"Some religious folk consider him the incarnation of the devil." If you can listen to this man speak and think he's the devil, we have nothing more to say to one another.
@RDE Lutherie yep in that situation it was god who lied an the devil told the truth... God said eat from the tree an you shall die. . The devil said No you won't die you will gain knowledge... And thay is what happened if the bible is truth
Everyone in government should hear this quote. I also think that every student in our country should listen to at least 1 interview with Dr. Asimov and analyze it.
I nearly always thought of it as wrong. I always heard that violence should be a last resort. If this is true then it should be "Violence is the first refuge of the incompetent," or "Violence is the last refuge of the competent." But if he's saying resorting to violence show's one is incompetent, then that takes on a different meaning. Like the Iron Curtain parted, the Berlin Wall fell, and the Soviet Union disbanded, therefore the Soviet's and satellite regime's leadership were not incompetent because they didn't resort to violence to hold it together. Likewise South African leadership accepted change and didn't resort to violence. However, Assad's Syrian regime used violence against peaceful protestors, resulting in a civil war. Since it still hasn't been resolved, then Assad can be considered incompetent.
@@inyobill It's a matter of perspective. But the Bible has influenced humankind more than any other book, both East and West, redemptive narratives, the lessons of Jesus. The Bible is the book of humanity.
@@konroh2 I can't see more original post, but I intended it as a personal perspective, in agreement with the subject post. I'm explicitly not comparing the Bible to these people, but to illustrate how unimpressed I am by "influence", Hitler, Stalin and Mao Tse Tung were all very influential. I am aware of the good messages, I also am aware of the less positive.
@@inyobill Certainly influence can be good or bad, but what is your moral authority? We judge dictators on the authority of life's sanctity, this doesn't change. That in itself is a biblical ideal.
A patient, knowledgeable mind. These aren’t “comebacks”, they’re well thought out cogent points that any mildly intelligent person can easily understand.
There are some Chemistry textbooks that he wrote that are still being used in some schools/ universities. I think that's the closest that any of us could hope to get, to having him as our teacher...
As David & Razar have mentioned, he IS your teacher for as long as you want him to be. Go online to your library and do an author search for Asimov, Issac and/or search Amazon.
I was privileged to hear Asimov speak at Case Western Reserve University back in 1972. He was memorable then and continues to be here. Thank you for this!
never in my life have I seen someone disagree with religion, yet speak in such a respectful manner , A person of great humanity is the impression I get from him, I recently read a short of story of his "The last Question" which was one of the greatest works of literature and science fiction I have ever heard
@Baphomet the Sabbatic Goat, I don't think you understand, We are referencing A Book by Isaac Asimov (The Last Question ), Not referring to the judaeo-Christen Creation myth
Asimov’s books inspired my lifelong passion for science. His book “extraterrestrial civilisations”, a non-fiction book about the Fermi paradox,is brilliant. We need more great thinkers like him.
Imagine being called the incarnation of the devil despite committing no crime against humanity unlike the leaders of the very people who consider you so evil.
What a absolute legend, as a teenager I loved his sci-fi, science and astronomy books. He was and remains a positive inspiration, such a great human being.
I revered Asimov when I was a kid and I read everything of his I could get my hands on. I was 26 when he died in 1992. I moped around depressed for weeks afterward.
It's a statement that doesn't really make sense. Violence is the ultimate and final persuader, and the most competent at the use of violence, will win. Everything in civilized society , on a larger scale (and many smaller scales) is based around the final threat of violence. Ultimately, new societies and civilization are born, simply because of the final say of violence. I think it takes a smart man to persuade himself to believe that violence is anything less than that.
His final comment is so telling. During a discussion at a dinner party years ago we got onto the same topic. Myself and two others at the table put forward this scenario calmly..The two possibilities. The others at the table were inflamed by our position calling us "morbid" and one even said we "lacked faith in humanity". Quite the contrary. We accepted man's current mind set and had faith that, without immediate change, our species and planet would become a ruin. Looks like we're heading in the right direction for that outcome.
A great man. Curious about the world and loved to think all through his life. It's a sign of our times that people like this are not held up and revered anymore.
I read and loved Asimov’s sci fi books as a teenager. The Foundation series was brilliant and did what lots of good sci fi does, predicted future scientific developments. Written in the 50s, when transistors were just being developed, he wrote about devices made of fused silicon that contained many thousands of electronic circuits, microchips in modern terms. I assume this was a pretty wild idea at the time. Great to hear him speaking, I’ve never seen an interview with him before. He has a clear calm style and I don’t think I could disagree with anything he says here. Look forward to finding some more of his material. Thanks for posting.
Crazy how sci fi writers mold our future. Like u said who in 1950 was thinking of computers let alone the 2nd n 3rd generations of them. Great imagination n foresight this man had
There's nothing wrong with them wanting to convert or convince you. The problems begin when they attempt to force you. The problems begin when they punish you for not converting.
