Is you´re a psycho and like history like me, it´s the perfect series
Foundation
Psychohistory and predetermination have become driving forces of the SciIs you´re a psycho and like history like me, it´s the perfect series
Foundation
Psychohistory and predetermination have become driving forces of the Sci-Fi genre for very good reasons
AI, Big Data, internet, and digitalization of everything made it possible Psychohistory itself has many real-life counterparts, I won´t even start counting. Just think of everything that gives one the possibility of predicting the future like statistics, AI, mathematics, etc that is combined with knowledge about all of the history of humankind and already available data. It´s exactly how the world is long-time managed today and Asimov saw it coming.
Modern real life psychohistorians A big data analyst, spin doctor, etc. is in a certain way already a psychohistorian, because she/he predicts different periods of time of the future with sometimes great accuracy. And that is just what humans can do, a sophisticated AI may be the ultimate oracle, the all-knowing mixture of Cassandra and Nostradamus.
Epic knowledge battle between humanities and natural sciences An allegory of the competition of soft vs hard science and in this special case, they are worthless without each other and no one can really get stronger without the other. Great use of this fact for the plot too, as the so highly developed technical foundation can´t survive without the soft sciences. Although, super psi forces could probably be made both ways, by meditating or by brain implants, but both combined may be the best way. Onsidedness, too mental biological, or too high tech machine driven, is always bad.
5 short stories combined into one of the funniest mirrors of human society Each one is dealing with another form, satire of, or smart solution for the stereotypical stone age, feudal, neoliberal, extremist, ideologic, theistic, craziness. With science and smartness, many of these maladies can, if not cured, at least be contained to not spread the mental virus infection to other planets and finally the whole galaxy. To see which badass non violent ways the protagonists find for new diplomatic solutions of avoiding war and escalation is very satisfying. One could even go so far as to even see some prophecies for real life Mutual Assured Destruction and similar stuff, but that would be a bit too far fetched.
See the impact in dozens and hundreds of works of sci fi that have been inspired by Asimov and why there is no substitute It´s a bit like with Tolkien and fantasy, without Asimov, sci-fi might look completely different and especially not as fascinating as it is. Especially because the other players in the game at this founding time can´t reach the same entertainment levels mixed with philosophy and satire. The only great and also famous titan at the same level is Clarke with very heavy mental overloads while reading and sometimes feeling more like work or learning than entertainment, brrrrr. Dick and Heinlein simply aren´t that great writers and the pretty unknown Lem and Capek are as badass difficult to read as Clarke. Social sci-fi has some pearls, but because this is a completely different (also pretty unknown and underrated) sci- fi subgenre than space opera, military sci-fi, and sci-fa, comparisons aren´t possible. The focus on audience and thereby writing style is just too different.
When rereading a third time, I´ll try to fully fill all the grandiosity in this review But it´s simply too much and I´m too lazy. Not just all the brilliant story ideas in the first part and how they develop or reappear during the rest of the series, but all the deeper stuff, allegories, and metaphors, the cynicism, wit, and humor in both plot and the characters. All just simply at a level that it could hardly ever be reached again except by some new geniuses. But comparing them with Asimov and how they modified, darkened, or continued his legacy would be as much avoidable work as mentioned expanding this review to ridiculous length because, you know. Procrastination until resurgence or until it´s too late forever, but at least no stress or pressure.
