Foundation's Edge - Isaac Asimov

April 5, 2021 | 2 min

Intro

This book was released almost thirty years after "Second Foundation", which was the latest book in the story's chronology. Many things in the original trilogy that I wasn't really happy with or that were a bit "outdated" are addressed in this book.

Asimov's brilliance

One of the things that I like the most about Asimov's writing is that he's interested in many different things and this knowlege really shows in his books. In the first trilogy it's possible to see his interest in Roman history, mathematics, and his experience in the academic life. e.g. The Sack of Trantor in really similar the Sack of Rome, there are many many more similarities to Roman History. One thing that I really missed in the first trilogy was the advancement of the computing and communication technology.

Computers

The years that divided the release of "Second Foudation" and "Foundation's Edge" were full of huge technological advancements in the eletronics and computing industry. I think when Mayor Branno talks how Seldom couldn't forsee the technological advancements that happened in the Foundation, Asimov was in a way talking to himself.

There's a point in the story were Trevize first uses the Far Star's computer and it's trully amazing. The computer extends his intelligence and his physical capabilities, if he thinks "What's the time now?" then he just knows it, if he is visualizing a geometry, he can just see it phisically. It seems so obvious but I never thought about a Brain-Computer interface like this before. This passage made me obsessed with this concept and I started researching about Intelligence Augmentation, Artificial Intelligence Augmentation, and Tools for Thought.

Conclusion

This is an amazing book and it has many more interesting facets. I think it shows that an interested mind produces very interesting things. The combination of all things that Asimov is fascinated about is more than the sum of it's parts.