@@jerrybobteasdale But now try a more extreme version, e.g.: 'There's nothing wrong with a psychopathic rapist/killer trying to convert you to his pastime, it's only wrong if he forces you....' Don't imagine that feels quite the same does it. Think it fairly common to use an extreme example to help divulge an answer to a question/problem, or to determine the likely veracity of a statement. (And to any who want to twist the example into something it's not, forget about it, you'd just be missing the point.)
@@emansnas False analogy. The accomplished rapist has done evil, and would be trying to convince you to be bad. If he tried to convince you to like strawberry shortcake, it wouldn't be bad until he began stepping on your rights in the effort. Love of rape is bad. Love of the common version of the Christian God is not bad. I'm not very knowledgeable about the other common faiths.
@@jerrybobteasdale No. First off it's not strictly speaking even an 'analogy' nor was intended to be. It's simply a method extrapolating small differences into large differences for the purpose of comparison. Try assigning different subjective values, maybe you'll see what I mean... or not.
@@softan No, that's screwed up thinking. A real Christian wishes to covert you because they're convinced that they're on the good, righteous path. You're trying to see them as domineering you against your will. That's not the way of it. Of course , not all Christians are so loving, generous, and enlightened. They may wish to force someone. All men have flaws. Force will not install faith ( and I didn't misspell instill). Faith is fundamentally voluntary. Faith somehow fits. It makes sense to that person. It fills in things that need filling for that person. Wise religious leaders know that. Part of religion is spelling out morals and ethics. And sin will produce disapproval. Some think sin requires punishment. That makes sense while teaching children, perhaps. I'm less sure that it makes sense with adults. Sin is not crime. Crime is punishable. Sin is not crime,. Sin is failure of faith. It deserves disapproval, perhaps. It doesn't deserve punishment with the goal to control. That's when religion gets ugly.
@@DrJones-nh4my they may be buried now but their works are there for people who care enough to look around and study the world they live in. If that's what you think then it's you.
As a man of faith I greatly appreciate Asimov's intellect and contributions across-the-board. Shame this video was titled as such as it was deceptive. His we're not comebacks and such but were instead thoughtful responses to the questions of some lame interviewers who, despite their efforts to present themselves as if being his peers, plainly and quite painfully failed.
@Baphomet the Sabbatic Goat Not so. An athiest has to BELIEVE that there is NO god, has to BELIEVE that the universe unfolded on its own, etc. There's a difference in not believing in a god and believing there is no god.
@Baphomet the Sabbatic Goat The big bang theory is just a theory. Everyone uses what he wants to make sense out of everything. If someone uses religion as a staple of their beliefs it's fine as long as they don't become a fanatic and try to persuade everyone and same goes with being atheist, if you don't go around yelling at everyone that they are wrong and there is no God it's fine. As long as there is no solid proof of how everything started you can't dismiss one or the other.
From other side we should be gratefull that we lived in the same time and could explore the wonder of those minds, wich next generation will not have, and that sucks for them.
@@angeleocorrodead So true. It was the early days of sifi. So many ideas that expanded the mind with possibilities. Funny how it sometimes took writers/dreamers to inspire future tech. They helped shape the future by fantasizing about it.
@@angeleocorrodead Sorry no. It's hard to find new authors isn't it? I have some detective and fantasy I read but haven't found a good sifi author. Even they are dying off.
my favorite is from the Big Brother conference. The woman shouting out the window of the car , driving down "Lover's lane" In Newton, MA. "God is watching you!" - that's how he explains "Big Brother"
Green Brain Seaside Feynman, Bertrand Russel, Asimov...throw in Hitch as John the Baptist...but ironically the only way to honor and "worship" them would be to NOT worship them or any other person...THAT is what they would want
There are obviously many facts in the Bible - the problem is that fundamentalists assume EVERYTHING in the Bible is a fact, regardless of our increased knowledge and plain old common sense.
I grow up reading the great Issac Asimov, but the most memorable part of him is his spectacular facial hair. I grow up in east Asia, and this man taught the diversity of human races (in term of facial hair)
Long live Asimov! Love all his books.. from all the Foundations to the R Daniel Olivaw novels Galactic Empire novels to Asimov's guide to Shakespeare / Bible to a choice of catastrophe to the other scientific novels and papers... but fav is the Last Question
i have been enamoured of this man since i first picked up robot dreams and then foundation. i've even read some of his text and children's books; i highly recommend any of them. agatan, damn it don't you ever stop making these videos.
I think I was 14 years old when I first read a work by Assimov and went on to find about the Foundation trilogy and was deeply astounded by how he worked around with simple logics. Been a fan since.
A genial and honest person. Wonderful responses and so concise with no hint of snark. Just a combination of fact and opinion that only the most belligerent would even attempt to refute.
That's a really good observation. No hint of snark. I think that's why I like listening to him so much. And reading him. He always maintained a respect for his readers' intelligence. He was one of the few people who can think a lot of his own intelligence without thinking little of others'.
Teaching or trying to learn for yourself ended up with the right wingers making up their own facts and logic completely negating scientific facts. That doesn't work anymore unfortunately. Flat earthets, anti vax, anti mask etc. Humanity is beyond Isaac's advice unfortunately.
You saw mostly his words. Believe me, there was plenty of illogical emotion, I was there. Didn't you get the impression from these clips, that even as recently as the 80s, non-belief, very common now, was rare then?
