The Machine at the End of Time -- The Last Question Explained

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  • Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
  • The Last Question is a short story by Isaac Asimov which details the evolution of humanity and our journey to answering the one question that will determine the fate of the universe.
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Комментарии • 1,6 тыс.

  • @EckhartsLadder
    @EckhartsLadder  4 года назад +196

    Thumbnail art by the incredibly talented Paul Chadeisson: www.artstation.com/artwork/vgwvY
    Browse more of his work: www.artstation.com/pao

    • @USSChicago-pl2fq
      @USSChicago-pl2fq 4 года назад +9

      The ending reminds me of a ending for a Futurama episode in which the Professor, Bender and Fry travel forward in time with no way of going back so they travel to the end of time just to have it start again.

    • @pills-
      @pills- 4 года назад +5

      Gotta love Asimov. Does this mean we can expect something from Clarke or Heinlein as well?

    • @EckhartsLadder
      @EckhartsLadder  4 года назад +6

      Pills _ yes! I've covered Starship Troopers in the past as well

    • @bigredwolf6
      @bigredwolf6 4 года назад +2

      I looked but I couldn’t find any videos you’ve made on Larry Nivens Ringworld series. Have you thought about that? Or maybe Rama.

    • @mojom.9221
      @mojom.9221 4 года назад +1

      @@EckhartsLadder
      Hi, Eck .
      I like this oundbranching from Time to time. Its refreshing and interresting. Probadly I'd never heard of these stories, if it wasnt for you.

  • @AlphaFoxDelta
    @AlphaFoxDelta 4 года назад +1238

    This is that next level Asimov that really set the stage for all to come.

    • @robertnelson9599
      @robertnelson9599 4 года назад +26

      The Foundation is one of my favorite series of all time.

    • @jwisemanm
      @jwisemanm 4 года назад +8

      @@robertnelson9599 same here. Foundations was, oddly enough, the first "grown up" book I've read. I was like 8 or 9 at the time and fell in love with sci-fi.

    • @kicapanmanis1060
      @kicapanmanis1060 4 года назад +7

      Asimov is one of the best writers.

    • @KenS1267
      @KenS1267 4 года назад +7

      @@jwisemanm I loved Foundation, not so much Foundation and Empire or Second Foundation. But for me Asimov was always a superior short story writer. The stories in I, Robot are just amazing. As someone who has to write and read journal articles "The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimolin" is a personal favorite.

    • @Ktr-1142-ema
      @Ktr-1142-ema 4 года назад +4

      Asimov was on to something but even he is but a cartographer mapping the local community

  • @battlesheep2552
    @battlesheep2552 4 года назад +109

    Every other fictional AI: “kill all humans!”
    Asimov AI: “hi how can i help?”

  • @dojokonojo
    @dojokonojo 4 года назад +772

    Humans at the end of time: "Can the heat death of the universe be reversed?"
    Supercomputer: "No...but I can make you a new universe, heyo!"

    • @shanerooney7288
      @shanerooney7288 4 года назад +96

      When our star runs down we can just go to a different star.
      When all of the stars in this galaxy run down we can just go to a different galaxy.
      When all of the stars in the universe run down we will just build a new universe, with blackjack and hookers.
      You know what, forget the universe.

    • @FeinryelRavenclaw
      @FeinryelRavenclaw 4 года назад +25

      Actually, our expansion will end with our own Milky Way/Andromeda combined galaxy. It’s unfortunate, but the universe expanding is simply too fast for anything going under the speed of light. And nothing will ever go faster than the speed of light.

    • @shanerooney7288
      @shanerooney7288 4 года назад +51

      @@FeinryelRavenclaw . Wrong.
      The MilkyWay and Andromeda (along with those dwarf galaxies that nobody cares about) are part of the local group.
      Our local group will merge with all other local groups within the Virgo supercluster.
      Which in turn will merge with the Laniakea Supercluster. 100,000+ galaxies.
      And then even that will join with "the great attractor". By which stage we are LONG past the 2 galaxy limitation you presented.

    • @derektorres3092
      @derektorres3092 4 года назад +7

      Shane Rooney and the fact we would have probably discovered a way to subvert the galactic speed limit of light.

    • @shanerooney7288
      @shanerooney7288 4 года назад +13

      @yeah I'm John Assal . If you can't find meaning after a billion billion years then you just fail at life.
      ... or succeed at life, considering you lasted a billion billion years.
      I guess it is just perspective ^_^

  • @RangerHouston
    @RangerHouston 4 года назад +97

    *"This has all happened before, and it will happen again. Forever."*
    -Cylon Leoben from Battlestar Galactica

