“Asimov’s Foundation books were a strong influence on me as a child
Elon Musk's Review of Foundation and Empire
by Isaac Asimov · 16 mentions
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“Asimov was 🔥🔥
“Mars is to Earth, as Terminus was to Trantor - Foundation by Asimov
“Foundation Series & Zeroth Law are fundamental to creation of SpaceX
“Asimov’s Foundation books should def be part of the mission. They’re amazing.
“Reread Asimov's Foundation series. Brilliant.
“Asimov's Foundation points out that all civilizations fall. Must ensure dark period is short & finite.
“The heroes of the books I read, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and the ‘Foundation’ series, always felt a duty to save the world.
“In terms of sci-fi books, I think Isaac Asimov is really great. I like the Foundation series, probably one of the all-time best.
“[Asimov is] one of my favorite writers. Foundation is tough to make into a movie, but has outstanding potential.
“Worth reading Asimov’s Foundation
“Should prob articulate philosophy underlying my actions. It’s pretty simple & mostly influenced by Douglas Adams & Isaac Asimov.
“Last pic of Starman in Roadster on its journey to Mars orbit and then the Asteroid Belt with Asimov’s Foundation Series etched in glass in the glovebox. Zeroth law …
“Unfortunately, Asimov's books largely illustrate why the three laws [of robotics] don't work
“It's sort of a futuristic version of Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Let's say you were at the peak of the Roman empire, what would you do, what action could you take, to minimise decline? The lessons of history would suggest that civilisations move in cycles. You can track that back quite far – the Babylonians, the Sumerians, followed by the Egyptians, the Romans, China. We're obviously in a very upward cycle right now and hopefully that remains the case. But it may not. There could be some series of events that cause that technology level to decline. Given that this is the first time in 4.5bn years where it's been possible for humanity to extend life beyond Earth, it seems like we'd be wise to act while the window was open and not count on the fact it will be open a long time.
“Ignition by John Clarke, Huzel & Wang book on propulsion, Asimov's Foundation, [and] Heinlein's MiaHM [are my favorite books about space.]
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