Isaac Asimov's Vision Of The Future | Letterman

The legendary science fiction writer shares his thoughts on the future of medicine, communications and more.
(From "The David Letterman Show," air date: 10/21/80)

#isaacasimov #scifi #letterman

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[vongregor]

I read Asimov's books as a kid, and I had only seen him in his pictures on the inside of the book cover. I never saw him in any live footage. It wasn't like you could just go find a video of him and watch it back then. After so many years of reading his books I finally got to see what the writer was like. I'm so glad this was posted.

[wardengentles]

How spot on he is about communication. "Everyone will have their own television channel, just as everyone has a phone number..." Sounds like YouTube to me

[DanielWright-npfq]

I was one of Asimov's many fans as a youngster in the 70's. He always encouraged the expansion of the mind with a moral and ethical governance but a quietly heroic boldness. He was a visionary.

[davidparnell]

I met the editor for Isaac Asimov's books after he retired from Boston's publishing industry, a man named Ben DeLuca. Ben was an incredible person, a graduate of Wofford College and a wounded survivor of the battle of Iwo Jima. He was a kind man and an articulate person with a remarkabe life story. Ben made me proud to be an American and I felt fortunate to have met and listened to such a remarkable American.

[melissadana]

Asimov has always been my answer to the whole "if you could have dinner with anyone alive or dead..." question. So erudite, yet able to translate from the very technical to speak to the lay person. So knowledgeable about SO many subjects, and yet clever and witty not only in his work (especially his mysteries) but in person. Thank you SO much for posting this! This is such a gem of an interview and worth preserving!

[electronwave]

Very clear in his communication. No waffle or mindless banter. You could learn from someone like this at a tremendous rate.

[blackterminal]

I never knew Isaac had such a good sense of humour. Thanks for sharing this.

[TotinosPizzaRollz]

Such a treat to see Dr. Asimov again after all these years. He was one of a kind.

[badnewswade]

Just listening to the way he talks, his calm, mannered, rational discourse, reminds me of the world we've lost when we gave up on reason. It makes me so sad

[OneManBand-smjc]

Absolute creds to Letterman for a fantastic, in-depth conversation with a true visionary. Letterman barely seemed to even want to inject his typical quips but rather engaged Asimov at a very personal level and drew out some amazing insight from Asimov by doing so. This type of conversation foreshadows what Dave has grown into today.

Issac Asimov was without a doubt one of the most intelligent human beings there has ever been. I am 70 and still own about 75-80 of his books, many that I have re-read over a dozen times.

[MobiusBandwidth]

so wise, and sorely missed, Isaac was a dear friend of my parents, (they're still alive, at 91!) I knew him in my youth, deeply intelligent and hilarious man. a rare bird.

[folk-talleyfamilyvideos]

I work for a biotech company that uses stem cells to produce insulin for people with Type 1. This guy hit it out of the park 40 years before we were in the clinics. Unreal

[GarySchiltz]

I never realized how funny Asimov could be! He has always been one of my favorite sci-fi authors, but he may also end up being one of my favorite comedians! RIP dear Dr.

[chetk]

I grew up reading Isaac Asimov and other SciFi writers (Ray Bradbury, Robert A. Heinlein, etc) and learned to love reading. What impressed me about this interview was David Letterman conducting a great and serious discussion. This was David at his best before he became a bitter old cynic.

[philippemorin]

This is fascinating! Asimov definitely understands he's on a light and fun talk show. He seems to have jumped in with both feet, writing jokes himself and even working on his delivery as a comedian! He really could do every genre.

[JustinMullally]

How amazing is it that we can watch Asimov say "Everyone will have their own television channel" on YouTube? I wish we still had his mind, not only so he could see what happened, but also to hear what more he had to say. The man never stopped thinking.

[MrDiveDave]

My favorite author of all time. Across all his genres. He was one of the most brilliant people in history and as much recognition as he has, he is still very underated. Check out some of his non fiction and see just how much he recognized and understood about us and the world.

[ctsirkass]

He was so productive I believe he lived through books (his and others'). Wikipedia writes "wrote and published 40 novels, 383 short stories, over 280 non-fiction books, and edited about 147 others.". Just incredible.

[rpbajb]

Asimov was a professor of biochemistry. His many scientific books fascinated and encouraged me to study and get my degree in chemistry, which became my career.