The impact of I, Robot

Say what you will about the merits, or lack thereof, of the movie I,
Robot, starring Will Smith. But the impact is substantial.

At last check, the reissued printing of the book is ranked 33 on
amazon.com. USA Today reports that its the first Asimov book to appear
on their list of best-sellers since Forward the Foundation.

Until recently, a search for Asimov's name at news.google.com produced
only a handful of results. Today, a search produces hundreds and
hundreds of results. In the media blitz of publicity that preceded the
film, Asimov's name was almost always mentioned, and in a positive
light. There are now ongoing discussions in print and online about his
robots and the role of robots in the future.

Traffic at asimovonline.com has reached unprecedented levels.

The film is the number one box office draw of the weekend.

It is perhaps too soon to say what the final consequence of this
newfound attention for Asimov will be, but I can't help but feel that it
is a very good thing.

--
Ed Seiler

Edward Seiler <DELETEejseiler.TakeThisOut@earthlink.netUPPERCASE> writes:

 >It is perhaps too soon to say what the final consequence of this
 >newfound attention for Asimov will be, but I can't help but feel that it
 >is a very good thing.

  It seems to have inspired a new crank in sci.math, whose big
thesis appears to be that ``psychohistory can't possibly work!'' and
sulking that the Foundation future isn't science fictiony enough (why,
people eat *potatoes* in it, you know). So obviously it's having some
effect.

  I do hope the movie, at least, brings about more reading of the
real Isaac Asimov stories. Asimov spent so much effort downplaying his
abilities at character and literary writing that people seem to believe
it, and don't notice that he was really (generally) quite good all
around.

--
    Joseph Nebus
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