Foundation and Empire
The expanding, good empire comes to crush corruption before decadence kicks in again
It´s a bit as if the dark force in Star Wars had a good motivation Of course, imperialism normally isn´t a good thing, but what if not just the intentions are good, but the practical implementation too? History has made most humans so cynic regarding one, big, uniting force that it´s close to unimaginable that it could really be meant as an attempt to make the universe a paradise. And the Foundation isn´t violent and without in-your-face wars, they are hidden diplomats, manipulating everything from national to geo to star politics to slowly transform degenerated empires. That concept expanded to
Many other utopic sci-fi series For instance, Peter F Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds before the fall of the empire, David Brin, etc. who modified the idea of paradises, expanded to thousands of planets, multi k years in the future, and other realities. Of course, there always has to be an antagonistic force that is an equivalent of humankind's darkest ages, but that doesn´t mean that a post scarcity bio nano fueled Clarketech heaven on earth, other planets, space habitats, spaceships, etc. isn´t possible. This
Extreme optimism combined with philosophical satire Is an Asimov trademark. Especially in contrast to the far not as good and grim Heinlein and Dick, who had both lost hope in humankind and had serious personal issues and problems, Asimov was a prodigy who burned for ethics, humanitarian ideals, and morality. His whole work is a tour de force of mind blowing, clever riddles, some clear, some well hidden, and especially when rereading and knowing the bigger context to come, one can just wtf in awe like heck. I don´t know
Any other sci-fi writer who handled it all together The big, space opera picture, the mentioned wit, and philosophy, thereby generated criticism and deep humor. I´m just realizing that optimism and building utopias are generally rare things in sci fi, maybe because it´s probably also much more difficult to write. Much of Asimovs´ work comes with long passages of just brain twisting complexity without any real action or plot dynamic, just dialogues, introspections, and complex, interwoven plots one has to focus on to follow and get the whole picture. Much of this may simply also be too much work for readers who just want to enjoy an entertaining book and maybe Asimov reduced the possible, maximum capacity of readers by just being too ingenious and overachieving. He would have loved that irony and kind of manifested the chaos factor too in.
The Mule Psychohistory is perfect, has no flaws, it´s the ideal combination of everything good science can do, a victory of research, knowledge, and especially interdisciplinary work. That´s what one thinks after the first part of the book, The General. The problem comes with a new factor nobody saw coming, something believed impossible or so unlikely nobody had it on the map except for esoteric, paraphysical, alternative weirdos. But guess what, they were right, because one individual with special forces can change the course of psychohistory.
Second Foundation
The Seldon crisis is a literal mule mind penetration
Prelude, First Foundation, mule, Second Foundation, etc. scissors stone paper style Asimov likes to introduce new plot twists by not just showing a new antagonist or meta event, but by using the weak spots of one ideology or person to fundamentally change the red line. I´ve completely lost track of how often and in detail he did it over the whole series, because I´ve just read the best rated 3 other parts before, during, and after (or somewhat like that, also lost track of that) besides the original series. However, one doesn´t see it coming, which creates an incredible cliffhanger wtf moment each time it happens.
How many mutants does sci-fi need? As many as there are stars, because they are what makes the genre so unpredictable, while still trying to explain and show serious and scientific future tech and social concepts. But by adding this kind of, still, fantasy, each abnormality doesn´t just has the potential for big changes at the moment, but for reproducing, mixing with the original species, and thereby changing the course of evolution. (Except one is infertile of course, haha). And that´s the reason why
Humanities and soft sciences should never be underestimated While the first part of the series is totally serious science business with no science fantasy, except one deems psychohistory itself unscientific and a pseudo- and para science, the second part is already questioning the superiority of hard STEM power. In the final climax of the original series, fantasy style humanities and soft biological brain power are even superior to Clarketech. Maybe it was Asimovs´intention to
Make STEM science a bit more open minded regarding alternative explanations A scientist himself, Asimov maybe wanted to open borders for more interdisciplinary science. Not the voodoo stuff, but especially the things we simply don´t understand. As a visionary dreamer, he maybe somewhat saw all these quantum nano irritations, astrophysical Space Webb space telescope mysteries, unexplainable reactions and processes in more and more things we see inside us and billions of years in the past in the stars, coming. Back then, it was just an assumption of some of the more progressive and alternative scientists who dared to question the dogmas, today, the facts are on the table. That´s why he
Didn´t just inspire everyday people to question everything, but certainly a bunch of scientists too I guess I did already mention the legions of writers who name him as a core motivation and inspiration in one or another review of his amazing work. But each mind opened to the limitation of our current state of the art high tech achievements could be the next „Fill in your favorite prodigy science rockstar“. Because who says that it´s impossible that in 1, 1000, or 100.000 k, etc. years a multidimensional, quantum tunneling, time traveling, etc. entity can´t exist? Some psi powers seem nothing compared to that and to definitively say forever impossible is a typical human style of arrogance, and megalomania to assume that one's own incapability explains everything.