Amazing man. I read many of his books, both fact and fiction, as a youth. He was very very well read himself in science and literature. I stiil have a copy of his guide to Shakespeare which i liberated from the high school library when, at the end of one school year, the librarian culled books that weren't being checked out. Needless to say, there were no culled copies of gothic comics. Tells us alot about where our values lie.
Yeah, I don't think much of that prediction. You could have (and I suspect many did) make a similar one at pretty much any point in history. What usually happens is neither extreme, but we continue muddling through. Doesn't mean we should just give up. But society rarely finds itself in a true black-and-white situation. Distrust anybody who tries to tell you otherwise. Either they want to sell you a bill of goods, or they don't know much about what they're talking of ... or both.
Obviously the year 2000 wasn't a hard deadline, but the fact that as a collective People we can't think big enough to tackle the big problems and take on the big challenges... well, I feel that his prediction is more probable than not. I don't know what it'd take to turn things around. It seems that humans are too wired to be tribal & illogical to be able to achieve greatness.
I think we are starting to solve them, little by little. For example renewable energy is a real force now, our dependence on fossil fuels is lessening (as it ought to). We know what we need to do - well, MOST of us do - and we are working on it. The pace as always is much slower than it could be, but I have faith that we will get there (pardon the expression!).
This man taught me so much. I grew up with his wisdom. If we all had, the world would be a sane place. If he wouldn't laugh at me, I'd call him a saint. Lol
Great stuff.-Thank you. Love Asimov´s books and world view. I was surprised to see, that the intelligent design folks and the religious haven´t really upgraded their arguments the last 40 years.
i wouldn't agree they hone their arguements, when they lose ground they desperately try to parasitically attach religion to science Religions have bullied there way into the world like this fore centuries. Hijacking the winter solstice , a pagan celebration with the so called birth of jesus. Hijacking the spring celebration of fertility , also pagan - easter. as the so called rebirth of their jesus. Religions will always do this as faith is like a virus, it needs a host to survive and reproduce as it has no substantive reality behind it.
Religions do change - but they change slowly, and don't like to admit it. Creationism/Intelligent design, for example, is a relatively recent development. Protestantism started with Martin Luther. Pretty much nothing existing today is particularly close to the early church, say at the end of the first century. More importantly, post-enlightenment Christianity has important differences to pre-enlightenment Christianity or a lot of other current religions - and predictably, Christians claim those differences as fundamental Christian values. No, they're really not.
precisely they hijack things they were not responsible for. They cannot change as the book cannot change. The main things is the weakening of their position means they can no longer persecute/murder others for not believing in most countries.
One of the great coherent enlightened human beings of the 20 th century ! We can all learn to our benefit something illuminating from his great mind and work !
I've always admired and respected Asimov from my early teen years and throughout my life. His first comments in this video line up with basic Libertarian ideals. I wish there were more like him today, those who have a strong opinion based on education and/or faith but don't force it upon others and publicly call others "morons" for not professing certain views. All are free to exist in their own beliefs as long as they don't impose their beliefs on others.
It would really only take a religious person to watch this video and see what Issac Asimov has to say and tell find out quick how decent and honest of a human being he was and not some evil person that they portrayed him as for years. He was wonderful man and an extremely decent brilliant human being
Deckie Deckie How about the leftists? They’re advocating violence nowadays. Remember MLK and Ghandi? They moved mountains with peaceful demonstrations.
@@fulviorock Gene Roddenberry gave a logical explanation to the transporter. Making the special effects with the actors entering the shuttlecraft and making the footage of the miniature ships flying was too expensive. He actually said that. :)
@@webosm6494 Well, maybe your "we" is doing fine, but my "we" includes the billions of people who don't have the luxury of watching UA-cam videos and commenting on them, like you and I. I also consider the tens of thousands of species that have disappeared during my lifetime, primarily because of humans. So OK, for the sake of argument, maybe "we" haven't totally failed yet, but trust me, "we" are most definitely failing.
Legend. Best responses to religious questions that makes you think. And i loved his foundation and robot series. Futuristic writers today simply read Asimov.
In reference to the apocryphal quote attributed to Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab and the Library of Alexandria, I'm going to err on the side of caution and focus on Professor Asimov's use of the word, "legendary", not as a means of asserting this quote as historic fact; but rather to exemplify the mentality of your garden variety Fundamentalist. The quote re: Omar, has been repeatedly debunked by a host of academics and historians, including notable critic of Islam, Bernard Lewis, in the 1950's.
The experience of listening to this fascinating compendium of Dr. Asimov's views and observations on science, religion and humanity is continually marred by it's engineered audio track. This is the 1st instance in my 15 years of watching countless UA-cam videos where I have to continuously swap my headphones around as first the right and then the left channel alternately either becomes distorted and/or drops considerably in volume while the opposite channel remains clear and fully audible. Please remix this into a mono recording, so that both sound track and video for this wonderful collection of edited conversations with him align with and reflect his cohesively presented arguments...please.
