The Work of Isaac Asimov
My first encounter with Isaac Asimov, (1920-1992), was my mother’s collection of yellowed pulp science fiction magazines. Mom had two years of Asimov’s Science Fiction from the late seventies. I was thirteen when she let me read them carefully to not damage the brittle pages. Most of the stories were written by young, up and coming writers. Today, I remember some of the stories, but do not remember the name of even one author. The important thing was that each issue began with an essay by the ever prolific Asimov. In his lifetime, he wrote or edited over 500 books. According to a resent piece in Psychology Today, he was hypergraphic, in other words, suffered from a compulsion to write.
After that, I found a volume of his short stories at a library used book sale. I believe it was The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov. I went on to read everything I could check out of the library or buy at a used book store. If I had to say, I would pick his short stories as my favorite of his works, rather than any of the novels.
It took about two years for me to read every one his famous Robot, Empire, and Foundation novels. Even though they are all related, the original Foundation books are surely the most famous of these books. They have gifted science fiction with many important concepts. One of the best examples is the term “robotics” which he coined.
Also, the idea of an “Encyclopedia Galactica” – a galactic wide data base of knowledge is directly from and central to the Foundation novels. Readers of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy will remember the Encyclopedia Galactica being poked fun at by users of the practical, portable Hitchhiker’s Guide.
Science fiction was just the tip of the iceberg. He had a doctorate in biochemistry and taught at Boston University School of Medicine. He was also a member of Mensa. More biographical and bibliographical facts about Isaac Asimov can be found at Reference .com.
It took me several years to discover his wonderful books and essays on science, history and other topics. He has an uncanny knack of taking an extraordinarily hard concept and making it understandable to the average mind. The fact that I understood and enjoyed his essays on mathematical history and ideas when I was struggling with math in school is surely a testament to this skill.
Unlike my beloved L’Engle, Asimov and I do not always see eye to eye on philosophical matters. He was a New Deal era Democrat. He was a devoted Humanist who believed that the Bible was simply Hebrew mythology. Despite all that he influenced this Christian Republican lover of science fiction and literature.
Asimov did not believe there is an afterlife. I like to think he was surprised to find himself existing after he died. Asimov is the first person who made me doubt the idea of hell fire and damnation. No matter what my religion tells me, Ican not bring myself to believe in the black and white mentality that would religate a seeker of truth who maybe didn't get it right to everlasting seperation from God. I imagine God sitting him down to explain some things. I imagine Asimov proceed to write out what God told him.
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1/29/2008 12:18 AM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
Becca has come up with a fine topic to fulfill my list making needs once again this week. Her weekly meme is Give Me Five Monday. This week's theme is Give Me Five vacation destinations you've already enjoyed or would like to someday.Since I have written about places I have lived and places I have visited, today I will be devoting my list to places I have never been, but would love to visit. While I am not adverse to decadent fun, don't expect my dream trip to involve a week in a Vegas hotel. For anyone planning ... -
1/29/2008 1:57 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
Becca has come up with a fine topic to fulfill my list making needs once again this week. Her weekly meme is Give Me Five Monday. This week's theme is Give Me Five vacation destinations you've already enjoyed or would like to someday.Since I have written about places I have lived and places I have visited, today I will be devoting my list to places I have never been, but would love to visit. While I am not adverse to decadent fun, don't expect my dream trip to involve a week in a Vegas hotel. For anyone ...
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