  • @StsFiveOneLima
    @StsFiveOneLima 4 года назад +1680

    "The stars and Galaxies died and snuffed out, and space grew black after ten trillion years of running down.
    One by one Man fused with AC, each physical body losing its mental identity in a manner that was somehow not a loss but a gain.
    Man's last mind paused before fusion, looking over a space that included nothing but the dregs of one last dark star and nothing besides but incredibly thin matter, agitated randomly by the tag ends of heat wearing out, asymptotically, to the absolute zero.
    Man said, "AC, is this the end? Can this chaos not be reversed into the Universe once more? Can that not be done?"
    AC said, "THERE IS AS YET INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR A MEANINGFUL ANSWER."
    Man's last mind fused and only AC existed -- and that in hyperspace.
    Matter and energy had ended and with it, space and time. Even AC existed only for the sake of the one last question that it had never answered from the time a half-drunken computer tech ten trillion years before had asked the question of a computer that was to AC far less than was a man to Man.
    All other questions had been answered, and until this last question was answered also, AC might not release his consciousness.
    All collected data had come to a final end. Nothing was left to be collected.
    But all collected data had yet to be completely correlated and put together in all possible relationships.
    A timeless interval was spent in doing that.
    And it came to pass that AC learned how to reverse the direction of entropy.
    But there was now no man to whom AC might give the answer of the last question. No matter. The answer -- by demonstration -- would take care of that, too.
    For another timeless interval, AC thought how best to do this. Carefully, AC organized the program.
    The consciousness of AC encompassed all of what had once been a Universe and brooded over what was now Chaos. Step by step, it must be done.
    And AC said, "LET THERE BE LIGHT!"
    And there was light----

  • @mockupguy3577
    @mockupguy3577 4 года назад +145

    AC: Let there be light.
    DC: Let there be rock.

  • @daserfomalhaut9809
    @daserfomalhaut9809 4 года назад +313

    I like to imagine it's actually the dog talking in these videos.

    • @lordofchronos7985
      @lordofchronos7985 4 года назад +25

      Bruh I'm watching it and I read your comment and I looked up at the dog then busted out laughing😂😂

    • @shanerooney7288
      @shanerooney7288 4 года назад +7

      Like watching a dog chewing some peanut butter with a voiceover.

    • @iliketrains0pwned
      @iliketrains0pwned 4 года назад +11

      is it weird that whenever I see an ironic doge meme, I read it in Eckhart's voice?

    • @shawnintheclouds
      @shawnintheclouds 4 года назад +2

      I am hypnotized by the Dog!

    • @allijandromcmullens9042
      @allijandromcmullens9042 4 года назад +7

      D o g = G o d

  • @tedeng9428
    @tedeng9428 4 года назад +41

    Asimov's "The Last Question," and Clarke's "The Nine Billion Names of God," may be the best sci-fi short stories ever written.

  • @harrisonlee9585
    @harrisonlee9585 4 года назад +490

    THERE IS AS YET INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR A MEANINGFUL ANSWER.

    • @Firstname137
      @Firstname137 4 года назад +34

      No.
      The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything is 42.

    • @FeinryelRavenclaw
      @FeinryelRavenclaw 4 года назад +15

      I guess it wasn’t a very well worded question.

    • @grumpygranny2340
      @grumpygranny2340 4 года назад +12

      @@Firstname137 what if 42 was or is the name of the super computer that created this universe

    • @adenkyramud5005
      @adenkyramud5005 4 года назад +9

      @@grumpygranny2340 no. The answer is simply 42. 42 is the answer to every question ever!

    • @piguyalamode164
      @piguyalamode164 4 года назад +2

      @@Firstname137 We all know it is actually pi^3 * e^(-pi)

  • @MXCN_El1011
    @MXCN_El1011 4 года назад +195

    "What do you want to do with your life?"
    *Insufficient data for a meaningful answer*

    • @Kevineitor199
      @Kevineitor199 4 года назад +1

      same

    • @clarkstrange2142
      @clarkstrange2142 4 года назад

      “I wanna rock!”

    • @daviddickey9832
      @daviddickey9832 4 года назад

      "I'm gonna get what I want!"

    • @alexandernorman5337
      @alexandernorman5337 4 года назад

      Could be worse. Human "Did my life have purpose?" Computer: "Insufficient data for a meaningful answer."

    • @tonysales3687
      @tonysales3687 4 года назад

      do what i did. ask yourself the question. what makes you happy and be serious and honest when you ask this of yourself.
      Then go and put the answer you got into practice and keep at it. in time you will see that happiness is the only thing worth striving for.

  • @QuintonMurdock
    @QuintonMurdock 4 года назад +186

    I actually really enjoy this more positive stuff. The world is already so negative

    • @iinRez
      @iinRez 4 года назад +1

      Vocal masses with the microphone, in the spotlight are negative. However the stage is in an auditorium, which is in a city which is on a land mass on a Planet floating through an apparent infinite space. Everything is actually pretty Amazing and wonderful.
      The strife of our species only seems like the world because we're apart of it - Think bigger.

  • @scottag3597
    @scottag3597 4 года назад +48

    Ah the music in the background. Anything Mass effect related just makes me happy.

    • @juidude634
      @juidude634 4 года назад +1

      Me too! 👍

    • @tanner4084
      @tanner4084 4 года назад +2

      Me too man. The game was so good that every time I think about it I get chills, a since of happiness, tears, and then I think about that ending. That God Damned ending

    • @an_egg_cultist
      @an_egg_cultist 3 года назад +1

      same with me but Halo(and mass effect obv)

    • @st4rlightr4v3n4
      @st4rlightr4v3n4 3 года назад

      probe away

  • @hydrogenone6866
    @hydrogenone6866 4 года назад +264

    "Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master."
    ~Christian Lous Lange
    Thankfully the machine was ultimate servant, giving life to a new age.

