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Positronic
A positronic brain is a fictional technological device, originally conceived by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It functions as a central processing unit (CPU) for robots, and, in some unspecified way, provides them with a form of consciousness recognizable to humans. When Asimov wrote his first robot stories in 1939 and 1940, the positron was a newly discovered particle, and so the buzz word "positronic" added a scientific connotation to the concept. Asimov's 1942 short story " Runaround" elaborates his fictional Three Laws of Robotics, which are ingrained in the positronic brains of nearly all of his robots. Conceptual overview Asimov remained vague about the technical details of positronic brains except to assert that their substructure was formed from an alloy of platinum and iridium. They were said to be vulnerable to radiation and apparently involve a type of volatile memory (since robots in storage required a power source keeping their brains "alive"). The focus of ...
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Three Laws Of Robotics
The Three Laws of Robotics (often shortened to The Three Laws or known as Asimov's Laws) are a set of rules devised by science fiction author Isaac Asimov. The rules were introduced in his 1942 short story " Runaround" (included in the 1950 collection ''I, Robot''), although they had been foreshadowed in some earlier stories. The Three Laws, quoted from the "Handbook of Robotics, 56th Edition, 2058 A.D.", are: ;First Law :A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. ;Second Law :A robot must obey the orders by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. ;Third Law :A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. These form an organizing principle and unifying theme for Asimov's robotic-based fiction, appearing in his ''Robot'' series, the stories linked to it, and his ''Lucky Starr'' series of young-adult fiction. The Laws are incorp ...
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Zeroth Law Of Robotics
The Three Laws of Robotics (often shortened to The Three Laws or known as Asimov's Laws) are a set of rules devised by science fiction author Isaac Asimov. The rules were introduced in his 1942 short story " Runaround" (included in the 1950 collection ''I, Robot''), although they had been foreshadowed in some earlier stories. The Three Laws, quoted from the "Handbook of Robotics, 56th Edition, 2058 A.D.", are: ;First Law :A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. ;Second Law :A robot must obey the orders by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. ;Third Law :A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. These form an organizing principle and unifying theme for Asimov's robotic-based fiction, appearing in his ''Robot'' series, the stories linked to it, and his ''Lucky Starr'' series of young-adult fiction. The Laws are inco ...
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Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (1922–1928)American (1928–1992) , occupation = Writer, professor of biochemistry , years_active = 1939–1992 , genre = Science fiction (hard SF, social SF), mystery, popular science , subject = Popular science, science textbooks, essays, history, literary criticism , education = Columbia University ( BA, MA, PhD) , movement = Golden Age of Science Fiction , module = , signature = Isaac Asimov signature.svg Isaac Asimov ( ; 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. A prolific writer, he wrote or edited more than 500 books ...
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Isaac Asimov's Caliban
The ''Robot'' series is a series of 37 science fiction short stories and six novels by American writer Isaac Asimov, featuring positronic robots. Later, Asimov would merge the ''Robot'' series with his ''Foundation'' series. Robot novels and stories The series started in 1940, with the story "Robbie" in the September 1940 ''Super Science Stories'' (appearing under the title "Strange Playfellow", which was not Asimov's title). Although it was originally written as a stand-alone story, the following year Asimov published a series of additional robot stories, which fit together into a narrative that was then put together as the book ''I, Robot''. List of works in the Robot series, in chronological order by narrative # ''I, Robot'' (1950) and later collections: ''The Complete Robot'' (1982), ''Robot Dreams'' (1986), ''Robot Visions'' (1990), and ''Gold'' (1995). #* In 1964, ''The Rest of the Robots'' was published - all of the short stories in that collection are found in ...
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Robots And Empire
''Robots and Empire'' is a science fiction novel by the American author Isaac Asimov, published by Doubleday Books in 1985. It is part of Asimov's ''Robot'' series, which consists of many short stories (collected in ''I, Robot'', ''The Rest of the Robots'', ''The Complete Robot'', ''Robot Dreams'', ''Robot Visions'', and ''Gold'') and five novels (including ''The Positronic Man'', ''The Caves of Steel'', ''The Naked Sun'', and ''The Robots of Dawn''). ''Robots and Empire'' is part of Asimov's consolidation of his three major series of science fiction stories and novels into a single future history: his ''Robot'' series, his ''Galactic Empire'' series and his ''Foundation'' series. (Asimov also carried out this unification in ''Foundation's Edge'' and its sequel.) In the novel, Asimov depicts the transition from his earlier Milky Way Galaxy, inhabited by both human beings and positronic robots, to his Galactic Empire. The galaxy of his earlier trilogy of ''Robot'' novels is do ...