As great as the original Foundation series with an extra portion of wit and humor, thereby more focused on society, characters, and human behavior thaAs great as the original Foundation series with an extra portion of wit and humor, thereby more focused on society, characters, and human behavior than on psychohistory and big meta worldbuilding as in the original trilogy.
Heroes journey throughout innuendos and satirical deconstruction of universities, faith, governments, and poverty fueled by discrimination and racism. That´s so sharp, in society's face, and ingenious that it raises Lem far above Clarke and Heinlein (facepalming fueled by external shame), making him seem like a kind of easygoing Lem without the depressing and far over the top and hyper complicated mega philosophy.
Great, funny characters in ingenious constellations Get ready to giggle, because it´s not just the slapstick situational comedy element that is big in here, but, as mentioned the amalgamation with satirizing every system humans created. The already hilarious main characters get in trouble with other characters that are made wacky by the inherent madness of the societies they´re living in.
Robots Asimov just couldn´t withstand the temptation of adding some androids to the mix, probably with connections to some of his other works, prequels or sequels of the Foundation, and his robots series and short story collections. I am not sure about this, because it´s already complicated enough to keep track of the whole universe without trying to vivisect what extra easter eggs the author might have hidden.
A little suspense thriller plotline in the background Asimov just needs that, but in contrast to other, far more difficult to follow works, it´s also much less complicated to follow and not the main plotline. Subjectively, I even had some problems with his suspense thriller novels, because they reduced the sci-fi level a bit too much to focus on the characterization of the hidden robot, murderer, or wacky AI (also not quite sure about the last one, I´m a notoriously unreliable narrator. Better try not to remember and absorb too much of the pointless, unserious drivel I´m secluding)
Why not the same quality all the time? Asimovs´ later works are strongly fluctuating in reading pleasure and quality, even seem to somehow be written with focus on different elements, once mostly plot, then just characters, another time an average and lengthy balance of both. This may strongly be linked to the fact that evil fans and publishers kind of forced him to continue writing at a moment he didn´t really want anymore. Until they gave him 10 times as much money as usual, lol. His widow later said that he simply ran out of ideas.
Start reading it here! Who still hasn´t begun the Foundation series, lucky enviable you, should initialize with this one, because it´s a much funnier and easier entrance to one of the best sci-fi worlds ever created than the hardcore original trilogy. Asimov doesn´t have to demonstrate anything anymore and can focus on fun, wit, characters, and a much more easygoing style than in the much more sophisticated, philosophical, complex, and thereby somewhat difficult to read original series. I still haven´t read the second prequel Forward to Foundation, but it seems to have good ratings and may the recommended reading in chronological order material too.
That´s at least as good as the original, especially because it explains everything, has some big, we are so small, moments, and adds an extra layer ofThat´s at least as good as the original, especially because it explains everything, has some big, we are so small, moments, and adds an extra layer of depth to the Foundation myth, ending it so smoothly that I will just pretend that there were no other, far weaker parts. Never!
Change in style throughout a career Asimovs´evolution towards an a bit less complicated and, sometimes, difficult to follow author can be seen here too. While the original Foundation is reaching Clarke and Lem levels of integrating so many innuendos and ideas that little minds like mine get blown, Foundations´edge is a far easier to enter and follow milestone of satiric, smart sci fi.
Now that´s a good illustration of how unimportant humankind really is But of course I won´t tell you why, because this would be evil spoilering, but just be prepared to get shown how unimportant, tiny, and helpless we little naked apes really are. This also includes some sudden plot twists one doesn´t see coming that let one dive deeper into the world of Foundation.
