Epiphany of the Global Mind, Terminator and Asimov’s Foundation Legacy

Posted on 24 May 2009

Today my mom sent me this article.

The Future of Artificial Intelligence in NY Times 5-24-09

She also commented on my first YouTube video, “I don’t understand.   your music with bagdaddestruction.”

And all this led to my wanting to comment on the NY Times article, but they don’t have comments turned on. And wanting to explain to my mom what the video/music connection was about.

My song is a prayer of sorrow and forgiveness.
The beauty and the horror.

And finally to wanting to give the NY Times readers an additional reference for the AI context. Asimov’s amazing and seminal Foundation Series (also iRobot series) that started with one short story written in 1942.

All the dots connected I will now provide more provocative ideas for connection.

Foundation Series reading order as suggested by Asimov

1. The Complete Robot (1982). This is a collection of thirty-one robot short stories published between 1940 and 1976 and includes every story in my earlier collection I, Robot (1950). Only one robot short story has been written since this collection appeared. That is Robot Dreams, which has not yet appeared in any Doubleday collection. 5
2. Caves of Steel (1954). This is the first of my robot novels.
3. The Naked Sun (1957). The second robot novel.
4. The Robots of Dawn (1983). The third robot novel.
5. Robots and Empire (1985). The fourth robot novel.
6. The Currents of Space 1 (1952). This is the first of my [Galactic] Empire novels.
7. The Stars, Like Dust 1 (1951). The second [Galactic] Empire novel.
8. Pebble in the Sky 1 (1950). The third [Galactic] Empire novel and first novel.
9. Prelude to Foundation (1988). This is the first Foundation novel.
10. Forward the Foundation 2 (1993). The is the second Foundation novel. (this title was not in Asimov’s original list)
11. Foundation 3 (1951). The is the third Foundation novel but most of the world knows this book as the first book of the “Foundation Trilogy”. Actually, it began as a collection of four short stories, originally published between 1942 and 1944, plus an introductory section written for the book in 1949.
12. Foundation and Empire 3 (1952). This is the fourth Foundation novel, made from of two short stories, originally published in 1945.
13. Second Foundation 3 (1953). This is the fifth Foundation novel, made from two short stories, originally published in 1948 and 1949.
14. Foundation’s Edge (1982). This is the sixth Foundation novel.
15. Foundation and Earth (1986). This is the seventh Foundation novel. (Asimov’s list shows a publishing date of 1983 but this is a typo)

@jmacofearth
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The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Asimov set the stage for the robots to come. From Bladerunner to Terminator, even Logan’s Run. Asimov was a visionary from the 1930′s when he wrote his first “robot” story at 19. This book is of one of the cornerstones of SciFi. A must read for simplicity of language and elegant collision of plot, politics, and religion.

@jmacofearth

View all my reviews.

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