Isaac Asimov - Master of Science - Extra Sci Fi - Part 1

Isaac Asimov didn't have a birthday. Nobody knew the exact date of his birth, so he picked one for himself at a young age--and that choice, quite possibly, was what gave us one of his best creative periods.
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♪ Music: "Hypothetical" by Surasshu

[extrahistory]

Asimov laid the foundation for our understanding of robots and space empires. He led science fiction away from simply marveling at technology, to questioning how we use it and what it means for us as a species.

[paulbutkovich]

Honestly I think he was at his best writing nonfiction. His fiction stories were imaginative, but he had a way of breaking down complex ideas and making them understandable that I have never seen equaled.

[shawnheatherly]

I'm perfectly okay with the critique on his actual skill at writing. Brilliant ideas absolutely, but that doesn't make them perfect. We have to be able to appreciate something while still understanding its flaws.

[robertdaws]

Issac Asimov was one author that the ideas were the reason for the book to be read. You nail that Asimov was poor in character development but the idea of thinking machines would be created and interact with humans was his child. Please don't forget "The Last Question".

[goneutt]

The date of birth confusion is easy to understand, Russia had used an old calendar that had drifted to be several weeks off from Western calendars. Throw in some confusion with moving around and changing countries, and remembering the birth was sometime in late Fall might be the closest to accuracy.

[anlumo]

I'd like to take a moment to congratulate the artist at how great the faces at 6:49 are drawn. So few line strokes to work with, but all of them nail exactly the right emotion in an instantly recognizable fashion.

[pinkdogroslyn]

If I ever feel discouraged while writing, I watch these videos. I hear the stories of these legendary writers in situations similar to my own. Thanks, extra credits, for keeping me on the path that I may or may not end on top of.

[lynteeyet]

Laid the "Foundation"

Haha, I see what you did there.

[hawkfeather]

Tbh, I read some fanfics way back that had the worst writing but the best ideas.

It made me cry.

[kherossilverlight]

I couldn't agree more on the "not being a good writer on a technical level" thing. It definately feels like a lot of his characters are just "plot drivers", and he didn't even seemed ashamed of it, as he would constantly claimed "I had this cool idea and made X character rant about it". HOWEVER, his later work, during the 80's and early 90's, would seen a much more humane Asimov, and you can easily notice the difference in his narrative. The best examples of this might be the Foundation prequels, specially the last one (even if he couldn't finish it by himself before passing away). Those novels showed very particular characterization and, no kidding, had legitimately emotional moments, without loosing the plot brilliances he had me used to.

[jameswhite]

Isaac Asimov was a science nerd. Other sci fi writers would call him if they needed a genuinely scientific plot point. One of them (the name escapes me) said to him "I got a guy stuck on a planet without an atmosphere and no oxygen supply, how is he breathing" and Asimov instantly replied "anaerobic respiration".

[jakemccloud]

Isaac Asimov I put in the same category as Lovecraft and Tolkien. I don't like the majority of their works but they were Lewis and Clarks of their genres, pathing the way for everyone else.

[ashleyhyatt]

Finally! I've been waiting for this one for quite a while. My all time favourite!
Isaac Asimov, Alan Moore, and Robert Anton Wilson forever changed my perspective.

[davehoffman]

Wait. Almost no Isaac Asimov meaning almost no modern Sci-Fi means almost no Extra Sci-Fi!

[paganbearpompom]

I've read Nightfall several years ago, i loved it and it moved me... truly. But then the years went by. I kept remembering the story but forgot all about the name.

Skip forward ten years and i'm watching a video of a youtube channel i love and that moved me for so many reasons for so long and in this very video i get the name i forgot so long ago on a silver plate....


I just can't express how much i love you guys <3

[old-moose]

I just finish rereading the Foundation Series including the follow-ups written years later and have just started listening to the Robot Series on audiobooks. Even after 50+ years Isaac Asimov still amazes me. My reactions from high school student to retired college instructor have changed and haven't changed. I'm no longer in awe of his technological vision but I still wonder at the ideas and concepts he created. His non-fiction were excellent as well.

[Richforce]

One time Asimov sat in on a literature class in college that was discussing some of his work. After class he went to the professor and told her that while her lecture was great she didn't get the meaning he was trying to say across. The professor's response? "Just because you wrote it, what makes you think you have the slightest idea what it is about?"

[asalways]

One of my favorite authors of all time! The Foundation Trilogy is one my personal picks, which I think, inspired a lot of Star Wars.

[glitchygear]

Even if you don't know his work you'd know Asimov exists because of how often his laws of robotics are quoted.

[SmileyTrilobite]

A neat cultural item: Not knowing their child’s actual birthday (likely just not knowing how the Jewish calendar they used overlapped with the US civil calendar) and erring on the side of pushing their children academically – and also the medical school focus – was in my mother’s family, too – she is a first-generation Eastern European American on her father’s side.