Asimov’s Science in His Science Fiction
Isaac Asimov, a twentieth century Russian American, was a very prolific writer. He wrote hundreds of books. He is not only a writer, but he is also a scientist, where many books that comprise his body of work are reference books. The subjects range from Space science and geology, to Shakespeare and the Bible. As a man who graduated High School as a genius at fifteen and also as one who could create different believable worlds in a piece of writing, he has successfully bridged knowledge and creativity. His skill as an organized logical writer and as a pronounced man of sciences and history is reflected not only in his non-fiction, but also in his ability to write science fiction, even if he may be seen as very simplistic and precise in style. Isaac Asimov uses his logic-bound writing style and his knowledge as a scientist to create effective science fiction.
Isaac Asimov’s scientific approach accommodates his science fiction stories. His knowledge in sciences and his grasp of logic makes his science fiction more believable. As both a writer and a scientist, Asimov uses scientific theories as the basis of his fiction. His stories are thought of as not just works of fiction, but hypotheses for the future of our world, or hypotheses for how other worlds, if they exist, would be like. What makes his propositions go beyond fiction is that he does not just create things from magic or fantasy, but creates worlds with rationality and scientific possibilities or probabilities. He allows the reader to think, “Could this be real?” because his ideas are not too far-fetched to be reality.
Many scientists have expressed that Asimov’s idea of “three laws safe” from one of his most famous collections of short stories, I, Robot, would be implemented into future robotic technology; as stated in a criticism by Beauchamp as he wrote on Asimov’s positive views on technology. The reason for such a positive view is that Asimov is convinced, as a man of science, that as technology grows, so will our understanding of it. As the technology behind robotics grows, so will our understanding of how to control it, hence the “three laws of robotics”. The laws state: one- a robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; two- a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law; three- a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law (I, Robot). Asimov is no longer just a writer, but a theologian. It is logical and rational to think that the if we have the technology to program a robot to do something, we have the ability to program a robot to not do something, because a robot is limited to what it is programmed to do and nothing more. This idea is a proof for Asimov’s idea that technology can be controlled by humans, giving something for the reader to consider that makes his world he is proposing more valid. Gerald Jonas wrote in a New York Times Book Review on Asimov as a scientist and how it has affected his fiction writing. Jonas commented “Asimov’s prose, which is perfectly transparent, serves to convince the reader that everything has a meaning, that all mysteries can and will be explained in a rational manner. This is the promise of the scientist, not the artist; and like the scientist, Asimov often reneges on his promise” (pp. 32-33). This holds true especially in his earlier Nightfall where a world without night must experience, after thousands of years, an eclipse that leaves their world in darkness. The people of Lagash believe that it is the apocalypse the cultists have prophesized as the scientists try to explain it in a rational way, but because of the way their world is constructed, they have no concept of stars, space, or astrophysics as we know it and are overwhelmed in the end by their fear and ignorance of the stars, darkness, and all that they never imagined possible. As they theorize what is about to happen to them, one scientist character quotes “Imagine darkness – everywhere. No light, as far as you can see. The houses, the trees, the fields, the earth, the sky – black! And stars thrown in, for all I know – whatever they are. Can you conceive it?” An educated reader knows about the basic concepts behind astrophysics, and even an average reader would know that it is possible for life to exist with twelve hours of darkness each day because, we of course, have such days, and we do exist by our terms. The characters of Nightfall present their questions as great mysteries that cannot be solved. But, we, the readers, already know the answers in Nightfall. Asimov is showing us that mysteries can be explained rationally, because as readers we already know the rational answers to these mysteries in Nightfall; perhaps our mysteries have rational answers just like Lagash’s mysteries do. This scientific writing style and tone works to emphasis the science behind the science-fiction making Asimov’s stories real.
