his father made me tear up.
Worth a read if you're a fan.
The final one about his father made me tear up.
Worth a read if you're a fan.
December 13, 2016
The Roving Mind was a fun collection of essays to read. They must have spanned many decades, going over Asimov's thoughts on dozens of topics. Providing the dates each essay was published would have provided some perspective for the reader.
This is the third publication of Asimov's I've read. Foundation bored me to death. It seemed devoid of character development and emotion - it almost turned me off of space operas. I've also read The Last Question. The vision of that story is grand, and it's one of the best short stories I know - I've read it to my kids twice.
The 62 essays of The Roving Mind take the reader on a tour of Asimov's views on dozens of topics. It was a lot of fun to read his arguments against the social or scientific injustices of his day, and to reflect on the progress or lack thereof mankind has made since then.
Asimov calls for protecting our planet and staving off overpopulation. He thinks it's crazy to allow the human population to grow unchecked, what with the increased pressure this places on the environment and on society. He hates discrimination against women, and their unequal treatment in the workforce. He also spends lots of time on science and space travel and the future. Asimov is open to the various potential outcomes of mankind's progress: from dire results, self destruction or natural disaster, to glorious results, interplanetary human habitats and interstellar long-travel.
He has a few spot-on predictions, such as one day computing devices being shrunk down to a mobile size and carried around in people's pockets, and everyone having their own electromagnetic frequency on which to transmit their own data to anyone in the world who wishes to watch :) And of course many predictions that have borne no fruit. Our spacefaring days seem dead at the moment, and no-one is flying around in a rocket chair.
His views on education have altered the way I treat my own children. Asimov argues against education being relegated to a person dictating to children in a classroom, and instead for children to explore and to follow their curiosity, and for parents to encourage that curiosity. This includes his ideas of children of the future being provided their own computing device that they can ask questions to and learn from. And today, whenever my three kids have a curiosity they turn to searching on their mobile devices, or they speak up and ask "Alexa, what does this mean?" My son's coming to me all the time with random facts I never knew - he seems to traverse random threads of facts, absorbing as he goes. The information opened up to these kids and their ability to ingest it is great.
But my favorite essay in the book was the last, on Asimov's father. I felt I got a sense of what tragedies could have occurred in easter Europe, what was avoided, and a father's lifelong sacrifice for his family. I teared up a bit. That's the kind of emotion I long for in a story. Glad to get it in a collection of essays.
Harvo
This is the third publication of Asimov's I've read. Foundation bored me to death. It seemed devoid of character development and emotion - it almost turned me off of space operas. I've also read The Last Question. The vision of that story is grand, and it's one of the best short stories I know - I've read it to my kids twice.
The 62 essays of The Roving Mind take the reader on a tour of Asimov's views on dozens of topics. It was a lot of fun to read his arguments against the social or scientific injustices of his day, and to reflect on the progress or lack thereof mankind has made since then.
Asimov calls for protecting our planet and staving off overpopulation. He thinks it's crazy to allow the human population to grow unchecked, what with the increased pressure this places on the environment and on society. He hates discrimination against women, and their unequal treatment in the workforce. He also spends lots of time on science and space travel and the future. Asimov is open to the various potential outcomes of mankind's progress: from dire results, self destruction or natural disaster, to glorious results, interplanetary human habitats and interstellar long-travel.
He has a few spot-on predictions, such as one day computing devices being shrunk down to a mobile size and carried around in people's pockets, and everyone having their own electromagnetic frequency on which to transmit their own data to anyone in the world who wishes to watch :) And of course many predictions that have borne no fruit. Our spacefaring days seem dead at the moment, and no-one is flying around in a rocket chair.
His views on education have altered the way I treat my own children. Asimov argues against education being relegated to a person dictating to children in a classroom, and instead for children to explore and to follow their curiosity, and for parents to encourage that curiosity. This includes his ideas of children of the future being provided their own computing device that they can ask questions to and learn from. And today, whenever my three kids have a curiosity they turn to searching on their mobile devices, or they speak up and ask "Alexa, what does this mean?" My son's coming to me all the time with random facts I never knew - he seems to traverse random threads of facts, absorbing as he goes. The information opened up to these kids and their ability to ingest it is great.
But my favorite essay in the book was the last, on Asimov's father. I felt I got a sense of what tragedies could have occurred in easter Europe, what was avoided, and a father's lifelong sacrifice for his family. I teared up a bit. That's the kind of emotion I long for in a story. Glad to get it in a collection of essays.