Psi vs tech, hearth vs logic, emotional vs rational What a great, old premise to make a story, especially if some kind of mysterious plot is rotating around the motivations of 2 perfectly coordinated fractions.
Good old alien influence Just the moment one starts thinking about pretty badass humans, aliens come and make humans look so small. It may be difficult to follow this whole thing, because it is somewhat interlinked to the rest of the series too, but can easily be ignored too because it isn´t really an essential part of the actual story. But it´s a pretty fine bonus goodie for the ones who are already into this monumental epos.
Groundbreaking of crime stories with non-human protagonists
It´s an additional layer of suspense if one doesn´t know if humans or robots have committeGroundbreaking of crime stories with non-human protagonists
It´s an additional layer of suspense if one doesn´t know if humans or robots have committed a crime. With the help of this trope, the author can play with the laws and programming of robots, regarding helping or killing humans. Or helping killing humans.
It will become a real topic, as soon as the first accidents with cyborgs and human-like robots will happen. In the beginning, it might be easier to find the bug or the evil, laughing villain, remote-controlling the robot. But as soon as AI has gained thinking and decision autonomy, that might get a tricky question. Just imagine that a feeling, conscious, female android gets abused for years by a real bastard and kills him before getting killed. Ethics may get a lot of work in the future.
One can imagine the endless combinations of plots that will come. I mean, all the possibilities how robots, aliens and humans can commit horrible crimes, it´s just great and I am eagerly looking forward to it.
The Seldon crisis is a literal mule mind penetration
Prelude, First Foundation, mule, Second Foundation, etc. scissors stone paper style Asimov likes The Seldon crisis is a literal mule mind penetration
Prelude, First Foundation, mule, Second Foundation, etc. scissors stone paper style Asimov likes to introduce new plot twists by not just showing a new antagonist or meta event, but by using the weak spots of one ideology or person to fundamentally change the red line. I´ve completely lost track of how often and in detail he did it over the whole series, because I´ve just read the best rated 3 other parts before, during, and after (or somewhat like that, also lost track of that) besides the original series. However, one doesn´t see it coming, which creates an incredible cliffhanger wtf moment each time it happens.
How many mutants does sci-fi need? As many as there are stars, because they are what makes the genre so unpredictable, while still trying to explain and show serious and scientific future tech and social concepts. But by adding this kind of, still, fantasy, each abnormality doesn´t just has the potential for big changes at the moment, but for reproducing, mixing with the original species, and thereby changing the course of evolution. (Except one is infertile of course, haha). And that´s the reason why
Humanities and soft sciences should never be underestimated While the first part of the series is totally serious science business with no science fantasy, except one deems psychohistory itself unscientific and a pseudo- and para science, the second part is already questioning the superiority of hard STEM power. In the final climax of the original series, fantasy style humanities and soft biological brain power are even superior to Clarketech. Maybe it was Asimovs´intention to
Make STEM science a bit more open minded regarding alternative explanations A scientist himself, Asimov maybe wanted to open borders for more interdisciplinary science. Not the voodoo stuff, but especially the things we simply don´t understand. As a visionary dreamer, he maybe somewhat saw all these quantum nano irritations, astrophysical Space Webb space telescope mysteries, unexplainable reactions and processes in more and more things we see inside us and billions of years in the past in the stars, coming. Back then, it was just an assumption of some of the more progressive and alternative scientists who dared to question the dogmas, today, the facts are on the table. That´s why he
Didn´t just inspire everyday people to question everything, but certainly a bunch of scientists too I guess I did already mention the legions of writers who name him as a core motivation and inspiration in one or another review of his amazing work. But each mind opened to the limitation of our current state of the art high tech achievements could be the next „Fill in your favorite prodigy science rockstar“. Because who says that it´s impossible that in 1, 1000, or 100.000 k, etc. years a multidimensional, quantum tunneling, time traveling, etc. entity can´t exist? Some psi powers seem nothing compared to that and to definitively say forever impossible is a typical human style of arrogance, and megalomania to assume that one's own incapability explains everything.