For such a visionary, he seems very conservative in his projection 500 years in the future. Consider the changes he saw in just his own lifetime . But I wonder how he would weight the likelihood of alternatives if he was talking today.
This is the smartest, most articulate werewolf in modern history.
but can he surf on top of a van?
This comment is needed
He is the best
Also, he must be dizzy from rolling over in his grave.
Some wolfs become wolverines and some are incredibly smart. And very rarely even their hair turns blue.
"Some religious folk consider him the incarnation of the devil." If you can listen to this man speak and think he's the devil, we have nothing more to say to one another.
I’d expect the devil would be well spoken..but he’s not the devil.
@RDE Lutherie yep in that situation it was god who lied an the devil told the truth...
God said eat from the tree an you shall die. . The devil said
No you won't die you will gain knowledge... And thay is what happened if the bible is truth
That’s were the incompetence starts, especially in the dark ages
Diplomatic approach is very much wasted energy when it comes to these people.
Seriously what thing doesn't the religious believe to be the devil
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." What a great quote.
It's also the only refuge of the destitute.
Everyone in government should hear this quote. I also think that every student in our country should listen to at least 1 interview with Dr. Asimov and analyze it.
As spoken by Salvor Hardin, first Mayor of Terminus, location of The Foundation. However in this context makes me like it even more.
Its also the most efficient solver of problems when politics has failed.
I nearly always thought of it as wrong. I always heard that violence should be a last resort. If this is true then it should be "Violence is the first refuge of the incompetent," or "Violence is the last refuge of the competent."
But if he's saying resorting to violence show's one is incompetent, then that takes on a different meaning. Like the Iron Curtain parted, the Berlin Wall fell, and the Soviet Union disbanded, therefore the Soviet's and satellite regime's leadership were not incompetent because they didn't resort to violence to hold it together. Likewise South African leadership accepted change and didn't resort to violence. However, Assad's Syrian regime used violence against peaceful protestors, resulting in a civil war. Since it still hasn't been resolved, then Assad can be considered incompetent.
"Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived."
Isaac Asimov
Of course, it's much more true that it's the most potent force for theism.
@@konroh2 The fact that folks read it and maintain their belief is a continuing mystery to me.
@@inyobill It's a matter of perspective. But the Bible has influenced humankind more than any other book, both East and West, redemptive narratives, the lessons of Jesus. The Bible is the book of humanity.
@@konroh2 I can't see more original post, but I intended it as a personal perspective, in agreement with the subject post. I'm explicitly not comparing the Bible to these people, but to illustrate how unimpressed I am by "influence", Hitler, Stalin and Mao Tse Tung were all very influential. I am aware of the good messages, I also am aware of the less positive.
@@inyobill Certainly influence can be good or bad, but what is your moral authority?
We judge dictators on the authority of life's sanctity, this doesn't change. That in itself is a biblical ideal.
" Clever Comebacks" is a devaluation of his coherent, thoughtful statements.
A patient, knowledgeable mind.
These aren’t “comebacks”, they’re well thought out cogent points that any mildly intelligent person can easily understand.
Titles written by folks trying to get clicks.
True, but most religious zealots are not known for their intellectual (or intelligent) prowess.
How absolutely astounding would it be to have this man as your teacher?
In watching these videos, he continues teaching.
Reading his books was best i could do. Videos are best now.
There are some Chemistry textbooks that he wrote that are still being used in some schools/ universities. I think that's the closest that any of us could hope to get, to having him as our teacher...
I would consider myself to be incredibly lucky.
As David & Razar have mentioned, he IS your teacher for as long as you want him to be. Go online to your library and do an author search for Asimov, Issac and/or search Amazon.
I was privileged to hear Asimov speak at Case Western Reserve University back in 1972. He was memorable then and continues to be here. Thank you for this!
fucking great experience iguess
@@jasfromchile must be
What a calm, cool-headed, warm-hearted guy.
That's such a great and accurate compliment ❤
Yes - very much more a gentleman than a lot of his rather irritable followers..
I respect this man’s commitment to sideburns.
"Mutton chops", to be exact. I agree! He looks super fancy with a traditional feel to it.
Buggers grips?
😈👍🤣🤣🌵🤔🤣🔫😞 😮That got dark very abruptly!
Pork Chops. You heathen. Burn in hell...
Right up there with Chester Arthur and Martin Van Buren.
never in my life have I seen someone disagree with religion, yet speak in such a respectful manner , A person of great humanity is the impression I get from him, I recently read a short of story of his "The last Question" which was one of the greatest works of literature and science fiction I have ever heard
let there be light
@@secretagent86 and there was light.
@Baphomet the Sabbatic Goat, I don't think you understand, We are referencing A Book by Isaac Asimov (The Last Question ), Not referring to the judaeo-Christen Creation myth
@Baphomet the Sabbatic Goat No problem mate, Thanks for being a Good Sport.
I was going to say the same thing
Asimov’s books inspired my lifelong passion for science. His book “extraterrestrial civilisations”, a non-fiction book about the Fermi paradox,is brilliant. We need more great thinkers like him.
“Humanist of the year and...the incarnation of the devil” I want that on my tombstone.
Anything that challenges my belief systems is Satanic!!1!11!
