# Isaac Asimov, I Prostrate Myself Before You **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 21, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259 "2009-01-21T03:38:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/21 "2009-01-21T12:49:57Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > _The Last Question_ is the only audiobook I’ve ever been able to listen to. Everything else I’ve ever tried has had me zoning out within 2 or 3 minutes, but this has had me captivated from beginning to end each of the many times I’ve listened to it. Oh, and I also guessed which story before link-hovering. > > Anytime my wife and I hear or see some pop-cultural reference to Asimov, we like to imitate his extremely dorky voice from the introduction: "HELLO! MY NAME IS _ISAAC ASIMOV!_, and I’m going to read you a story. It’s probably my favorite story . . . " 😃 Okay, that reminds me very much of “Isaac Asimov’s science fiction favorites”, which is an audio title I got from [www.audible.com](http://www.audible.com) - actually the first program I ever got from them, and it’s still available in the catalog despite the many years since I purchased it. It _is_ narrated by Isaac himself, and it has the same kind of informal introduction and comments, and ‘Last Question’ is just one of the great stories picked for inclusion. From memory the list features: “I just make them up, see?” (poem) Someday Satisfaction Guaranteed The Feeling of Power The Last Question Living Space Spell my name with a Z The ugly little boy. I definitely recommend it to Asimov fans. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/22 "2009-01-21T13:01:35Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Okay, that reminds me very much of “Isaac Asimov’s science fiction favorites”, which is an audio title I got from [www.audible.com](http://www.audible.com) - actually the first program I ever got from them, and it’s still available in the catalog despite the many years since I purchased it. > > It _is_ narrated by Isaac himself, and it has the same kind of informal introduction and comments, and ‘Last Question’ is just one of the great stories picked for inclusion. From memory the list features: > “I just make them up, see?” (poem) > Someday > Satisfaction Guaranteed > The Feeling of Power > The Last Question > Living Space > Spell my name with a Z > The ugly little boy. > > I definitely recommend it to Asimov fans. Just rechecked the audio file - we’ve got all of these PLUS “Jokester” and “The immortal Bard” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/23 "2009-01-21T13:38:02Z")
I tend to prefer “The Feeling of Power” or “Nightfall” to “The Last Question.” If you think “The Last Question” packs a punch, read Alfred Bester’s “Adam and No Eve.” ---
**Author:** ![hobscrk777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a6a055/32.png) [@hobscrk777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hobscrk777)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/24 "2009-01-21T14:13:43Z")
Great feedback in this thread! Thanks everyone. I’m going to read all these recommended stories later in the day when I have some time after class and report back. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/25 "2009-01-21T16:27:59Z")
> [@hobscrk777](#): > > Yea, Isaac Asimoc is good, but he’s a slouch next to Isaac Asimov. > > An unfortunate consequence of my exuberance after reading the story. You’re lucky he was an atheist, otherwise he’d be haunting you. I got him to sign the issue of Galax6y where The Martian Way first appeared. His name was misspelled on the cover. After 20 years, he was still pissed at H. L. Gold. And now for something completely scary. Columbia got the rights for the Foundation Trilogy [Story](http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/01/16/columbia-wins-rights-for-isaac-asimovs-foundation-trilogy-with-roland-emmerich-directing/) and Roland Emmerich will direct. And you thought **I Robot** was bad. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/26 "2009-01-21T16:31:56Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > And now for something completely scary. Columbia got the rights for the Foundation Trilogy [Story](http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/01/16/columbia-wins-rights-for-isaac-asimovs-foundation-trilogy-with-roland-emmerich-directing/) and Roland Emmerich will direct. And you thought **I Robot** was bad. :eek: I can’t wait for the climactic hand-to-hand and mind-to-mind battle scene between the reincarnated Hari Seldon and the Mule in the ruins of Old Trantor. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/27 "2009-01-21T17:20:46Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Anytime my wife and I hear or see some pop-cultural reference to Asimov, we like to imitate his extremely dorky voice from the introduction: "HELLO! MY NAME IS _ISAAC ASIMOV!_, and I’m going to read you a story. It’s probably my favorite story . . . " 😃 Yes, Asimov spoke English like a Jew whose native language was Yiddish (which it was, more or less). Pleasant to listen to, but not the sort of voice to read something as sublime as “The Last Question.” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/28 "2009-01-21T17:46:42Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Yes, Asimov spoke English like a Jew whose native language was Yiddish (which it was, more or less). Pleasant to listen to, but not the sort of voice to read something as sublime as “The Last Question.” it seemed to me that he spoke more like a native of Brooklyn - my ancestral home also. I assume he understood Yiddish, but I don’t remember him saying his parents spoke it at home, but I’ll have to pull out my copy of the first autobiography to check. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/29 "2009-01-21T17:51:49Z")
