This is one of those stories, just like the SR-71 "ground speed check" story, that every single time I see it posted I just have to read the entire thing again. I love it.
People will be reading this story for ten trillion years
Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)
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Re: Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)
#42This is one of those stories, just like the SR-71 "ground speed check" story, that every single time I see it posted I just have to read the entire thing again. I love it.
Agreed. Don't forget the "Can't send emails farther than 500 miles" one, too [0]: 0: https://web.mit.edu/jemorris/humor/500-miles
For more reading, see also: https://web.archive.org/web/20250719141310/https://dbrgn.ch/...
I'm a bit proud of having suggested the author to add the 2019 entry (thanks to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19798678).
Hopefully there's another repo of Internet stories somewhere else?
Re: Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)
#43>INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR MEANINGFUL ANSWER Boy, it sure would be nice if real LLMs were capable of giving an answer like that.
You’re absolutely right! I do have insufficient data for a meaningful answer. This is not an *insightful prediction* — it’s *Dunning-Kruger masquerading as qualified intelligence*
Re: Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)
#44This is one of those stories, just like the SR-71 "ground speed check" story, that every single time I see it posted I just have to read the entire thing again. I love it.
Agreed. Don't forget the "Can't send emails farther than 500 miles" one, too [0]: 0: https://web.mit.edu/jemorris/humor/500-miles
Not quite tech or sci-fi, but for me it’s https://www.eternal-flame.org/library/oldlibrary/georgebusin...
Re: Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)
#45Somehow never read this one. But did write a short story ~20 years ago with a similar arc. I guess reading a lot of Asimov and Clarke and others will do that to you.
Re: Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)
#46This is one of those stories, just like the SR-71 "ground speed check" story, that every single time I see it posted I just have to read the entire thing again. I love it.
For me it's "The Hunt for the Death Valley Germans", which is often quite problematic.
Re: Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)
#47An absolute classic! Was just telling a buddy about this one the other day while talking about The Egg by Andy Weir (another short story I really enjoy). Every time I read this one, I get chills at the end. Asimov really was a master.
Re: Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)
#48For a while I thought I really liked sci fi novels and short stories, and maybe that's somewhat true. But I've started wondering if maybe I just liked Asimov's writing in particular. Other writers in the genre are more hit or miss. Can anyone recommend other writers that are on his level?
I mean.. a genre can't be all hits, that makes no sense :P If you want good sci-fi a good list can be: - Ender's Game - The Martian + Project Hail Mary - A Fire Upon the Deep - Dune
Though Dune is highly acclaimed for its concepts, I couldn’t quite get into it personally.
They’re just too dry for my tastes.
Re: Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)
#49[flagged]
Re: Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)
#50In the 80s, our local planetarium did a show based on this story. The executive director of the museum associated with the planetarium had a very nice deep voice and was the perfect narrator, though it gave the Cosmic AC a slight Texas accent.