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Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)

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Re: Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)

#81

Post by triceratops »

"This is by far my favorite story of all those I have written.

After all, I undertook to tell several trillion years of human history in the space of a short story and I leave it to you as to how well I succeeded. I also undertook another task, but I won't tell you what that was lest l spoil the story for you.

It is a curious fact that innumerable readers have asked me if I wrote this story. They seem never to remember the title of the story or (for sure) the author, except for the vague thought it might be me. But, of course, they never forget the story itself especially the ending. The idea seems to drown out everything -- and I'm satisfied that it should. " - Isaac Asimov

https://users.ece.cmu.edu/~gamvrosi/thelastq.html

Re: Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)

#82

Post by us-merul »

jimmydddd wrote: post #74
jjice wrote: post #47

An 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.

It's amazing that in the late 1930's, someone with his academic credentials and intellect decided his life would be best spent writing science fiction.

I looked this up on Wikipedia. It seems that he was working as an instructor (not a professor) of chemistry; since he was making more money as a writer during that time, he slowed down or stopped his research. Doesn’t seem to have been an intentional choice so much as how things happened to turn out.

Re: Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)

#83

Post by triceratops »

jimmydddd wrote: post #74
jjice wrote: post #47

An 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.

It's amazing that in the late 1930's, someone with his academic credentials and intellect decided his life would be best spent writing science fiction.

He had an academic career too, becoming a tenured professor at age 35 at Boston University. Writing just paid better.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov#Education_and_car...

Re: Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)

#86

Post by triceratops »

us-merul wrote: post #82
jimmydddd wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's amazing that in the late 1930's, someone with his academic credentials and intellect decided his life would be best spent writing science fiction.

I looked this up on Wikipedia. It seems that he was working as an instructor (not a professor) of chemistry; since he was making more money as a writer during that time, he slowed down or stopped his research. Doesn’t seem to have been an intentional choice so much as how things happened to turn out.

> he was working as an instructor (not a professor)

No he eventually became a full professor too.

"He began work in 1949 with a $5,000 salary(equivalent to $68,000 in 2025), maintaining this position for several years. By 1952, however, he was making more money as a writer than from the university, and he eventually stopped doing research, confining his university role to lecturing students.[g] In 1955, he was promoted to tenured associate professor. In December 1957, Asimov was dismissed from his teaching post, with effect from June 30, 1958, due to his lack of research. After a struggle over two years, he reached an agreement with the university that he would keep his title and give the opening lecture each year for a biochemistry class. On October 18, 1979, the university honored his writing by promoting him to full professor of biochemistry."

Re: Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)

#87

Post by shivaniShimpi_ »

the thing that gets me every reread is the structure of the joke. same question, asked across the entire lifespan of the universe, same answer every time. asimov could have made it tragic but instead it reads almost like a bit that keeps escalating and then the punchline is that the answer was always going to come, just on a timeline so absurd it laps back around to funny

Re: Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)

#88

Post by RajT88 »

ghaff wrote: post #57
RajT88 wrote: post #45

Somehow 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.

You should. It's short and it's one of Asimov's best.

I did! That is how I know the arc is similar.

Re: Isaac Asimov: The Last Question (1956)

#90

Post by parineum »

gwerbin wrote: post #71
PaulHoule wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You better watch out. When my evil twin feels y'all aren't upvoting my posts enough he thinks "let's do a search for articles that have gotten 200+ votes at least 5 times in different years" [1] It's a highly effective strategy that I know dang doesn't like! So I'll post another article about robot grippers which you should upvote instead of the breathless "AI will give us more Nobel Prize winning research" posts bec…

As usual, labor saving is only a good idea if the wealth created is distributed throughout society, not redirected to a small group of people.

And it almost always is through cheaper products to the end user.
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