Darwinian Pool Room: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Latest revision as of 21:28, 2 September 2024

"Darwinian Pool Room" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the October 1950 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction, edited by Horace L Gold, and reprinted in the 1975 collection Buy Jupiter and Other Stories. The story was inspired by lunch-time discussions between the author and his colleagues at Boston University. In 1989 Asimov noted, "I have always considered it among the least satisfactory stories I have ever written".^[1]

Plot summary

A group of scientists held a lunch-time discussion concerning the evolution and extinction of lifeforms on Earth, including the dinosaurs. One of them concludes that the present civilization may be coming to an end, that no one can tell what or who comes next, and if it is a part of the divine purpose. Furthermore, he strongly hints that in creating both robots and nuclear weapons, humanity has created its own doom and successors.

References

^ Personal communication reported in N. Goldman, "Statistical estimation of evolutionary trees" (Ph.D. Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1992) [1].

External links

Darwinian Pool Room title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
"Darwinian Pool Room" at the Internet Archive

This article about a science fiction short story (or stories) published in the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Personal communication reported in N. Goldman, "Statistical estimation of evolutionary trees" (Ph.D. Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1992) [1].

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|1950 short story by Isaac Asimov}}
-"'''Darwinian Pool Room'''" is a [[science fiction]] [[short story]] by American writer [[Isaac Asimov]].  It was first published in the November 1950 issue of ''[[Galaxy Science Fiction]]'', edited by [[Horace L Gold]], and reprinted in the 1975 collection ''[[Buy Jupiter and Other Stories]]''.  The story was inspired by lunch-time discussions between the author and his colleagues at [[Boston University]].
+{{notability|date=March 2024}}
+[[File:Galaxy 195010.jpg|thumb|right|"Darwinian Pool Room" was published in the debut issue of ''[[Galaxy Science Fiction]]'' in 1950]]
+"'''Darwinian Pool Room'''" is a [[science fiction]] [[short story]] by American writer [[Isaac Asimov]].  It was first published in the October 1950 issue of ''[[Galaxy Science Fiction]]'', edited by [[Horace L Gold]], and reprinted in the 1975 collection ''[[Buy Jupiter and Other Stories]]''.  The story was inspired by lunch-time discussions between the author and his colleagues at [[Boston University]].  In 1989 Asimov noted, "I have always considered it among the least satisfactory stories I have ever written".<ref>Personal communication reported in N. Goldman, "Statistical estimation of evolutionary trees" (Ph.D. Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1992) [https://idiscover.lib.cam.ac.uk/primo-explore/search?vid=44CAM_PROD&lang=en_US&tab=default_tab&query=any,contains,(UkCU)8799-manuscrpdb&search_scope=default_scope&sortby=rank].</ref>
 ==Plot summary==
-A group of [[scientist]]s held a lunch-time discussion concerning the [[evolution]] and [[extinction]] of lifeforms on Earth, including the [[dinosaur]]s. One of them concludes that the present [[civilisation]] may be coming to an end, and no-one can tell what or who comes next, and if it is a part of the [[divinity|divine]] purpose.
+A group of [[scientist]]s held a lunch-time discussion concerning the [[evolution]] and [[extinction]] of lifeforms on Earth, including the [[dinosaur]]s. One of them concludes that the present [[civilization]] may be coming to an end, that no one can tell what or who comes next, and if it is a part of the [[divinity|divine]] purpose. Furthermore, he strongly hints that in creating both robots and nuclear weapons, humanity has created its own doom and successors.
+==References==
+{{Reflist}}
+==External links==
+* {{isfdb title|id=55212}}
+* [https://archive.org/stream/galaxymagazine-1950-10/Galaxy_1950_10#page/n153/mode/2up "Darwinian Pool Room"] at the [[Internet Archive]]
-<br>
-{{Sf-story-stub}}
-<br>
 {{Buy Jupiter}}
 [[Category:Short stories by Isaac Asimov]]
 [[Category:1950 short stories]]
-[[Category:Cue sports literature]]
+[[Category:Cue sports novels]]
-[[category:Science fiction short stories]]
+[[Category:Science fiction short stories]]
 [[Category:Works originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction]]
+{{1950s-sf-story-stub}}