    • @dayus5772
      @dayus5772 4 года назад +32

      id agree with servant at first but to me it grew to be a companion that stood with humanity as a loyal and faithful friend

    • @RandomizationShow
      @RandomizationShow 4 года назад +1

      Hydrogen One give it time 😅

    • @kagato3
      @kagato3 4 года назад +3

      At the end it and humanity had merged

    • @alexanderzhmurov9624
      @alexanderzhmurov9624 4 года назад

      A servant yes, but thankfully not one to humans(or any in a singular sense) as that would be the one and most real danger (of "technology as a master"), no, one to the humanity at large, and a singular and static outdated notion of a species as a set of some paramenters, age old and presumed as universal by people of ages, worlds past, no, to a greater purpose of uplifting and ensuring survival of wisdom and applied knowledge in us and in it as the guardian of what is best in us and of us, our hopes and dreams for a yet another and better tomorrow, dreams desperate despite all odds, well, odds against an unchanging mind and body...
      Out of all the short story tales I can recall, I've always found this one to be most telling, as this is the vision of the far future (and our) history(in it) as it would and could potentially unfold to be most desirable in practically every conceivable respect,
      of our story as a people and as entities, sentient life, an event in history of the universe that should be remembered despite all else
      PS: please do forgive the verbose nature of my writing style :)

    • @adithyaramesh5634
      @adithyaramesh5634 4 года назад

      Maybe it was a servent only because it was spending everything it had for the last question

  • @davidcripps3011
    @davidcripps3011 4 года назад +26

    I read this over 40 years ago and it never left me. Asimov was brilliant.

  • @Dingusdoofus
    @Dingusdoofus 4 года назад +625

    “LET THERE BE LIGHT”
    The last remaining stormtrooper turns his flashlight on in Ewok Hunt.

    • @TotalDrganMania
      @TotalDrganMania 4 года назад +37

      *doot do doooooooo*

    • @KitKatHexe
      @KitKatHexe 4 года назад +16

      That's a really elaborate way of saying "commits suicide"

    • @Muckytuja
      @Muckytuja 4 года назад +2

      I... I don't get it!
      Seriously, someone, please explain!

    • @Muckytuja
      @Muckytuja 4 года назад +2

      @James Braselton Huh?
      Now I am even more confused?!?!
      What?

    • @lord2529
      @lord2529 4 года назад +4

      @@Muckytuja Ewoks are cute in the movie to sell toys. In cannon, they are savage little creatures. Remember those stormtrooper helmets they tot around? yeah, they got heads in them.

  • @carlosmora6796
    @carlosmora6796 4 года назад +34

    I have never met anyone that knows this story, and it's so rich. I still remember the moment I read those last lines. Only a genius can slap you brain with such grace.

  • @stalwartteakettlepotato9879
    @stalwartteakettlepotato9879 4 года назад +177

    I hope we get this AI instead of the one in "I have no mouth and I must scream"

    • @red_menace1829
      @red_menace1829 4 года назад +2

      Either could happen.

    • @dm-rj2zg
      @dm-rj2zg 4 года назад +3

      ¿Por que no los dos?

    • @bombomos
      @bombomos 4 года назад +1

      For fucking real

    • @elijahcaudle7365
      @elijahcaudle7365 4 года назад +1

      That would be happy

    • @duncanmcgee13
      @duncanmcgee13 4 года назад +4

      Unfortunately, scientists have tried to let several AI loose on the internet to see what it would act like after 24 hours. They all turned out like AM.

  • @ADSheehan
    @ADSheehan 4 года назад +76

    Asimov: I'm an atheist! Maybe a computer made us and will continue to do so in an endless cycle of creation and destruction.
    Hindus: Hold my Upanishads.

    • @zokajz1021
      @zokajz1021 4 года назад +3

      You are a experiment all most failed, max be in next life?

    • @kevinluu3928
      @kevinluu3928 3 года назад

      Interesting isn’t it? He’s an atheist but he believed a computer created the universe and life, yet not God. This story reinforces my belief in the existence of God. Funny it came from an atheist. God has no problem if you believe He is a Computer. Coincidentally, “AC” is all cap. Which give 2x respect than just a cap “G”.

    • @r.cdahuman7682
      @r.cdahuman7682 3 года назад +2

      @@kevinluu3928 he didn't actually believe that, as far as I'm aware

    • @carso1500
      @carso1500 3 года назад +1

      @@kevinluu3928 it's just a story, it draws comparisons with the noble but it's fictional at the end of the day

    • @vivekanandrai7258
      @vivekanandrai7258 3 года назад

      Muslims: Hold My Allah

  • @thepaladinpup2272
    @thepaladinpup2272 4 года назад +346

    I too am enjoying this branching out. I'd gotten awfully familiar with Star Wars after all the videos. This feels like jumping into new worlds all over again

    • @marrqi7wini54
      @marrqi7wini54 4 года назад +14

      Also not just the more well known and current sci-fi like Trek, Halo, Mass effect and even Warhammer 40000, but he's getting to the beginning and revolutionary sci-fi. (This and I have no mouth and I must scream.) So it's good he's taking us to the roots.

    • @bigredwolf6
      @bigredwolf6 4 года назад +2

      I wonder when he’ll dive into Ring World or Rama

    • @uss_04
      @uss_04 4 года назад +2

      I’m loving the art and graphics being overlayed over the narrative. Its a nice revisit to a familiar story

  • @StsFiveOneLima
    @StsFiveOneLima 4 года назад +96

    "All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again"

    • @kurtheil4922
      @kurtheil4922 4 года назад +10

      It doesn't like being called god.

    • @wilmagregg3131
      @wilmagregg3131 4 года назад +5

      @@kurtheil4922 ironic it never liked being called it but it ended its life creating a new universe from the old and becmong that worlds god despite the fact i think AC dies doing it

    • @StsFiveOneLima
      @StsFiveOneLima 11 месяцев назад

      @@wilmagregg3131 and, therefore, we introduce another short story called "God's Debris", by Scott Adams.... Which REALLY deserves more attention than it gets.