Harvo
August 31, 2024
Ho fatto tanta fatica a terminarlo; Asimov è geniale ma il libro, essendo una racconta di saggi scientifici (per altro incredibilmente ancora molto attuali, sebbene il libro sia dei primi anni ‘80) risulta essere a tratti interessantissimo, a tratti noiosissimo, a volte eccessivamente prolisso e poco scorrevole. Ma la prosa dell’autore non si discute.
Complessivamente un libro che mi è piaciuto abbastanza, specie nelle battute finali, nei capitoli sulle esplorazioni spaziali e sull’infanzia dell’autore.
Complessivamente un libro che mi è piaciuto abbastanza, specie nelle battute finali, nei capitoli sulle esplorazioni spaziali e sull’infanzia dell’autore.
March 1, 2025
An enjoyable collection of essays on many subjects, showcasing Asimov's breadth of knowledge, his abundance of opinion, and the ease with which he could explain the science.
Particularly beautiful is his discussion of how total solar eclipses on Earth are unique in the solar system. Only our moon's apparent diameter matches that of the sun as seen planetside. Therefore, only Earthlings experience Baily's beads.
Asimov had some prescient thoughts, natch, but these essays show how he sometimes got it dead wrong. For example, he entirely missed the internet, predicting instead a global laser-based communications network where each person has a unique laser frequency on which to receive and send targeted, personalized media and messages.
These essays also demonstrate how much of the religio-politico-scientific divides that we experience today were in fact in full swing during the Reagan years.
Particularly beautiful is his discussion of how total solar eclipses on Earth are unique in the solar system. Only our moon's apparent diameter matches that of the sun as seen planetside. Therefore, only Earthlings experience Baily's beads.
Asimov had some prescient thoughts, natch, but these essays show how he sometimes got it dead wrong. For example, he entirely missed the internet, predicting instead a global laser-based communications network where each person has a unique laser frequency on which to receive and send targeted, personalized media and messages.
These essays also demonstrate how much of the religio-politico-scientific divides that we experience today were in fact in full swing during the Reagan years.
February 14, 2013
To be honest, I wasn't very impressed, after all I've read about this book. It's a good book, but I think that it belongs in another age... more of the 60s or 70s when it was written. And I'm saying this mainly because most of the topics that are touched by this book are (at least for me) taken for granted and didn't receive much new information about them.
Furthermore, I saw quite some repetition in the essays that I found boring to read again and again.
To close, yes, Isaac Asimov was writing to fast and so vastly, but then I didn't find much depth in his essays. Not as much as I had hoped for at least.
Furthermore, I saw quite some repetition in the essays that I found boring to read again and again.
To close, yes, Isaac Asimov was writing to fast and so vastly, but then I didn't find much depth in his essays. Not as much as I had hoped for at least.
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January 29, 2012I tracked this book down because I saw it on a list of book about education that everyone should read. I remembered that I liked Asimov's fiction back when I was young so I thought I'd give it a shot. I did not read all 60 some-odd articles but took a sampling of each section. Always a good writer, the reading suffers somewhat from the space of time since it was written (many aimed at specific magazine audiences). OK for a perspective on the changes over time.
September 5, 2014
Bókin er samansafn yfir 50 greina frá Asimov úr ýmsum áttum. Greinarnar bera margar þess merki að vera frá fyrrihluta 9.áratugarins og eru úreltar. Margar greinar m.a. um fólksfjölda á jörðinni, ferðalög til annara pláneta og pælingar um sólkerfið eru meistarastykki. Bókin endar á nokkrum persónulegum pistlum sem eru einnig skemmtilegir. Hins vegar voru of margir kaflar úreltir til að hægt væri að hafa gaman af bókinni í heild.
August 2, 2015
It was good for the first half of the book, then I felt like it was just being very repetitive and not giving much information. Overall I'm glad I read it, but it lacked real substance once you hit about page 200.
May 10, 2009
A fascinating collection of essays.
August 19, 2009
The Good Doctor gives his opinion on a variety of science-related topics from debunking pseudo-science to forecasting future scientific advances.
July 28, 2011
Too liberal. Too political. The science was good and I enjoyed the personal section.
July 19, 2011
It was great in 1997. Some of his data are no longer valid.
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August 23, 2017I'm a big Asimov fan, but some of his predictions made in the 1980s seemed a bit stale now.
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