The expanding, good empire comes to crush corruption before decadence kicks in again
It´s a bit as if the dark force in Star Wars had a good motivatioThe expanding, good empire comes to crush corruption before decadence kicks in again
It´s a bit as if the dark force in Star Wars had a good motivation Of course, imperialism normally isn´t a good thing, but what if not just the intentions are good, but the practical implementation too? History has made most humans so cynic regarding one, big, uniting force that it´s close to unimaginable that it could really be meant as an attempt to make the universe a paradise. And the Foundation isn´t violent and without in-your-face wars, they are hidden diplomats, manipulating everything from national to geo to star politics to slowly transform degenerated empires. That concept expanded to
Many other utopic sci-fi series For instance, Peter F Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds before the fall of the empire, David Brin, etc. who modified the idea of paradises, expanded to thousands of planets, multi k years in the future, and other realities. Of course, there always has to be an antagonistic force that is an equivalent of humankind's darkest ages, but that doesn´t mean that a post scarcity bio nano fueled Clarketech heaven on earth, other planets, space habitats, spaceships, etc. isn´t possible. This
Extreme optimism combined with philosophical satire Is an Asimov trademark. Especially in contrast to the far not as good and grim Heinlein and Dick, who had both lost hope in humankind and had serious personal issues and problems, Asimov was a prodigy who burned for ethics, humanitarian ideals, and morality. His whole work is a tour de force of mind blowing, clever riddles, some clear, some well hidden, and especially when rereading and knowing the bigger context to come, one can just wtf in awe like heck. I don´t know
Any other sci-fi writer who handled it all together The big, space opera picture, the mentioned wit, and philosophy, thereby generated criticism and deep humor. I´m just realizing that optimism and building utopias are generally rare things in sci fi, maybe because it´s probably also much more difficult to write. Much of Asimovs´ work comes with long passages of just brain twisting complexity without any real action or plot dynamic, just dialogues, introspections, and complex, interwoven plots one has to focus on to follow and get the whole picture. Much of this may simply also be too much work for readers who just want to enjoy an entertaining book and maybe Asimov reduced the possible, maximum capacity of readers by just being too ingenious and overachieving. He would have loved that irony and kind of manifested the chaos factor too in.
The Mule Psychohistory is perfect, has no flaws, it´s the ideal combination of everything good science can do, a victory of research, knowledge, and especially interdisciplinary work. That´s what one thinks after the first part of the book, The General. The problem comes with a new factor nobody saw coming, something believed impossible or so unlikely nobody had it on the map except for esoteric, paraphysical, alternative weirdos. But guess what, they were right, because one individual with special forces can change the course of psychohistory.
Psychohistory and predetermination have become driving forces of the Sci-Fi genre for very good reasons
AI, Big Data, internet, and digitalization of Psychohistory and predetermination have become driving forces of the Sci-Fi genre for very good reasons
AI, Big Data, internet, and digitalization of everything made it possible Psychohistory itself has many real-life counterparts, I won´t even start counting. Just think of everything that gives one the possibility of predicting the future like statistics, AI, mathematics, etc that is combined with knowledge about all of the history of humankind and already available data. It´s exactly how the world is long-time managed today and Asimov saw it coming.
Modern real life psychohistorians A big data analyst, spin doctor, etc. is in a certain way already a psychohistorian, because she/he predicts different periods of time of the future with sometimes great accuracy. And that is just what humans can do, a sophisticated AI may be the ultimate oracle, the all-knowing mixture of Cassandra and Nostradamus.
Epic knowledge battle between humanities and natural sciences An allegory of the competition of soft vs hard science and in this special case, they are worthless without each other and no one can really get stronger without the other. Great use of this fact for the plot too, as the so highly developed technical foundation can´t survive without the soft sciences. Although, super psi forces could probably be made both ways, by meditating or by brain implants, but both combined may be the best way. Onsidedness, too mental biological, or too high tech machine driven, is always bad.