Imagine being called the incarnation of the devil despite committing no crime against humanity unlike the leaders of the very people who consider you so evil.
*Perfectly balanced... As all things should be...*
What a absolute legend, as a teenager I loved his sci-fi, science and astronomy books. He was and remains a positive inspiration, such a great human being.
At last, a comment thread on UA-cam where most people agree and are not ripping each other to shreds. How refreshing! I thought I'd never see it.
Why he had to die so soon, in that terrible way.He had so much to say, beautiful things , useful things ,mind openers.
Sad to say this didn't age well.
@@sid2112
Please explain...
@Richard Hince
Yes. Could have a lot to do with the wonderful human being we're all in awe of.
How dare you say that!
I revered Asimov when I was a kid and I read everything of his I could get my hands on. I was 26 when he died in 1992. I moped around depressed for weeks afterward.
Pretty much same here
I am an avid fan as well
I think I was reading his mysteries at about that time. I never got into his nonfiction works.
We are the same age and I took mourned his death from Australia in 1992. Gone too soon.
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent". So appropriately for the events of today
what happened
To allow a dispute to come to the point of violence means someone wasn't smart enough to settle the matter. So I'm hoping you mean politicians
It's a statement that doesn't really make sense. Violence is the ultimate and final persuader, and the most competent at the use of violence, will win. Everything in civilized society , on a larger scale (and many smaller scales) is based around the final threat of violence. Ultimately, new societies and civilization are born, simply because of the final say of violence. I think it takes a smart man to persuade himself to believe that violence is anything less than that.
Blm
@@jasongallman2032 actually listen to what they said and you will see it's not such an insult as you may have considered
His final comment is so telling. During a discussion at a dinner party years ago we got onto the same topic. Myself and two others at the table put forward this scenario calmly..The two possibilities. The others at the table were inflamed by our position calling us "morbid" and one even said we "lacked faith in humanity". Quite the contrary. We accepted man's current mind set and had faith that, without immediate change, our species and planet would become a ruin. Looks like we're heading in the right direction for that outcome.
I, and two others...
A great man. Curious about the world and loved to think all through his life. It's a sign of our times that people like this are not held up and revered anymore.
The fact that some people think he's the Incarnation of the devil, makes me like him even more.
charles manson ?
Simply me too.
Deni the exsistance of there imaginary being and they will kill you..because he lives you,,, perfectly sane people
It's all projection--
Have you seen how vile some religious people can get?
I read and loved Asimov’s sci fi books as a teenager. The Foundation series was brilliant and did what lots of good sci fi does, predicted future scientific developments. Written in the 50s, when transistors were just being developed, he wrote about devices made of fused silicon that contained many thousands of electronic circuits, microchips in modern terms. I assume this was a pretty wild idea at the time.
Great to hear him speaking, I’ve never seen an interview with him before. He has a clear calm style and I don’t think I could disagree with anything he says here. Look forward to finding some more of his material. Thanks for posting.
Crazy how sci fi writers mold our future. Like u said who in 1950 was thinking of computers let alone the 2nd n 3rd generations of them. Great imagination n foresight this man had
01:28 "my objection to fundamentalism is not that they are fundamentalists but that essentially they want me to be a fundamentalist too." Precisely.
There's nothing wrong with them wanting to convert or convince you. The problems begin when they attempt to force you. The problems begin when they punish you for not converting.
@@jerrybobteasdale But now try a more extreme version, e.g.: 'There's nothing wrong with a psychopathic rapist/killer trying to convert you to his pastime, it's only wrong if he forces you....' Don't imagine that feels quite the same does it. Think it fairly common to use an extreme example to help divulge an answer to a question/problem, or to determine the likely veracity of a statement. (And to any who want to twist the example into something it's not, forget about it, you'd just be missing the point.)
@@emansnas False analogy. The accomplished rapist has done evil, and would be trying to convince you to be bad. If he tried to convince you to like strawberry shortcake, it wouldn't be bad until he began stepping on your rights in the effort. Love of rape is bad. Love of the common version of the Christian God is not bad. I'm not very knowledgeable about the other common faiths.
@@jerrybobteasdale No. First off it's not strictly speaking even an 'analogy' nor was intended to be. It's simply a method extrapolating small differences into large differences for the purpose of comparison. Try assigning different subjective values, maybe you'll see what I mean... or not.
@@softan No, that's screwed up thinking. A real Christian wishes to covert you because they're convinced that they're on the good, righteous path. You're trying to see them as domineering you against your will. That's not the way of it. Of course , not all Christians are so loving, generous, and enlightened. They may wish to force someone. All men have flaws. Force will not install faith ( and I didn't misspell instill). Faith is fundamentally voluntary. Faith somehow fits. It makes sense to that person. It fills in things that need filling for that person. Wise religious leaders know that.
Part of religion is spelling out morals and ethics. And sin will produce disapproval. Some think sin requires punishment. That makes sense while teaching children, perhaps. I'm less sure that it makes sense with adults. Sin is not crime. Crime is punishable. Sin is not crime,. Sin is failure of faith. It deserves disapproval, perhaps. It doesn't deserve punishment with the goal to control. That's when religion gets ugly.
