The Last Question - Religion

[dsri]

Will Isaac Assimov's "Last Question" break any rules against discussion of religion on this community?

 

[tinkerdan]

Have not read this. I don't know. But this doesn't belong in critiques so hopefully an admin will wander in at some time and re- place it.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Done. And I'm sure that a book can be discussed without breaking any rules. We are a civilized people, after all.

 

[tinkerdan]

So now you have done it. I've been forced to read The Last Question.
My first thought is that the Multivac of 2061 is a bit outdated since it is miles and miles of computer.
My impression of the story as a whole is one of the human condition.
At first the question becomes one of a joke between two drinking partners. They both hold differing philosophies, but in a way are still in agreement that the answer to the question and the fate of man is out of their hands. So they ask the smartest thing around and get the answer that the present information is inadequate.

Throughout the story the computer's do finally appear to grow smaller; or at least the interface grows smaller. But the fundamentals seem to stay the same. Man seems to continue to rely on the machine for the answer. Almost as though there is some hope for an answer but it will remain beyond mans grasp, yet somehow it may eventually be solved by their computers AI.

Man leaves a dying earth and reaches higher levels of technological advancement, yet still cannot reverse entropy. The universe is dying and yet the great AI seems destined to outlive man and man has reached some level where his consciousness can be added to the whole intellect of the Computer. To the last man, the question cannot be answered and yet the computer lives on solely to try to find the answer.

And when it finally finds it can reverse entropy then the final outcome is almost predictable; though back in the day this was written perhaps it was more of a surprise.

Despite the prediction of massive computers in 2061 the story still stands as well today as when it was first written. And it no doubt adds to all of his robot stories and multivac universe.

I'm not as much a fan of short stories as I am of Novels so I have lots of short story books that I've only read parts of. Some day I might read all of Asimov.

 

[mosaix]

Thoroughly enjoyed it when I first read it - years ago. Always remembered it but I'd forgotten the title and even that Asimov was the author. Thanks for the thread, I'll reread it when I get the chance.

 

[Vertigo]

I'm generally not a great lover of short stories, but this one I have always loved; I remember it totally blowing me away in my teens (it was written in 1956, a year before my birth) and having to go away and find out what entropy actually meant (although the context gives a very good idea of its consequences).

Anyone who wants to read it, it is available online here The Last Question -- Isaac Asimov though I'm sure it's probably in other places as well. Only takes maybe 30 minutes to read and is well worth it.

It is worth noting that it was written around the same time the weight of opinion was just beginning to shift from the Steady State theory to the Big Bang theory. I wonder which one Asimov favoured?

 

[The Judge]

I can't recall when I read it, but I also thoroughly enjoyed it, even though I had no idea what entropy was (and I'm not much wiser now!) but I could grasp all the stars would grow cold and die, and the ending was a great one, and I'm sure would have been an even greater shock at the time it was written.

I've had a quick re-read of it again now, and I'd forgotten that riff about umpteen billion years not being the same as "forever" which struck me as very human and natural, and the children's reaction to the stars going out. Odd, though, that he expects humanity to continue multiplying at such a rate despite increased longevity and good health with that long life. Surprising, also, that aliens are nowhere encountered as humanity spreads throughout the universe, and it's Man's idle questions which create life -- human hubris all over again!


And in answer to your question, dsri -- it's perfectly possibly to discuss the story, as you can see. It's the discussion of religion itself which isn't allowed, because of its propensity to create division, flaming and trolling, none of which are welcome here.