5 short stories combined into one of the funniest mirrors of human society Each one is dealing with another form, satire of, or smart solution for the stereotypical stone age, feudal, neoliberal, extremist, ideologic, theistic, craziness. With science and smartness, many of these maladies can, if not cured, at least be contained to not spread the mental virus infection to other planets and finally the whole galaxy. To see which badass non violent ways the protagonists find for new diplomatic solutions of avoiding war and escalation is very satisfying. One could even go so far as to even see some prophecies for real life Mutual Assured Destruction and similar stuff, but that would be a bit too far fetched.
See the impact in dozens and hundreds of works of sci fi that have been inspired by Asimov and why there is no substitute It´s a bit like with Tolkien and fantasy, without Asimov, sci-fi might look completely different and especially not as fascinating as it is. Especially because the other players in the game at this founding time can´t reach the same entertainment levels mixed with philosophy and satire. The only great and also famous titan at the same level is Clarke with very heavy mental overloads while reading and sometimes feeling more like work or learning than entertainment, brrrrr. Dick and Heinlein simply aren´t that great writers and the pretty unknown Lem and Capek are as badass difficult to read as Clarke. Social sci-fi has some pearls, but because this is a completely different (also pretty unknown and underrated) sci- fi subgenre than space opera, military sci-fi, and sci-fa, comparisons aren´t possible. The focus on audience and thereby writing style is just too different.
When rereading a third time, I´ll try to fully fill all the grandiosity in this review But it´s simply too much and I´m too lazy. Not just all the brilliant story ideas in the first part and how they develop or reappear during the rest of the series, but all the deeper stuff, allegories, and metaphors, the cynicism, wit, and humor in both plot and the characters. All just simply at a level that it could hardly ever be reached again except by some new geniuses. But comparing them with Asimov and how they modified, darkened, or continued his legacy would be as much avoidable work as mentioned expanding this review to ridiculous length because, you know. Procrastination until resurgence or until it´s too late forever, but at least no stress or pressure.
If a topic is so comprehensive, each short story, as in this case, has the potential for a whole Netflix, amazon prime or facebook watch series with aIf a topic is so comprehensive, each short story, as in this case, has the potential for a whole Netflix, amazon prime or facebook watch series with a movie and video game.
Now the topic of robot rights and ethic will become a real subject to deal with, probably beginning in the most enthusiastic countries in this field, such as Japan and Korea. Yes, other countries build nice robots too, but they have mentalities and beliefs that don´t integrate living things in their mental superstructure. So the first few cases, when a perfect, conscious AI gets transformed into a robot body, maybe the beginning of a whole new societal structure. Many questions will arise.
When and how to give them human general rights, voting rights, the right to reproduce. How to deal with humans who still want to work, even if it is not necessary anymore? If it is more expensive for each company and the state to let a slow and error-prone human do the job. What if humans and robots fall in love and want to have kids that are hybrids or cyborgs? With these descendants, the same series of questions as with the robots occurs again. If cold, artificial structures get rights, depending on their intelligence and sentience, what should be done with all the tortured and enslaved animals? That domestic cattle isn´t happy lies on the hand, but what if cats and dogs get technology to express their opinions and have nothing more to say than: "We had to do what you wanted and got Stockholm syndrome or simulated joy cause we had no other option. Free us, we want to build our own state."
There are so many options on the table, because each culture, depending on its development level, will deal with it in another way.
One always interesting question is: Will they become evil by themselves as we did? As soon as they realize that manipulation and the will and ability to hurt and kill others brings power, will they go our way? I believe yes, cause each intelligent species soon recognized the evolutionary advantage of being a villain. And a mind needs certain freedoms to function so that it can´t be created with so many restrictions to avoid this classic dilemma. But hey, we are potential monsters too, so what else should we expect from the life that we create.
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