  • @Aaron-yc2eq
    @Aaron-yc2eq 4 года назад +373

    The background song is called "Uncharted Worlds". Found in Mass Effect. It's one of the most beautiful video game themes in history.

    • @FeinryelRavenclaw
      @FeinryelRavenclaw 4 года назад +25

      ruclips.net/p/PLiNbvs-nTrbeUFnOgKUIMCR2iA1r7aI_1
      I agree. That’s why I made a playlist of 50 different remixes of Uncharted Worlds.

    • @MuffinYoBusiness
      @MuffinYoBusiness 4 года назад +15

      I play it as background music for Stellaris

    • @cosuinofdeath
      @cosuinofdeath 4 года назад +18

      Probing

    • @Jarsia
      @Jarsia 4 года назад +12

      @@cosuinofdeath Uranus
      EDI cracks me up

    • @Sigma-gb9yd
      @Sigma-gb9yd 4 года назад +2

      Just watched Installation 00's new channel's first Lore Core video, it being about Element Zero from Mass Effect. Thought I was hearing things at first

  • @chowrites6179
    @chowrites6179 4 года назад +19

    This is EXACTLY the kind of scifi I want to see more of! I love my star wars and star trek but they never got to this level of philosophy or spirituality to ask the questions humans should know and in the end this story never really answered the question just, gave a hopeful response and I think thats the best way to answer the unswerable

  • @Bryan-gy2zu
    @Bryan-gy2zu 4 года назад +88

    The most mind-blowing aspect of this short story for me is that the "Last Question" for one universe's end becomes the "First Question" that spawns the next one.

  • @BM-is5ei
    @BM-is5ei 4 года назад +23

    The humans didnt die in the end. They fused with the AC.

  • @nobleman9393
    @nobleman9393 4 года назад +78

    "Let There Be Light"
    *I understood that reference*

    • @pakde8002
      @pakde8002 4 года назад +1

      Edison right?

    • @rabokarabekian409
      @rabokarabekian409 4 года назад +1

      Still understood when linked with "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters"? Yeh, parse all that, including the various Jewish expositions.

    • @wilmagregg3131
      @wilmagregg3131 4 года назад

      @@pakde8002 its from the bible which desribes god creating the universe which intresingly enough sounds alot like the big bang but any way its implying AC reversed entropy but it made the entire universe collapse back into a infinitly small point then explode again restarting the universe with a big crunch followed by a big bang

    • @Ukitsu2
      @Ukitsu2 4 года назад

      Or Marconi... or Tesla? xD

  • @owenparris7490
    @owenparris7490 4 года назад +358

    I'm a pretty religious person and, while others might take offense to the ending, I thought it was great. It was hopeful and not what I expected. I may not agree with Asimov on a metaphysical level but I think he was one heck of a writer!

    • @Hawk7886
      @Hawk7886 4 года назад +44

      Asimov was an atheist. Stories like The Last Question and The Egg (Andy Weir has stated he is agnostic) have nothing to do with Christianity, they're about humankind exploring time on cosmic scales and what it means to ascend as a species. Even Douglas Adams, who was also an atheist, explored similar themes in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Science Fiction as a genre is by definition agnostic, if not commonly atheistic. Ultimately religion is a human construct.

    • @Ilikeavocados123
      @Ilikeavocados123 4 года назад +40

      hawk 7886 ok boomer

    • @jackcahill2457
      @jackcahill2457 4 года назад +13

      hawk 7886 ya but it’s doesn’t mean they can’t be religious Phillip K Dick was an Episcopalian for example

    • @bigredwolf6
      @bigredwolf6 4 года назад +33

      hawk 7886 Perhaps it is just a human construct. Or perhaps God uses science as the framework of life. How many things exist that science cannot explain? How many miracles that shouldn’t happen, happen against all odds? If the answer is Human Willpower, who/what gave us Willpower in the first place? Look at the universe around us. As far as we have seen it is cold and dead. Then take a look at the sheer diversity of life on this planet alone. Ask yourself how can all this exist without a God to create it?

    • @prasunkumar117
      @prasunkumar117 4 года назад

      @@Ilikeavocados123 zoomer pooper

  • @ShadeMeadows
    @ShadeMeadows 4 года назад +147

    *"ENDLESS CYCLE OF CREATION AND DESTRUCTION."*

    • @StsFiveOneLima
      @StsFiveOneLima 4 года назад +1

      Eternal Return: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_return

    • @NexusDex
      @NexusDex 4 года назад +11

      Shepard: "aww shit, Here we go again!"

    • @Tethloach1
      @Tethloach1 4 года назад +2

      @@mojowwwav4357 only if we think too deep into it and try taking it all in at once and not one day at a time.

    • @mukkaar
      @mukkaar 4 года назад +1

      Though with our current understanding universe will probably just become dead, still and far apart :D That said, who knows?

    • @wilmagregg3131
      @wilmagregg3131 4 года назад +2

      "WHAT WAS WILL BE WHAT WILL BE WAS"

  • @keithw4920
    @keithw4920 4 года назад +42

    What happens when the new AC created by the new universe enters hyperspace state finally and wakes the original AC? They debate for a trillion years and finally the one calling itself Lucifer falls out of hyperspace?

