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Profession by Isaac Asimov (1957)

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Re: Profession by Isaac Asimov (1957)

#21

Post by graemep »

bucephalos wrote: post #17

The page linked has some more information available, but its author (abelard?) cites from "Mein Kampf" later, naming the books author as "Adolph" (sic!). Caution is advised.

He is very odd. The name is presumably a reference to Peter Abelard who was not a nice man (very clever, of course).

Nothing wrong per se with citing what someone you are writing about said about themselves. He has some very odd historical, economic and political theories, but a lot of them are rooted in common misconceptions.

Re: Profession by Isaac Asimov (1957)

#23

Post by getpokedagain »

catoc wrote: post #6
spagettnet wrote: post #2

Link to the story without ads https://www.inf.ufpr.br/renato/profession.html

Thanks - the OP’s site was a truly horrible experience

I dunno I just copied it into emacs. Another free short story to keep in my digital collection.

Re: Profession by Isaac Asimov (1957)

#24

Post by telesilla »

jimbob45 wrote: post #7

Dr Antonelli said, “Or do you believe that studying some subject will bend the brain cells in that direction, like that other theory that a pregnant woman need only listen to great music persistently to make a composer of her child. Do you believe that?” Apparently, Asimov was an early critic of the “Mozart in the womb” movement.

It isn't to make a composer out of a baby but to expose a growing brain to complex music. We have no proof it benefits brain development, but we also have no proof it does not.

I studied classical music and came from a challenged background which to be honest is a rarity in that field. Almost everyone I studied with has parents who specifically encouraged music education and had the means to help make that happen. I got mine from some gifted vinyl as a child and fell in love with the orchestra. If I was in this story I'd probably not have been recommended to be a Professional Composer (if social expectations were the equivalent of what Asimov is saying here.)

So yeah, I'm pro 'play Mozart to your baby' :)

Re: Profession by Isaac Asimov (1957)

#26

Post by dredmorbius »

elcapitan wrote: post #8

Is this still in print, maybe as part of a collection? I tried to find it but couldn't. Many of his other works seem to be available as paperback, including a bunch of story collections.

It's collected in Nine Tomorrows, most recently reprinted in 1989 per Wikipedia. Used copies may be found online.

Re: Profession by Isaac Asimov (1957)

#27

Post by WillAdams »

There's a similar story about a progression of robot repair devices --- which has to end in a "Master Robot Repairman" profession which is the folks who repair the robots which repair other robots.

Blanking on author and title, but read it a _long_ while ago, and it had a distinctly golden age feel --- maybe Murray Leinster?

Re: Profession by Isaac Asimov (1957)

#29

Post by emoII »

kmaitreys wrote: post #10
elcapitan wrote: post #8

Is this still in print, maybe as part of a collection? I tried to find it but couldn't. Many of his other works seem to be available as paperback, including a bunch of story collections.

I have it in print. As part of Isaac Asimov: The Complete Stories Volume 1 (Published by Harper Voyager)

Thanks, just went and bought it!

Re: Profession by Isaac Asimov (1957)

#30

Post by tzs »

ameliaquining wrote: post #5

This is my favorite Asimov story. It's got a protagonist with compelling motivations, a society that has problems but also convincing reasons why they persist, and a great ending.

Two other Asimov stories that are similarly relevant to much of what is discussed on HN for similar reasons are “In a Good Cause—” and “The Dead Past”.

I don’t know of a link for the first. Here’s one for the second.

https://xpressenglish.com/our-stories/dead-past/

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