Asimov and Sagan are some of the people I look up to.
Mark I would say down since they’re buried now
Many people now dont know who they are which sucks! These men helped to shape our world but got forgotten... so sad
@@DrJones-nh4my they may be buried now but their works are there for people who care enough to look around and study the world they live in. If that's what you think then it's you.
Like we look up to Joe and Kamala...
As a man of faith I greatly appreciate Asimov's intellect and contributions across-the-board. Shame this video was titled as such as it was deceptive. His we're not comebacks and such but were instead thoughtful responses to the questions of some lame interviewers who, despite their efforts to present themselves as if being his peers, plainly and quite painfully failed.
Consider: it takes great faith to be an atheist.
@@ColonelMarcellus Not really
@Baphomet the Sabbatic Goat Not so. An athiest has to BELIEVE that there is NO god, has to BELIEVE that the universe unfolded on its own, etc. There's a difference in not believing in a god and believing there is no god.
@Baphomet the Sabbatic Goat I was just using the definitions, Baph.
@Baphomet the Sabbatic Goat The big bang theory is just a theory. Everyone uses what he wants to make sense out of everything. If someone uses religion as a staple of their beliefs it's fine as long as they don't become a fanatic and try to persuade everyone and same goes with being atheist, if you don't go around yelling at everyone that they are wrong and there is no God it's fine.
As long as there is no solid proof of how everything started you can't dismiss one or the other.
One part of getting old that sucks is having all your favourite authors die.
From other side we should be gratefull that we lived in the same time and could explore the wonder of those minds, wich next generation will not have, and that sucks for them.
@@angeleocorrodead So true. It was the early days of sifi. So many ideas that expanded the mind with possibilities. Funny how it sometimes took writers/dreamers to inspire future tech. They helped shape the future by fantasizing about it.
@@rick43pen Do you know any unknown authors that inspired that? Im searching for things to read.
@@angeleocorrodead Sorry no. It's hard to find new authors isn't it? I have some detective and fantasy I read but haven't found a good sifi author. Even they are dying off.
rick pen not quite all yet. Kings still alive.
my favorite is from the Big Brother conference. The woman shouting out the window of the car , driving down "Lover's lane" In Newton, MA. "God is watching you!" - that's how he explains "Big Brother"
Oh..My..Word....I just love this man's arguments and views.
Hard to disagree with such a rational man.
If I had to choose to worship someone, I'd make my own Trinity. Feynman, Sagan, Asimov.
Green Brain Seaside Feynman, Bertrand Russel, Asimov...throw in Hitch as John the Baptist...but ironically the only way to honor and "worship" them would be to NOT worship them or any other person...THAT is what they would want
surely they would, but it's fun nevertheless.
Green Brain Seaside worship no man .... engage in open free dialogue and ideas that empower and improve mankind for all equally
+Seaside So you replaced one Jew with Three Jews!
Newton, Gauss and Faraday. My own trinity.
He is so straightforward and honest with his answers, you can never dislike him
Knowledge is the devil when you get all of your facts from the bible.
thats the problem. people want and pull facts from the bible instead of virtues.
There are obviously many facts in the Bible - the problem is that fundamentalists assume EVERYTHING in the Bible is a fact, regardless of our increased knowledge and plain old common sense.
knowledge is the devil whether from the bible or not when they pick and choose which things to adhere to and champion and shove down others' throats.
I grow up reading the great Issac Asimov, but the most memorable part of him is his spectacular facial hair. I grow up in east Asia, and this man taught the diversity of human races (in term of facial hair)
Long live Asimov! Love all his books.. from all the Foundations to the R Daniel Olivaw novels Galactic Empire novels to Asimov's guide to Shakespeare / Bible to a choice of catastrophe to the other scientific novels and papers... but fav is the Last Question
The Last Question is probably my favorite short story of all time.
What a genius every word is saying just sticks to my brains
i have been enamoured of this man since i first picked up robot dreams and then foundation. i've even read some of his text and children's books; i highly recommend any of them. agatan, damn it don't you ever stop making these videos.
I think I was 14 years old when I first read a work by Assimov and went on to find about the Foundation trilogy and was deeply astounded by how he worked around with simple logics. Been a fan since.
An inspirational man, thinker and humanitarian.
he has the face of a religious extremist
What an absolute legend Isaac is. Astounding❤
A genial and honest person. Wonderful responses and so concise with no hint of snark. Just a combination of fact and opinion that only the most belligerent would even attempt to refute.
That's a really good observation. No hint of snark. I think that's why I like listening to him so much. And reading him. He always maintained a respect for his readers' intelligence. He was one of the few people who can think a lot of his own intelligence without thinking little of others'.
2024
Correct.
Greatest explainer of all time!
One of the few humans that should be allowed to live forever. A great mind. A great humanist. And a great writer.
It takes a life to read all of his books so he is still alive for anyone
I'm a straight male but I just have to say I love this man with every fiber of my body.
@darth geekboy The profundity of your comment has you firmly enshrined in the UA-cam Einsteinian Hall of Fame.