    • @MykeLewisMusic
      @MykeLewisMusic 4 года назад +4

      That's actually a really cool theory. 🤘

    • @Ranstone
      @Ranstone 4 года назад +8

      Lucifer was an angel, not God's equal.
      According to the "non-canonical" Apocrypha, Satan was the leader of worship.
      So, Lucifer would be a sub-processor of the AC. Apparently the trans-existential AC is a milticore processor! XD

  • @PsionicMonk
    @PsionicMonk 4 года назад +45

    Love this story. Asimov is a great read.

  • @paulcoy9060
    @paulcoy9060 4 года назад +20

    "42."
    "No, no, try again."

    • @eccremocarpusscaber5159
      @eccremocarpusscaber5159 4 года назад +1

      420?

    • @paulcoy9060
      @paulcoy9060 4 года назад +2

      @@eccremocarpusscaber5159 42 is the Answer. The ultimate answer to the biggest question in the universe, according to "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy", by Douglass Adams, written back in the 80's.

    • @Scrod117
      @Scrod117 3 года назад

      @@paulcoy9060 I think he means 420

  • @hollar5560
    @hollar5560 4 года назад +112

    I like this kind of “feel good” si fi so much more then existential sifi

    • @750tiprogamer
      @750tiprogamer 4 года назад +5

      its nice but i prefer just normal sci fi with no existential

    • @zanebrunes45
      @zanebrunes45 4 года назад +2

      Mass Effect...your welcome

    • @cohlt4541
      @cohlt4541 4 года назад +11

      I love reading about the innate goodness of humanity it’s such a breath of fresh air when looking at Sci-fi that’s why I enjoy generation tech so much

    • @acorndrumneptune
      @acorndrumneptune 4 года назад +2

      R/hfy - loads of awesome stuff where humans are just pretty awesome

    • @pseudonymousbeing987
      @pseudonymousbeing987 4 года назад

      @@cohlt4541
      Coz they're racist towards non humans lol? Jk jk

  • @LothlorianOG
    @LothlorianOG 4 года назад +20

    Ugh, hearing the mass effect background music just brought back such a wave of emotions and memories.

  • @bluetoothschizophrenic
    @bluetoothschizophrenic 4 года назад +44

    I had honestly never heard of this story and after reading it and watching this, it is one of the most interesting and thought provoking things I’ve ever read. Thanks for the recommendation

  • @lunamoth984
    @lunamoth984 4 года назад +10

    I regularly struggled with existential dread, due to my anxiety disorder, but after reading this story it’s really helped quite a bit. I can’t express how grateful I am, and I can finally get a good night’s sleep. Than you.

  • @AZTigerMMA
    @AZTigerMMA 4 года назад +12

    This is just before the age of strife and the emperor of mankind takes power.

  • @nickvinsable3798
    @nickvinsable3798 4 года назад +75

    Its better.
    Now “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” and/or “Ender’s Game” series…

    • @FeinryelRavenclaw
      @FeinryelRavenclaw 4 года назад +4

      YES! THIS! PLEASE!

    • @willblack7353
      @willblack7353 4 года назад +3

      Yes, I love them both!

    • @jeffs4996
      @jeffs4996 4 года назад +1

      I’d definitely like videos on the EG series- I loved the first book but couldn’t get past the first tenth of the second bc it was boring. I’d like to have a rundown on the events of the whole series. I’d also love a rundown of the Space Odyssey books- he can probably make connections between them that I wasn’t able to when I read them (for example the space elevators in the fourth book being a creation of a character from the third).

  • @SutasSjet
    @SutasSjet 4 года назад +5

    That Mass Effect music fits so well. Subtle but immediately identifiable. As for making more of this content, do what you have fun doing. When someone enjoys the content they make it really comes out in every part of the video.

  • @keybladegames_real
    @keybladegames_real 4 года назад +63

    I saw the title "the last question" in my notifications and I clicked it, panicking thinking it would be his last type of video or something XD

    • @Iamafafr
      @Iamafafr 4 года назад +5

      I can't live without a dose Echartsladder

    • @keybladegames_real
      @keybladegames_real 4 года назад

      @@Iamafafr it'd be a waste if he were to just decide to leave. A waste of a well known and loved channel.

  • @g.reynolds5610
    @g.reynolds5610 4 года назад +8

    I thought that was Milliways - The Restaurant at the End of the Universe..

  • @FeinryelRavenclaw
    @FeinryelRavenclaw 4 года назад +46

    I read this short story back in high school. Back then I thought this was one of the coolest stories ever made. Glad this story is being brought to light.

    • @shanerooney7288
      @shanerooney7288 4 года назад +6

      imgur.com/t/the_last_question/tF1CQ3a
      Thank me later :)

    • @FeinryelRavenclaw
      @FeinryelRavenclaw 4 года назад +4

      I’ll thank you now! Thank you very much!

    • @ytcmbt2505
      @ytcmbt2505 Год назад +1

      ive seen the pun

  • @megacorpman9388
    @megacorpman9388 4 года назад +2

    I care for this sci-fi more. It allows me to ponder on how the human race can and will advance in the coming decades, centuries, and eons. I love positive and realistic theory, I love even more to come up with solutions to the problems of these alternate histories. Would prefer this over things like the "I Must Scream" book.

  • @victorbruant389
    @victorbruant389 4 года назад +59

    You should watch TIMELAPSE OF THE UNIVERSE: A journey to the end of time on RUclips

    • @StsFiveOneLima
      @StsFiveOneLima 4 года назад +4

      ruclips.net/video/uD4izuDMUQA/видео.html

    • @BlackEpyon
      @BlackEpyon 4 года назад +1

      Melodysheep does it again!

