The Batlord

How is it consistent with the actions of a scientist to deduce something, assume it to be true, and then run off and leave everyone else to deal with the problem without even mentioning that there might be a problem? Just because Asimov is regarded as some nerd god, doesn't mean he can't write something dumb.

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MoonlitSunshine

The simple fact that it is written shows that it was reported - all of the stories are being told, which means that it was read from the report that they made afterwards, just dramatised in a sort of first person. As far why they didn't stick around to solve the problem, or justify it, it might not have been their job: there are many examples of people whose jobs are simply to innovate, to figure out how something might be done or why it would happen, without having to justify their deduction. Given that problem solving is already split up in that manner to a large extent these days, it's not impossible that such specialisation would continue into the future.

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The Batlord

No, it was their job to fix the problem. The very next story has them talking explicitly about how it is their job to FIX problems with new robots, and if they fail even once, they will get fired.

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LoathsomePete

The Colour of Magic

I finished Mort on the bus this morning so I will start reading this tonight. It's been a very long time since I read this so I'm pretty excited.

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101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

MoonlitSunshine

*shrug* I think you're nitpicking a little bit, but I guess it's a matter of personal opinion. From my perspective, I understand entirely why he chose to write it the way he did, because he explains the cause of the odd behaviour and moves on, as does pretty much every single story in the book. The point of the short stories is not meant to be a thesis of justification by scientific method; that would get rather boring to read, given the amount of statistical analysis that would be involved in such a "proof". He is using each instance as a method of exploring the laws and how they interact with each other, not trying to prove exactly what outcome would occur in each situation...

At least, that's the way I see it. Science by storytelling is, in my book, allowed a bit of poetic license :P

I found I didn't enjoy the Colour of Magic/Light Fantastic Story as much as I did most of the others. While Rincewind grows into a fantastic character, I found him pretty intensely annoying in those two. I think part of it is that he's so busy introducing so many different aspects of the universe that some part of the character progression and insight which makes the other books so great gets lost in the process. That isn't to say that they aren't extremely important books in the series for exactly the same reason: the sheer amount of groundwork he lays in two books as opposed to the rest of the series is ridiculous... I just never enjoyed them as much as the others :P

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"I found it eventually, at the bottom of a locker in a disused laboratory, with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard". Ever thought of going into Advertising?"

- Arthur Dent

Unknown Soldier

Just finished Book 2 and diving straight into Book 3 tomorrow. Now I'm finally hooked!

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Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

swim

Unforgivable Blackness | The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
It's about the first black heavy weight boxer. It's more detail than you'd ever want to know and there's also a documentary by Ken Burns that contains a lot to most of the same info.

The Batlord

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the story up until the end, and I've enjoyed Asimov before now as well, I just think that the ending was dumb. I get that it's basically a comment on religion, saying that it may be illogical, but it has it's uses, so **** it, but I can't get over how dumb the actual ending was.

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bob.

with all the praise here and my friend consistently telling me to read this series i decided to pick up the first book....i'll be starting it tonight

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SillySocks

I'm reading Mitt Romney's book, No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, because this is my first time voting in an election this year, and I want to be informed!