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Susan Calvin
Dr. Susan Calvin is a fictional character appearing in Isaac Asimov's ''Robot'' series of science fiction short stories. According to I, Robot, Susan Calvin was born in the year 1982 and died at the age of 82, either in 2064 or 2065. She was the chief robopsychologist at US Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc., posited as the major manufacturer of robots in the 21st century. She was the main character in many of Asimov's short stories concerning robots, which were later collected in the books ''I, Robot'' and ''The Complete Robot''. Fictional character biography According to Asimov's fictional history of robotics, Susan Calvin was born in 1982, the same year that US Robots and Mechanical Men was incorporated. At 16, she wrote the first of many papers on robotics, a Physics-1 paper entitled "Practical Aspects of Robotics". This was after attending a Psycho-Math seminar at which Dr Alfred Lanning of US Robots demonstrated the first mobile robot to be equipped with a voice. As quoted ...
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Runaround (story)
"Runaround" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov, featuring his recurring characters Powell and Donovan. It was written in October 1941 and first published in the March 1942 issue of ''Astounding Science Fiction''. It appears in the collections ''I, Robot'' (1950), ''The Complete Robot'' (1982), and ''Robot Visions'' (1990). "Runaround" features the first explicit appearance of the Three Laws of Robotics, which had previously only been implied in Asimov's robot stories. Artificial intelligence researcher Marvin Minsky said: "After 'Runaround' appeared in the March 1942 issue of ''Astounding'' Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' ], I never stopped thinking about how minds might work."Technology; A Celebration of Isaac Asimov - ...
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Machine
A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecules, such as molecular machines. Machines can be driven by Animal power, animals and Human power, people, by natural forces such as Wind power, wind and Water power, water, and by Chemical energy, chemical, Thermal energy, thermal, or electricity, electrical power, and include a system of mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement. They can also include computers and sensors that monitor performance and plan movement, often called mechanical systems. Renaissance natural philosophers identified six simple machines which were the elementary devices that put a load into motion, and calculated the ratio of output force to input fo ...
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Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between the natural and social sciences. Psychologists seek an understanding of the emergent properties of brains, linking the discipline to neuroscience. As social scientists, psychologists aim to understand the behavior of individuals and groups.Fernald LD (2008)''Psychology: Six perspectives'' (pp.12–15). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Hockenbury & Hockenbury. Psychology. Worth Publishers, 2010. Ψ (''psi''), the first letter of the Greek word ''psyche'' from which the term psychology is derived (see below), is commonly associated with the science. A professional practitioner or researcher involved in the discipline is called a psychologist. Some psychologists can also be classified as behavioral or cognitive scientists. Some psyc ...
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Roger MacBride Allen
Roger MacBride Allen (born September 26, 1957) is an American science fiction author. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and grew up outside of Washington, D.C., graduating from Walt Whitman High School. He graduated from Boston University in 1979. His father is American historian and author Thomas B. Allen. Background Allen's family moved to Bethesda, Maryland when in 1966, when he was nine years old. He earned a degree in journalism from Boston University, after-which he returned to suburban Washington DC. Works ''Allies and Aliens'' *'' The Torch of Honor'' (1985) *'' Rogue Powers'' (1986) **'' Allies and Aliens'' (1995) collects ''The Torch of Honor'' and ''Rogue Powers'' ''Hunted Earth'' *'' The Ring of Charon'' (1990) *'' The Shattered Sphere'' (1994) *'' The Falling World'' (TBA) ''Caliban'' *'' Isaac Asimov's Caliban'' (1993) *'' Isaac Asimov's Inferno'' (1994) *'' Isaac Asimov's Utopia'' (1996) ''Chronicles of Solace'' *'' The Depths of Time'' (2000) *'' The ...
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Vision (Marvel Comics)
The Vision is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, the character first appeared in ''The Avengers (comic book), Avengers'' #57 (published in August 1968, with a cover date of October 1968), and is loosely based on the Timely Comics Vision (Timely Comics), character of the same name who was an alien from another dimension. The Vision is an Android (robot), android (sometimes called a "synthezoid") built by the villainous robot Ultron created by Hank Pym. Originally intended to act as Ultron's "son" and destroy the Avengers (comics), Avengers, Vision instead turned on his creator and joined the Avengers to fight for the forces of good. Since then, he has been depicted as a frequent member of the team, and, for a time, was married to his teammate, the Scarlet Witch. He also served as a member of the Defenders (comics), Defenders. The Vision was created from a copy of the origina ...
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Doctor Who (season 4)
The fourth season of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' began on 10 September 1966 with the First Doctor (William Hartnell) story ''The Smugglers'' and, after a change of lead actor (Patrick Troughton) part-way through the series, ended on 1 July 1967 with ''The Evil of the Daleks''. For the first time, the entire main cast changed over the course of a single season (the only other occasion this has happened is during Season 21). Only 10 out of 43 episodes survive in the BBC archives; 33 remain missing. No serials in this season exist in their entirety. However, ''The Tenth Planet'', ''The Power of the Daleks'', ''The Moonbase'', ''The Macra Terror'', ''The Faceless Ones'' and ''The Evil of the Daleks'' have currently had their missing episodes (twenty five in total) reconstructed with animation and subsequently have been released on home media. Casting Main cast * William Hartnell as the First Doctor * Anneke Wills as Polly * Michael Craze as Ben J ...
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