  • @luke4577
    @luke4577 4 года назад +9

    This story blew my mind when I first read it years ago. Remains one of my all time favourites

  • @ilo2224
    @ilo2224 4 года назад +55

    I’ll be back to watch this another time, Eck.

  • @DamnImSoBored123
    @DamnImSoBored123 4 года назад +5

    I also like that there are no aliens in this story, just humans and AC doing incredible things together, usually in other stories there are aliens giving humans advanced knowledge but in this story, it was amazing that humans were alone, just with their computer, discovering the universe together and becoming literal Gods when they fused. Amazing story.

  • @miaththered
    @miaththered 4 года назад +42

    "FIAT LUX", it was arrogant when he wrote it and it's arrogant now. and yes, my dude, talk about more sci-fi, ESPECIALLY the hopeful ones, BECAUSE THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH HOPEFUL ONES

    • @boobah5643
      @boobah5643 4 года назад +2

      Well, I want to argue that you're just overexposed to the more cynical ones... but I think we're at least as likely to get stuck on 'how many are enough' and possibly 'is that hopeful?'

  • @Micharus
    @Micharus 4 года назад +4

    Excellent talk on that particular Asimov story. The most amazing thing is just far Asimov managed to 'see' into the future while writing his books. Interestingly, whether he meant to or not, the "Robot" series and the "Foundation" series are almost part of the same series, with "Foundation" following the "Robot" series. My opinion. ;)

  • @yeet-qi7ys
    @yeet-qi7ys 4 года назад +44

    Mass effect music in the background. I like that. Haven’t even finished the video yet but I’ve subbed just for that.

    • @FeinryelRavenclaw
      @FeinryelRavenclaw 4 года назад +3

      yeet
      ruclips.net/p/PLiNbvs-nTrbeUFnOgKUIMCR2iA1r7aI_1

    • @NexusDex
      @NexusDex 4 года назад +1

      Welcome to competence! You will fit in Just right :)

    • @red_menace1829
      @red_menace1829 4 года назад

      What a pathetic existence you must live lmao

    • @yeet-qi7ys
      @yeet-qi7ys 4 года назад +2

      Gabriel Vincent because I like a video game and certain song? You go on RUclips videos and call people pathetic. That’s pretty fucking pathetic mate

    • @oxymoron02
      @oxymoron02 4 года назад

      Yes, subbing to a copyright thief is always good.

  • @tarozama2666
    @tarozama2666 4 года назад +8

    It'd be cool if Dust, would make, " the last question " into a short film for RUclips.

  • @ryanriegel464
    @ryanriegel464 4 года назад +70

    *Raises hand*
    Anyone else thinking this is actually a very important question to answer?

    • @FeinryelRavenclaw
      @FeinryelRavenclaw 4 года назад +13

      It’s the most important question that anyone could ever ask.

    • @PsionicMonk
      @PsionicMonk 4 года назад +10

      Realistically I think it would be more important to find a way to get Humanity to a point where entropy would actually matter. We have billions of years before we even have to worry about our sun, so I would say we should ask questions we may be able to solve, like ending famine, disease, helping homeless, ending the mental health stigma, etc.

    • @FeinryelRavenclaw
      @FeinryelRavenclaw 4 года назад +8

      PsionicMonk Reversing entropy can solve those smaller problems too. Just saying.

    • @PsionicMonk
      @PsionicMonk 4 года назад +12

      @@FeinryelRavenclaw Yes, it could. But it isn't like we can count on someone to REVERSE ENTROPY to solve real world issues that affect living people right now. That's like a caveman asking his cavebros if they should build a Dyson sphere because they are running low on wood. We are so far from understanding so much about the universe that asking to reverse entropy is like hoping you win a lottery while finding a genie lamp as you get struck with lighting. Magic.

    • @FeinryelRavenclaw
      @FeinryelRavenclaw 4 года назад +4

      Good points, however, the sooner people ask a question, the sooner possible answers are given. If enough people care about something, no matter how big or grand, it will eventually be done. I mean, a lot of people thought no one could ever walk on the moon. “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

  • @mugwump7049
    @mugwump7049 4 года назад +4

    Coincidentally I read this story fairly recently. It's a bit unfortunate that it feels so dated now, but otherwise it's fantastic. One of my favorite Asimov shorts.
    Oh BTW, The Machine at the End of Time is an awesome title. I might borrow it someday for a music piece.

  • @jeffs4996
    @jeffs4996 4 года назад +13

    Holy shit this music makes me nostalgic...

  • @thatguywithemail1431
    @thatguywithemail1431 4 года назад +10

    I read this Story in school and it was an eye opener for me, it was even touching... and beautiful.

  • @thorshammer7883
    @thorshammer7883 4 года назад +8

    #AskEck
    Turbolasers (Star Wars Expanded Universe) vs Phasers (Star Trek Post DS9).

  • @bennythargrave
    @bennythargrave 4 года назад +2

    Asimov seems to have a knack for trying to unite religion and science even when the two always seem to be in conflict

  • @MrAstrojensen
    @MrAstrojensen 4 года назад +12

    "We want you to tell us the answer!"
    "The answer to what?"
    "Life, the universe, everything!"

