History of Computers - Isaac Asimov
By Chris Gillett
Introduction
Issac Asimov, born on or around January 2, 1920, was a well known science fiction author and professor. Despite many contributions in various fields of science, he is best known for his many novels and short stories. His popular science fiction stories were often prophetic, and accurately predicted future advancements in computing and other sciences. He is credited with writing or editing over 500 books. Widely considered the greatest hard science fiction writer of all time, he has touched nearly every aspect of science with his writing.[1] Asimov died on April 6, 1992 in Brooklyn, NY.
Overview
Asimov was a prolific author, thinker, and scientist. The majority of his works were science fiction, but he also wrote many fantasy and nonfiction novels. After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the American public became worried about a science gap between the two nations. Asimov then shifted his focus away from science fiction towards efforts to inspire and educate Americans about science.
His contributions are too varied and random to mention in their entirety. For example, he coined the term "robotics," and started the field of psychohistory, a field which has recently grown in popularity due to thinkers such as Ray Kurzweil[2]. His novels and short stories were all rooted in hard science, and represented a forward-thinking view of computing. In one short story, "The Last Question", Asimov describes the evolution of a computer which begins as a massive machine, spanning many miles, but which eventually becomes incredibly small and advanced. Asimov is also well known for his rules of robotics which are:
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
They are intended to prevent robots from turning on humans, but they are ineffectual as actual rules, and were created primarily as a plot device.
Significance
His fiction works predicted many future advances in computing, and even inspired them. He is widely considered one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time. His predictions of the future were largely correct, likely because his fiction novels were rooted in hard science and because his works inspired generations of scientists to pursue the ideas that he wrote about.[3]