I’ve heard Asimov speak. He had a slight Brooklyn accent – not strong, but noticeable. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/30 "2009-01-21T17:59:11Z")
Ok - that’s the first time I’ve read that particular short - enjoyable. What was the title of his short story where people had become so dependant on computers/calculators that only one person could do math by hand? ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/31 "2009-01-21T18:10:23Z")
Ever since I first read it in Omni years ago, I’ve been partial to How it happened. It takes real skill to put together an ultra-short that entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/32 "2009-01-21T18:15:22Z")
For no reason except that it’s somewhat timely, I give you Sunday’s Unshelved book club comic (by a guest artist): [Book Club](http://www.unshelved.com/archive.aspx?strip=20090118). ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/33 "2009-01-21T18:15:54Z")
Asimov also liked to sing all verses of “The Star Spangled Banner” as part of his lectures on [don’t remember]. He then gave commentary on each verse. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/34 "2009-01-21T18:17:40Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Ok - that’s the first time I’ve read that particular short - enjoyable. > > What was the title of his short story where people had become so dependant on computers/calculators that only one person could do math by hand? “The Feeling of Power”. Great prediction that calculators would become so ubiquitous that no one could do math by themselves anymore. The prediction that computers would be too expensive to use in missiles - not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/35 "2009-01-21T18:32:35Z")
> [@photopat](#): > > Ever since I first read it in Omni years ago, I’ve been partial to How it happened. It takes real skill to put together an ultra-short that entertaining. Now that’s brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/36 "2009-01-21T18:44:07Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > And you thought **I Robot** was bad. :eek: _I, Robot_ was _not_ bad. It had way too much action for an Isaac Asimov story (defined as ‘virtually any action’), yes, but the trailer left all of the philosophy out of it. Obviously it wasn’t an accurate representation of the original work, but that’s impossible to do with a collection of short stories anyway. As a devoted Asimov fan, I thought it was quite good. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/37 "2009-01-21T18:51:48Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > _I, Robot_ was _not_ bad. It had way too much action for an Isaac Asimov story (defined as ‘virtually any action’), yes, but the trailer left all of the philosophy out of it. Obviously it wasn’t an accurate representation of the original work, but that’s impossible to do with a collection of short stories anyway. As a devoted Asimov fan, I thought it was quite good. I forgave _I, Robot_ and was able to enjoy it on its own terms when I realized that the film was _inspired by_ the Asimov book, not _based on_. It’s a fine distinction, but the film took the title and the Three Laws concept and built a new story with those as the inspiration. It’s not intended to be faithful to the book of short stories at all, but rather it’s an additional, separate story. Had it been based on the book, one would expect it to follow the plot of at least one of the stories. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/38 "2009-01-21T19:03:17Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > “The Feeling of Power”. Great prediction that calculators would become so ubiquitous that no one could do math by themselves anymore. The prediction that computers would be too expensive to use in missiles - not so much. Thank you - ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/39 "2009-01-21T20:27:02Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Asimov also liked to sing all verses of “The Star Spangled Banner” as part of his lectures on [don’t remember]. He then gave commentary on each verse. He told us at the last MITSFS picnic he attended that he memorized them all so that when someone called him a Commie he could out-Banner them. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259/40 "2009-01-21T20:32:17Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > _I, Robot_ was _not_ bad. It had way too much action for an Isaac Asimov story (defined as ‘virtually any action’), yes, but the trailer left all of the philosophy out of it. Obviously it wasn’t an accurate representation of the original work, but that’s impossible to do with a collection of short stories anyway. As a devoted Asimov fan, I thought it was quite good. So, you liked Susan Calvin as a sexy action heroine? I wasn’t expecting all that much, but it was far, far worse than that. And, the existence of Harlan’s script makes it a tragedy. Would it have been significantly different if they hadn’t soldered on the Asimov stuff to the original plot? Not very, I think. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isaac-asimov-i-prostrate-myself-before-you/482259.md?page=3)