Talk:Isaac Asimov

Robert Heinlein, L. Sprague deCamp & Isaac Asimov picture

The description for this picture is wrong.

They are, from left to right: Robert A. Heinlein, then L. Sprague deCamp, then Isaac Asimov.

The current description confuses Heinlein and deCamp. 104.240.132.209 (talk) 22:26, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

Fixed, thanks for pointing it out. Schazjmd (talk) 22:29, 17 November 2022 (UTC)

Category "[a]ge controversies"

Could anyone please tell me if, given the uncertainty of Asimov's birthday, this page should fall under that category? Thylacine24 (talk) 22:46, 12 December 2022 (UTC)

Uncertain doesn't mean it's controversial. Richard75 (talk) 23:02, 12 December 2022 (UTC)

Date of birth

How is it possible for his parents not to have known in which year their son was born? Can we have an explanation of this? 82.36.70.45 (talk) 23:57, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

Well, there was a lot going on in Russia at that time. Schazjmd (talk) 00:03, 13 April 2023 (UTC)

I know that, but if you are a parent you must know that political and economical turmoil won’t make you forget if you had your son in 1919 or 1920… There’s something really strange going on there… Maybe it’s due to cultural differences. I know a hundred years ago people had 12 children and 6 died in infancy, so birth years were maybe less important back then… still, modern readers are baffled if left without and explanation… — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.36.70.45 (talk) 01:31, 15 April 2023 (UTC)

It's a combination of things, including their use of a different calendar (in which the range of possible dates were all in the same year). Richard75 (talk) 10:02, 15 April 2023 (UTC)

Oh, that’s an excellent point, didn’t know all the range was in the same year in the Old Calendar! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.36.70.45 (talk) 03:00, 16 April 2023 (UTC)

Big Three -Vandalism

The Big Three are, according to Brian W. Aldiss in Billion Year Spree, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Ray Bradbury. Robert A. Heinlein never was one of them, this claim is "alternative facts" and this vandalism doesn't seem to be recent. Please correct. 2001:7E8:C29C:2400:983E:960F:67FC:EB6 (talk) 15:37, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

On which page do you see this? I did a search for "Big Three" in a PDF copy of Billion Year Spree and I don't find that phrase. Also there are numerous sources that say that Heinlein rather than Bradbury was the third member of the Big Three, so even if Aldis did say this, I don't know that we should give it a lot of weight. CodeTalker (talk) 15:56, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

The Big Book of Science Fiction identifies the "big three" as Asimov, Clarke, and Heinlein, as does The Rise and Fall of American Science Fiction, from the 1920s to the 1960s, Science Fiction Literature Through History: An Encyclopedia, and Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction (which notes that van Vogt was replaced as one of the "big three" as his popularity waned and Clarke's grew). (See also: Talk:Robert_A._Heinlein#Big_Three_-Vandalism and Talk:Arthur_C._Clarke#Big_Three_-Vandalism) Schazjmd (talk) 15:58, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

As I stopped reading SF around 1995, never ever Heinlein had been related to as one of the Big Three of SF; Asimov, Clarke and Bradbury was canonic and never questioned, so that now I have difficulties finding written sources ... actually, I learned that from one of my teachers. Bradbury was known for the TV-serial Martian Chronicles and the Truffaut-movie Fahrenheit 451, Heinlein had nothing comparable until late 80s action flick Starship Troopers. And Heinlein wasn't read in Europe due to his political views.2001:7E8:C29C:2400:BCE9:F89E:C42E:1B87 (talk) 15:22, 20 June 2023 (UTC)

It doesn't matter, you still need a source, not just something your teacher told you. And Heinlein started writing in 1939, and it's irrelevant which films were being made in the 80s. Richard75 (talk) 21:21, 20 June 2023 (UTC)

(copying from Talk:Robert A. Heinlein as the IP started the same conversation on multiple articles.) I finally got hold of a copy of Billion Year Spree. I cannot find the phrase "big three" anywhere in the book. I looked up each mention of Bradbury in the book, and it is never paired with Asimov and Clarke in any meaningful way. Do you have a page number for your reference? Schazjmd (talk) 19:49, 27 July 2023 (UTC)