@darth geekboy Stop with the childish babble. You're just digging yourself into a deeper and deeper hole.
Do both of us a favour.
Go immerse yourself in a Garfield comic.
@darth geekboy your alliteration brought me to full tumescence.
@@IsaacAsimov1992 what kind of insult is that🤣🤣
He makes too much sense for 2020. Where's the hysteria and the illogical emotion?
Teaching or trying to learn for yourself ended up with the right wingers making up their own facts and logic completely negating scientific facts. That doesn't work anymore unfortunately. Flat earthets, anti vax, anti mask etc. Humanity is beyond Isaac's advice unfortunately.
Easy there Spock!
You saw mostly his words. Believe me, there was plenty of illogical emotion, I was there. Didn't you get the impression from these clips, that even as recently as the 80s, non-belief, very common now, was rare then?
Amazing man. I read many of his books, both fact and fiction, as a youth. He was very very well read himself in science and literature. I stiil have a copy of his guide to Shakespeare which i liberated from the high school library when, at the end of one school year, the librarian culled books that weren't being checked out. Needless to say, there were no culled copies of gothic comics. Tells us alot about where our values lie.
I devoured his books when I was younger. They had an immense impact on my life and led me to a career in science.
me too, but after many years i understood his visions were very limited
Excellent video. A must see video for everyone.
The way he wove science into science fiction taught me so much through his books. He always imagined the possibilities.
Thank You Agatan Foundation
That last part got me thinking in the future. I don't think we have solve the problems he's talking about and we are in the year 2017.
Yeah, I don't think much of that prediction. You could have (and I suspect many did) make a similar one at pretty much any point in history. What usually happens is neither extreme, but we continue muddling through.
Doesn't mean we should just give up. But society rarely finds itself in a true black-and-white situation. Distrust anybody who tries to tell you otherwise. Either they want to sell you a bill of goods, or they don't know much about what they're talking of ... or both.
Obviously the year 2000 wasn't a hard deadline, but the fact that as a collective People we can't think big enough to tackle the big problems and take on the big challenges... well, I feel that his prediction is more probable than not. I don't know what it'd take to turn things around. It seems that humans are too wired to be tribal & illogical to be able to achieve greatness.
I think we are starting to solve them, little by little. For example renewable energy is a real force now, our dependence on fossil fuels is lessening (as it ought to). We know what we need to do - well, MOST of us do - and we are working on it. The pace as always is much slower than it could be, but I have faith that we will get there (pardon the expression!).
Support human extinction
Do the right thing
End the human disease
He mentioned there would be a small number of humans in both perdictions. I wonder what his reasoning was
Just listening to him is like reading a book 📖.
a truly great man.I started reading sci fi by reading his early books
Thank you, UA-cam. Thank you, Again Foundation.
If Christians label you "The Devil" you know you'er doing something right.
This man taught me so much. I grew up with his wisdom. If we all had, the world would be a sane place. If he wouldn't laugh at me, I'd call him a saint. Lol
Great stuff.-Thank you.
Love Asimov´s books and world view. I was surprised to see, that the intelligent design folks and the religious haven´t really upgraded their arguments the last 40 years.
religions do not change. it is their purpose to defend their preset text.
well they do try to hone their arguments. creationism became intelligent design.
-not a lot of innovation the last 40 years though
i wouldn't agree they hone their arguements, when they lose ground they desperately try to parasitically attach religion to science
Religions have bullied there way into the world like this fore centuries.
Hijacking the winter solstice , a pagan celebration with the so called birth of jesus.
Hijacking the spring celebration of fertility , also pagan - easter. as the so called rebirth of their jesus.
Religions will always do this as faith is like a virus, it needs a host to survive and reproduce as it has no substantive reality behind it.
Religions do change - but they change slowly, and don't like to admit it.
Creationism/Intelligent design, for example, is a relatively recent development. Protestantism started with Martin Luther. Pretty much nothing existing today is particularly close to the early church, say at the end of the first century.
More importantly, post-enlightenment Christianity has important differences to pre-enlightenment Christianity or a lot of other current religions - and predictably, Christians claim those differences as fundamental Christian values. No, they're really not.
precisely they hijack things they were not responsible for. They cannot change as the book cannot change. The main things is the weakening of their position means they can no longer persecute/murder others for not believing in most countries.
One of the great coherent enlightened human beings of the 20 th century ! We can all learn to our benefit something illuminating from his great mind and work !
I’m religious and agree with everything he said. Great mind... his, that is.
What religion are you?
Asimov's brilliant dovetailing of the Foundation series with the Robot series might just be one of the greatest literary accomplishments of all time!
brilliant man
I believe what impressed me the most, was his relaxed demeanor. It helped in listening to his reasoning words.
Patriotism: last refuge of a Scoundrel.
Asimov always maintained an old-fashioned, 19th century gentleman facial appearence, while speculating about the 21th century (and far beyond).
You teach the truth religion teach lies this is a good learning program
I've always admired and respected Asimov from my early teen years and throughout my life. His first comments in this video line up with basic Libertarian ideals. I wish there were more like him today, those who have a strong opinion based on education and/or faith but don't force it upon others and publicly call others "morons" for not professing certain views. All are free to exist in their own beliefs as long as they don't impose their beliefs on others.