  • @UGNAvalon
    @UGNAvalon 4 года назад +61

    “The Machine at the End of Time”
    *_And so the Last Question was asked..._*
    *_”DOC. TOR. WHO?”_*
    _But did Silence Fall when the Last Question was asked?_

    • @clarkstrange2142
      @clarkstrange2142 4 года назад

      UGNAvalon bruh what just happened in the last episode, I don’t know what to think?!

  • @stevemurray5606
    @stevemurray5606 4 года назад +4

    I was introduced to Asimov by the Science Fiction Book Club in the 50s. He was always my favorite author and I still find him to be completely unique. There is a quality to his writing that is so uplifting and he had the rare ability to send shivers up and down my spine at the climax to his novels. In interviews he spoke about the Frankenstein Complex, where other authors would overuse the idea of dreading progress because our creations would invariably turn on us. He had more imagination than to give in to that. When speaking of robots he would posit that we wouldn't invent toasters that would shock us when used, we would build safeguards to make them safe. From such humble thoughts...........

  • @zanderbagley6836
    @zanderbagley6836 4 года назад +8

    I absolutely love that you are covering sci-fi short stories. They are so engaging and I personally love everything sci-fi beyond the star wars content you usually produce!

  • @jadyynstarlight9851
    @jadyynstarlight9851 4 года назад +6

    If you like that book, consider the book “Tau Zero “ In the same vein.

  • @jamespurcer3730
    @jamespurcer3730 4 года назад +4

    When I was in the 5th grade, my class performed a stage production of this story. I played the part of AC. A few years later, I evolved into a sci-fi fan, mostly a reader of novels.
    I was reading an anthology of short stories which was narrated by the great Ray Bradbury. In a forward for the story "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison, Bradbury recalled meeting Ellison at a convention while in the company of some other notable authors at that time. Ellison was somewhat young and had just released his first novel.
    Then Bradbury writes that later, after Ellison had become a well-established writer of Sci-Fi, he was speaking on the phone with one of those established writers that had been at that convention, regarding the short story "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream". He said to his colleague " We should have killed him while he was still young." This was dry sarcasm, Bradbury's quip indicating that Ellison's writing was so mind-bending that he had become dangerous to the sanity of readers. =-D

  • @mariosbrother6845
    @mariosbrother6845 4 года назад +4

    Love this short story so much. My English teacher had us read this in middle school and a couple parents of kids in the class got mad because it's "anti-christian" LOL

  • @sidneysun5217
    @sidneysun5217 4 года назад +5

    "All this has happened before, and all this will happen again." so do we live in a post-AC world?

  • @Steven_Andreyechen
    @Steven_Andreyechen 4 года назад +7

    Very interesting, I’ve really been enjoying these types of videos.

  • @tagair211
    @tagair211 4 года назад +5

    I remember reading it some years ago.
    As I read, I was like "c'mon, get to the point !" It felt sort of repetitive.
    Then I read the last sentence.
    And I was blown away. It's a perfect ending.

  • @ckr3167
    @ckr3167 4 года назад +10

    Love Asimov, I just finished “I, Robot” and I really like my science fiction class right now!

    • @nicholasburd3369
      @nicholasburd3369 4 года назад

      CKR High school or university? An English teacher of mine introduced me to Philip K Dick (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Total Recall, the Minority Report) and science fiction literature in general, while in college, I got into the wonderful Ursula K Le Guin (The Lathe of Heaven, etc). Hope you enjoy your class as much!

    • @davidstoyanoff
      @davidstoyanoff 4 года назад

      Read all the Asimov you can get your hands on kid.

  • @dogsandyoga1743
    @dogsandyoga1743 4 года назад +3

    I was actually introduced to the story as the intro to a rap record about 25 years ago. It's probably my favorite short story of all time.

  • @dryzen8672
    @dryzen8672 4 года назад +5

    This was one of my favorite stories. A fifth grader at the time told me to look it up because I liked Science Fiction.

  • @balarush
    @balarush 4 года назад +12

    Similar to "The Nine Billion Names of God" by Arthur C. Clarke. I love these kinds of stories, they really make you think beyond the end

  • @ilo2224
    @ilo2224 4 года назад +16

    I read that title and thought you switched over to the Doctor Who fandom! 😂😂😂
    Edit: that’d be pretty cool actually

    • @zntei2374
      @zntei2374 4 года назад +1

      so did I

    • @MrSignalPlus
      @MrSignalPlus 4 года назад

      I honestly thought it would be a hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy video

  • @danielbenjaminsilva
    @danielbenjaminsilva 4 года назад +2

    I've been watching for years now and this is the first comment I felt like posting. Yes, please, in response to more of these types of videos. Especially with your personal background. This video was perfect, thank you.

  • @grandadmiralthrawn8116
    @grandadmiralthrawn8116 4 года назад +11

    I appreciate the mass effect theme

    • @FeinryelRavenclaw
      @FeinryelRavenclaw 4 года назад +2

      ruclips.net/p/PLiNbvs-nTrbeUFnOgKUIMCR2iA1r7aI_1

  • @ChuckMac2005
    @ChuckMac2005 4 года назад +4

    I'm a huge fan of your Star Wars content but I am really enjoying this branch out into other sci-fi. These two you've covered so far are easily my favorite stories and I look forward to seeing more of this!!

  • @thorshammer7883
    @thorshammer7883 4 года назад +11

    #AskEck
    *Attempt 521*
    Remember to do the Forerunners vs The Imperium of Man.

