Robots and Empire and Bicentennial Man

I have been reading the novel entitled Robots and Empire by Isaac Asimov and then happened to see the movie Bicentennial Man based on his novel by the same name. I was able to note that Asimov had been a co- writer of the screenplay of the movie because his style of writing is, in my opinion, very poetic and I recognized it immediately. I love poetry in general of any genre, especially science fiction, and his writing has that special flavor, almost a musical quality to it. His portrayal of robots is wonderful, Daneel is very human - like and Giskard has special mental abilities that can influence people and situations in the novel and I feel like I am floating through the story with the greatest of ease. However, if you are not able to spend the time on a lengthy novel, Bicentennial Man is a lovely tale of the evolution of Andrew, the robot and main character of the film, and what a film it is, a real treat. I highly recommend watching this movie, I don't even want to describe it so that it unfolds in front of you and you become as aware of the world as Andrew does, I put a clip of the movie below, enjoy!

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• Robot World News of the Day (geeks.thedailywh.at)

Sci Fi Quotes from Criminal Minds!?

I found this story amusing about the characters of the television show "Criminal Minds" who like to quote science fiction and horror authors during the course of an episode. If you are a sci fi lover/nerd like myself, you can find science fiction in anything in life such as the economy, which lately seems like science fiction in terms of market numbers, data, and financial instruments, etc.; new technology in medicine can appear to be like a science fiction gadget, although I am still waiting for those cool bio scanners from Star Trek:TNG; at an airport you have body scans that can detect the smallest mole on your body, satellites orbiting the Earth which can range from harmless television signals to weaponry, and in general, life is so hi-tech it can feel a little science fiction-ish. Anyway, from a crime drama show here are some of the quotes that pop up:

Isaac Asimov
"In life, unlike chess, the game continues after checkmate."—from the episode "The Uncanny Valley

George Orwell
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."—from the episode "Secrets and Lies"

G.K. Chesterton
"Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed."—from the episode "Seven Seconds"

Stephen King
"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win."—from the episode "Masterpiece"

Here is the entire article.

Thoughts on the "Dangers" of Science Fiction, Quotes by Isaac Asimov

I was thinking about Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan and some of my other favorite science fiction authors because an article was circulating warning people that science fiction literature is a danger due to the themes of "godlessness" and the lack of belief or personal beliefs of some of the most famous authors of all time. In my thinking, they are famous because there is a basic truth and logic to what they write about, for example, in Contact, the truth is what is sought, now what is wrong in pursuing the truth? What is wrong with logically approaching any situation in life and making informed choices based on fact? In most science fiction stories, science, data, and logic are used to approach problems.
If you choose to look at science fiction literature from a pragmatic point of view, it is fiction, a story that is made up to read and enjoy and then get on with your life. You can ascribe any meaning you like to the work of fiction, end of story.

Here are some of my favorite quotes by Isaac Asimov:
I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them.

If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.

Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right.

Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.

Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.

Science can be introduced to children well or poorly. If poorly, children can be turned away from science; they can develop a lifelong antipathy; they will be in a far worse condition than if they had never been introduced to science at all.

Here is a link to the article warning people about science fiction.