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Topic: Foundations… (Read 3426 times)

Foundations…

I should probably have looked Paul Krugman up at Wikipedia a long time ago… So, perhaps this comes a little late.
The article said something I'd not expected:
Quote
According to Krugman, his interest in economics began with Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels, in which the social scientists of the future use a new science of "psychohistory" to attempt to save civilization. Since present-day science fell far short of "psychohistory", Krugman turned to economics as the next best thing.
(source)

The only other self-professed Seldon-wanna-be I'm familiar with is Gavin Schmidt, NASA's chief climate modeller… (Hansen's successor.)

I too was a fan of Seldon… But I was a little more oriented to reality. (That's a scary thought, i'n'it? :) )

I guess reading science fiction isn't the problem. It's stopping reading it too soon…

Is messianic pretensions that common…?
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"Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility." - James Thurber
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts!" - Richard Feynman
 (iBook G4 - Panther | Mac mini i5 - El Capitan)

Re: Foundations…

Reply #1
fiction is art .

like all art , it is lie that tells the truth .

Re: Foundations…

Reply #2
Agreed! And then…
进行 ...
"Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility." - James Thurber
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts!" - Richard Feynman
 (iBook G4 - Panther | Mac mini i5 - El Capitan)

Re: Foundations…

Reply #3
it seems , some people  express their thoughts and ideas  as fiction,
with certain purposes .


IMHO, perhaps because it is too difficult to prove their hypotesis , scientifically . 
nor they do not have ability to Build that .


in example, SmartPhone ideas  in Star Trek .

well, that was arts in novels , movies , etc .
there is also some weird art such as -  happening art .

at this point , i sometimes   failed to understand their motives .

Re: Foundations…

Reply #4
Man's reach must exceed his grasp…
进行 ...
"Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility." - James Thurber
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts!" - Richard Feynman
 (iBook G4 - Panther | Mac mini i5 - El Capitan)

Re: Foundations…

Reply #5
I guess reading science fiction isn't the problem. It's stopping reading it too soon…

I feel a certain sadness that so many of you never had the opportunity of reading at your children/teen years the extraordinary French/Belgium "bande dessinée" (comics I suppose you say).

It was way over advanced to it's time and the world would have been a very different place if it was a part of everybody's imaginary.
As for science fiction literature, I like it but I can't say that I read it too much.
A matter of attitude.

Re: Foundations…

Reply #6
I feel a certain sadness that so many of you never had the opportunity of reading at your children/teen years the extraordinary French/Belgium "bande dessinée" (comics I suppose you say).

I also quite liked the Dutch/Belgian ones. But to be fair, the English translation of e.g. Asterix can be a bit lackluster.

Asimov was certainly one of my favorite writers in my early teens as well. So it goes. (Oh wait, that's Vonnegut — I generally prefer him now. :P)


Re: Foundations…

Reply #8
Smaller Flanders might have both more and more quality Dutch-language comic book writers and artists, but if I'd have to choose a favorite I'm not sure if I'd say Willy Vandersteen or Marten Toonders. :)

Re: Foundations…

Reply #9
You're comparing Jérôme with.. let's say Blake and Mortimer? No way.
A matter of attitude.


Re: Foundations…

Reply #11

You're comparing Jérôme with.. let's say Blake and Mortimer? No way.

I do believe that the better Suske en Wiske albums equal and surpass Blake and Mortimer. The silly Jerom spin-off isn't something I'm intimately familiar with, but what I've seen didn't hold my interest. Although I did actually pick up its reincarnation the other day.


Re: Foundations…

Reply #13
I find it so odd how people seem to be lamenting the alleged demise of the superstar. ;) In any case, I quite like Joann Sfar as far as present-day stuff goes.


Re: Foundations…

Reply #15
I don't think I've read Pebble in the Sky.

Re: Foundations…

Reply #16
I just read the New Yorker review...[1]

The Apple TV+ series seems only to take Seldon's megalomania from the books, as Krugman (and Schmidt) did -- wanting to emulate him. :)

The books -the three original ones- were serialized IIRC in Analog magazine (then call Astounding); which is to say, the stories were novelized from the magazine stories. Still worth reading. (Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun are two of Asimov's best, and could well be made into mini-series without eschewing the originals.) As is the collection of stories titled I, Robot; the two movies made from these -I, Robot and Bicentennial Man- were passable...
It failed to mention another prodigy with dreams of being Hari Seldon: Gavin Schmidt, the climate modeler who succeeded James Hansen as the director of NASA's Goddard Center for Space Studies. (Master of the Real Climate website...) His recent article shows him at his best!
Krugman became an ultra-partisan hack for the NYT. Schmidt remains a true believer.
进行 ...
"Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility." - James Thurber
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts!" - Richard Feynman
 (iBook G4 - Panther | Mac mini i5 - El Capitan)


Re: Foundations…

Reply #18
Pebble in the Sky's plot doesn't sound familiar

Same here. (I remember seeing a copy; if it was my own, I may still have it! But my belongings are in disarray...)

Yikes! I just went back an read the thread's original post... Guess my opinions are -shall we say- stable? :)
进行 ...
"Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility." - James Thurber
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts!" - Richard Feynman
 (iBook G4 - Panther | Mac mini i5 - El Capitan)

Re: Foundations…

Reply #19
The Apple TV+ series seems only to take Seldon's megalomania from the books, as Krugman (and Schmidt) did -- wanting to emulate him.


The books were made as a fast-forward of The Decline and Fall. That's not the TV series.

Rather than either I would recommend the Fall of Civilization podcast TV series. For max Sense of Foundation, I would go for the Han episode.

https://youtu.be/FwEkp4I75OA




Re: Foundations…

Reply #20
Will do, jax! (Bound to be better than the Paramount+ re-boot Star Trek series, Discovery and Picard...although each has its highlights.) [Edit: Ah! The True Story of "Red China"... :)]

Did you ever read Theodore F. Cook, Jr.'s The Chinese Discovery of the New World, 15th Century?
进行 ...
"Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility." - James Thurber
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts!" - Richard Feynman
 (iBook G4 - Panther | Mac mini i5 - El Capitan)

Re: Foundations…

Reply #21
I do believe that the better Suske en Wiske albums equal and surpass Blake and Mortimer. The silly Jerom spin-off isn't something I'm intimately familiar with, but what I've seen didn't hold my interest. Although I did actually pick up its reincarnation the other day.
On this subject, over the last month or two I read all the Blake & Mortimer albums in the original French, including all the new ones. I'd say Izneo is worth subscribing to, even if just for a few months.