Dr. Isaac Asimov, a renowned science fiction author, discusses his life and work in an interview. He talks about his prolific writing, having published 221 books, and his writing process, which involves using a single typewriter and working on multiple projects simultaneously. Asimov shares his thoughts on the interest in science and science fiction, attributing it to the advancement of technology in the movie industry. He also discusses his favorite topics, including science, science fiction, and history.
Asimov expresses his disappointment with the current state of space exploration, believing that the US backed away from the manned space program too soon. He predicts that the Russians will make significant advancements in space technology, prompting the US to re-enter the space race.
The conversation also touches on Asimov's views on genetic engineering, cancer research, and the weapons race. He believes that genetic engineering holds promise for correcting congenital diseases and that cancer research will eventually lead to a breakthrough. However, he is skeptical about the development of space weapons, advocating for a focus on peaceful uses of technology.
Asimov also discusses the potential of communication satellites, optical fibers, and laser beams to revolutionize communication, enabling millions of messages to be carried on a single wire or beam. He predicts that this will lead to widespread use of personal television channels and closed-circuit television for education and research.
The interview concludes with Asimov discussing his autobiography, "Enjoy Still Felt," which is the second part of his life story, following "In Memory Yet Green."
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. Dr. Isaac Asimov has written 221 books.
2. Dr. Asimov's most recent published work is his 220th book, "Enjoy Still Felt", an autobiography.
3. Dr. Asimov gets up in the morning, sits down, and writes until he finishes, then goes back to bed.
4. Dr. Asimov's favorite book is the second volume of his autobiography because it's about his favorite subject, himself.
5. Dr. Asimov is working on his monthly essay for the magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
6. Dr. Asimov also likes to write limericks, history books, and annotate the Bible and Shakespeare.
7. Dr. Asimov has annotated the first eleven chapters of Genesis in a book called "In the Beginning".
8. Dr. Asimov thinks the interest in science and space movies is due to the technology of the movie industry reaching a point where they can put in spectacular special effects.
9. Dr. Asimov enjoyed the movie "Star Wars" and "The Empire Strikes Back".
10. Dr. Asimov thinks the Russians are keeping up with space exploration and will eventually do something spectacular, prompting the US to get back into the space race.
11. Dr. Asimov predicts that the next logical step after putting a man on the moon is to build space stations, space settlements, and get a mining station on the moon.
12. Dr. Asimov has written about things that later came true, such as spacewalks, pocket computers, and space stations getting energy from the sun.
13. Dr. Asimov uses a typewriter to write and has three backup typewriters in case one breaks.
14. Dr. Asimov can work on multiple non-fiction books at the same time, but not fiction books.
15. Dr. Asimov thinks that genetic engineering will be a major area of medicine in the next 5-10 years.
16. Dr. Asimov predicts that genetic analysis will become routine for newborns, allowing for the prevention of certain diseases.
17. Dr. Asimov thinks that altering human genes is a very risky area to experiment with.
18. Dr. Asimov notes that scientists have already engineered bacteria to produce human insulin.
19. Dr. Asimov thinks that breakthroughs in cancer research are still elusive.
20. Dr. Asimov thinks that the best weapons research is no weapons research.
21. Dr. Asimov predicts that monumental breakthroughs in communication technology will allow for millions of times more messages to be carried on a wire or beam.
22. Dr. Asimov thinks that everyone will have their own television channel and closed-circuit television will become the norm.
23. Dr. Asimov's autobiography is called "Enjoy Still Felt", which is part two of his autobiography, with part one being "In Memory Yet Green".