Isaac Asimov (nonfiction)

Isaac Asimov.

Isaac Asimov (/ˈaɪzək ˈæzɪmɒv/; born Isaak Ozimov; c. January 2, 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University.

Biography

He was known for his works of science fiction and popular science. Asimov was a prolific writer, and wrote or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards.

Asimov wrote hard science fiction and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, he was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers during his lifetime.

Asimov's most famous work is the Foundation series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series.

He wrote hundreds of short stories, including the social science fiction "Nightfall", which in 1964 was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America the best short science fiction story of all time. Asimov wrote the Lucky Starr series of juvenile science-fiction novels using the pen name Paul French.

Asimov also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as much nonfiction. Most of his popular science books explain scientific concepts in a historical way, going as far back as possible to a time when the science in question was at its simplest stage. He often provides nationalities, birth dates, and death dates for the scientists he mentions, as well as etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Examples include Guide to Science, the three-volume set Understanding Physics, and Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery, as well as works on astronomy, mathematics, history, William Shakespeare's writing, and chemistry.

Quotations

The Relativity of Wrong

"When people thought the earth was flat, they were wrong. When people thought the earth was spherical, they were wrong. But if you think that thinking the earth is spherical is just as wrong as thinking the earth is flat, then your view is wronger than both of them put together."

—Isaac Asimov, The Relativity of Wrong

A cult of ignorance in the United States

My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.

There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

Fiction cross-reference

• Crimes against chemical constants
• Gnomon algorithm
• Gnomon Chronicles

Nonfiction cross-reference

• My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge

External links

• Isaac Asimov @ Wikipedia