This is the first time I've heard Asimov speak - he didn't sound a bit like I imagined!
same lol
He has the gentlest voice...
Wow! i can keep listening to these people for hours and hours
OMG, I'm growing sideburn/chops like Isaac.
Thanks for compiling this man's words.
I always have been a fan !!!
wonderful stuff. I love this guy.
It would really only take a religious person to watch this video and see what Issac Asimov has to say and tell find out quick how decent and honest of a human being he was and not some evil person that they portrayed him as for years. He was wonderful man and an extremely decent brilliant human being
Look up Cognitive Dissonance and you will understand why a religious person would ignore this video.
The world is built on opposing forces. Conflict is necessary.
I would say conflict is an eventuality 👌
I’m waiting for the arguments and comebacks. This should be titled “interview”.
Interesting and enjoyable. Thanks for posting this.
Another great compilation!!!! Thanks Agatan
You are very welcome
'Nationalism is the las refuge of the scoundrel' (B. Johnson)
Deckie Deckie How about the leftists? They’re advocating violence nowadays. Remember MLK and Ghandi? They moved mountains with peaceful demonstrations.
Genius!! Visionary! His Sci Fi changed my life - thank you Issac Asimov ❤❤❤
6:50 it the perfect explanation of everything that is wrong with Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek Picard...
You mean teleporting is not possible? Dmn I was fooled
@@fulviorock Gene Roddenberry gave a logical explanation to the transporter. Making the special effects with the actors entering the shuttlecraft and making the footage of the miniature ships flying was too expensive. He actually said that. :)
@darth geekboy
Yes it should evolve. But it has evolved in the wrong direction away from its core principles.
@darth geekboy as if the fucks are even in the perimeter of the problems that Cuntsman trek has...
Relevant words, and fair minded - across the decades - very rare.
"One of two [planets], depending on what happens before the year 2000..."
Sorry Mr. Asimov. We failed.
500 years is a long time. he could be wrong.
@@whatshisname3304 I hope his first scenario is correct
Maybe your "we" failed but my "we" is continuing to get better and better.
@@webosm6494 Well, maybe your "we" is doing fine, but my "we" includes the billions of people who don't have the luxury of watching UA-cam videos and commenting on them, like you and I. I also consider the tens of thousands of species that have disappeared during my lifetime, primarily because of humans. So OK, for the sake of argument, maybe "we" haven't totally failed yet, but trust me, "we" are most definitely failing.
@@maxime.racicot Stay strong with your negavtive attitude, you will need it.
Legend. Best responses to religious questions that makes you think. And i loved his foundation and robot series. Futuristic writers today simply read Asimov.
Every generation has its one loveable guy with the mutton chops. Rest up Isaac
The last minute or so...wow...completely agree.
So intelligent, way ahead of his time. Those sideburns tho :3
There is always one...one that stands out head and shoulders above the rest...
...and thank God for that...
Well, shit, no wonder he wrote so well. His thoughts are complete paragraphs.
Wonderful compilation
In reference to the apocryphal quote attributed to Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab and the Library of Alexandria, I'm going to err on the side of caution and focus on Professor Asimov's use of the word, "legendary", not as a means of asserting this quote as historic fact; but rather to exemplify the mentality of your garden variety Fundamentalist.
The quote re: Omar, has been repeatedly debunked by a host of academics and historians, including notable critic of Islam, Bernard Lewis, in the 1950's.
A genius and a visionary.
11:30 No matter the nationality, human beings are doing it
I don't know what to say about it. This statement is gold on itself.
Absolute gold... platinum and diamond encrusted comment 🌟
The experience of listening to this fascinating compendium of Dr. Asimov's views and observations on science, religion and humanity is continually marred by it's engineered audio track.
This is the 1st instance in my 15 years of watching countless UA-cam videos where I have to continuously swap my headphones around as first the right and then the left channel alternately either becomes distorted and/or drops considerably in volume while the opposite channel remains clear and fully audible.
Please remix this into a mono recording, so that both sound track and video for this wonderful collection of edited conversations with him align with and reflect his cohesively presented arguments...please.
Brilliant writer, brilliant thinker. And simple and clear, unlike most wafflers today.
Very interesting mind he had. Thank you for the upload. I enjoyed it. 😁👍
Anyone, Atheist or Christian that looks at the Bible and thinks it is a historical document, doesn't understand what it is.
So Isaac Asimov doesn't understand what the Bible is?
@@TheNthMouse Did my statement confuse you to such an extent that it needed clarification?
A personal hero, his books kept me enthralled when I was younger, a true genius.
For such a visionary, he seems very conservative in his projection 500 years in the future. Consider the changes he saw in just his own lifetime . But I wonder how he would weight the likelihood of alternatives if he was talking today.
I think he'd move the date up
Great man!
"The incarnation of the devil" haha. genius.
Your comment is genius.
Ich dachte, ich melde mich wieder ein Mal bei euch.
I only liked him when he was in the Goodies
I liked it when he started his own pirate radio station