Isaac Asimov on The Golden Age of Science Fiction

Legendary science fiction author Isaac Asimov talks about the history of SF magazines--especially the changes at Astounding Stories during the late 1930s under editor John W. Campbell. This 1971 interview is the 1st of two Asimov excerpts from the Literature of SF DVD available at http://www2.ku.edu/~sfcenter/. It's brought to you by AboutSF and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas. For more info, visit http://www.aboutsf.com.

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Entertainment

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• Asimov
• Campbell
• Astounding
• Science
• Fiction
• Golden
• Age
• KU
• AboutSF

[cgn1fcance]

what's a religious debate have to do with one of the greatest authors?

geez if you wanna read Asimov's work then go ahead. It doesnt require any form of beliefs or faith.

I'm a deist, so what if asimov is an atheist? does that mean I'll have to oppose on everything he does? If he says 1+1=2 should I oppose that?

retards

[tukkek]

I guess at this point it doesn't matter if you do or do not believe in God. Even if He exists, He's not stopping us from starving each other to death and making war.

Thinking rationally and respecting others should be our main concerns, despite anyone's religious orientation.

[Iceycool8607]

I love this guy!!!

[Animeman73]

Isaac Asimov is indeed one of the greatest Science Fiction authors of all time. I'll also say this. While I believe in the Big bang theory I also believe that there was a God that pushed the proverbial "button". I believe in this crazy and unpredicatble universe that there's room enough for everyone. So I say let's all just relax and take a good long doese of chill. This mortal existance is short enough as is.

[chroniclerofthe70s]

@jmoney507 The Big Bang Theory is not an idea, there is evidence of it's occurrence by the fact that 3 degree Kelvin background radiation is detectable all around the Earth. NASA has scheduled for launch by 2015, several gravitational wave detectors which may partly answer the question what came before the Big Bang. I do not believe in science; science is the process of testing hypothesis to add further understanding of natural phenomena. Science can also be applied to practical problems.

[MobiusRoom]

@ethositachi im just saying he foresaw the os and how it connects to the internet and how it would affect us ,very accurately, in 1953.......maybe microsoft were influenced in their naming of it and maybe not.... but i dont think that affects whether or not Asimov was prescient in seeing those developments and how they join together and how that might affect us.. .i think he was!!

[ethositachi]

@MobiusRoom

Maybe Bill Gates or someone else at microsoft was familiar with Asimov's work and was thusly influenced.

If Asimov had called his OS 'windows' too, instead of 'doors', hopefully you wouldn't ascribe that to his prescience lol

[MobiusRoom]

anyone read "its such a beautifull day" by Asimov?....totaly prophetic..written in 1953.....the story totally describes the internet and wot its doing to us ,but also the system operating it is called 'Doors' which is uncannilly close to 'Windows'...how did he foresee Windows in 1953???....

[THEMANOUTOFTHECAVE]

@cgn1fcance I'm a gnostic (sort of) and I don't agree with either atheism or religion. But I read Asimov (atheist) or Dostoevskij (christian) and enjoy both. If someone is intelligent you must admire his intelligence despite him being right/wrong or wether you disagree or not.

[Giby86]

I cannot help smiling stupidly every time I hear him talk. 

[nontheistdavid]

Issac IS GOD!

[vanderbilt887]

This reminds me a lot of what Bertrand Russell says about the Presocratics and their period of intellectual inquiry in his 'Western Philosophy'.