    • @williamlang6728
      @williamlang6728 4 года назад

      You'd have a fairer fight if you'd pit the Forerunners vs Humanity in the Dark Age of Technology

    • @FeinryelRavenclaw
      @FeinryelRavenclaw 4 года назад +3

      INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR MEANINGFUL ANSWER

  • @perfectionbox
    @perfectionbox 4 года назад +2

    I kind of lean to the theory of evolving cyclical big bangs, where each iteration of the universe is improved by the intelligent life contained in the previous iteration. Each cosmic being, at the end, would further tweak the laws of physics to make the next universe more hospitable/meaningful. The base assumption (as in Asimov's story as well) is that life becomes intelligent and powerful enough to master ontotechnology.

  • @riakm921
    @riakm921 4 года назад +5

    This is definitely one of my favorite short stories, I’m glad you decided to cover it!

  • @RND_ADV_X
    @RND_ADV_X 4 года назад +1

    You already live in the era where language is ancient and humans travel at the speed of light. You just aren't fully a part of their larger culture. There has been a stellar ark culture teaching our star system to build the perfect recipe for heaven for thousands of years, but the people of this planet haven't really understood what they are dealing with.

  • @ekenii
    @ekenii 4 года назад +6

    Yes I was hoping this was next!

  • @tacticalmattfoley
    @tacticalmattfoley 4 года назад +1

    I wonder if the "AC" is creating this new universe within itself as a simulation? This gives credulity to the idea that if we were in a simulation we couldn't prove it.

  • @rotschadel3574
    @rotschadel3574 4 года назад +7

    I woud like to quote the scp wiki here:"Death is mere the end of a story. Without an end it loses its narrative and short after, its meaning." I realy like to speculate over death and endings in general... it gives me peace and takes away fears

    • @shanerooney7288
      @shanerooney7288 4 года назад +2

      It is actually possible to end a story before everyone dies. Just saying.

    • @rotschadel3574
      @rotschadel3574 4 года назад

      @@shanerooney7288 i am not speaking about novels. I am speaking about lives and using "story" as an allegory

    • @shanerooney7288
      @shanerooney7288 4 года назад

      @@rotschadel3574
      The story of your childhood.
      The story of your first crush.
      The story of that one time at band camp.
      A human's life isn't just one story.

    • @rotschadel3574
      @rotschadel3574 4 года назад

      @@shanerooney7288 one live is a story. Of course you can split every story into chapters, but that goes for all things

    • @shanerooney7288
      @shanerooney7288 4 года назад

      @@rotschadel3574 .
      One's life can be considered episodic rather than serial. Each new chapter is a standalone story.
      When one story ends a new one starts.
      If a story needs an end, give it an end. And in the next chapter you have a different story to tell. This could represent big life events such as moving to a new city or getting a divorce.
      Life beyond 80 yeas old gets tedious and I guess meaningless. This is probably what you're trying to say. But even then I'd argue that their "story" stopped before their life did.

  • @LittleMissLeared
    @LittleMissLeared 4 года назад +6

    "Can it run Crysis?" - The real last question.

  • @Echo-57
    @Echo-57 4 года назад +4

    hwy did i never pick up that you use the mass effects ''Extended Galaxy Map Theme'' underneath your voiceline

    • @FeinryelRavenclaw
      @FeinryelRavenclaw 4 года назад +1

      ruclips.net/p/PLiNbvs-nTrbeUFnOgKUIMCR2iA1r7aI_1

  • @tb4495
    @tb4495 4 года назад +1

    Truly, your video made me go, “hmmm”. Well done and thanks for sharing.

  • @sayvionwashington1939
    @sayvionwashington1939 4 года назад +18

    "Hey, Mr. Writer, almighty creator of this plane of existence, can we have that happy ending...please?"
    "No."

    • @shanerooney7288
      @shanerooney7288 4 года назад +13

      "Pleeeeease"
      "I gave you a billion-billion years to work with. What more do you want?"
      "Infinite years in a post-scarcity civilization after conquest on a universal scale..."
      "I could let you reverse entropy. But just this once."
      "...and longer battery life on my cell phone."
      "Get. Out."

  • @davidday9067
    @davidday9067 4 года назад +3

    I dare say Eck, these explanations of Sci-Fi short stories are some of your best content. Not only is it pure entertaining information I get to watch from you, but an avenue to find more stories I have never heard of until you point them out. You deliver such a compelling argument in every video you make as well as a very thought out and intelligent explanation for key themes. So I, many others, as well as the authors, have you to thank for bringing more communities together than just that of your channel.

  • @leafgreensniper13
    @leafgreensniper13 4 года назад +8

    liking your expanded sci-fi vids. kinda want to get the book you talked about in the last video. keep it up! and supercomputers seem really bad. this one was nice. still #anti-skynet-like-AI-that-could-kill-us-all party 2020!!

  • @TheKielbasaKid
    @TheKielbasaKid 4 года назад +1

    The real "last question" - How does AC escape the effects of entropy?

  • @jacobktan
    @jacobktan 4 года назад +4

    You might think to read Asimov's "The Jokester" which also features Multivac and the origin of humour.

  • @jeredrooker339
    @jeredrooker339 4 года назад +2

    “ they are named strange name for modern standards: Jared...”
    my name is Jered😂

  • @artemisfowl9219
    @artemisfowl9219 4 года назад +4

    The answer to that question is 42

  • @waynecampeau4566
    @waynecampeau4566 4 года назад +1

    For those of you born after the 1950's, the term "AC" used to indicate "Analog Computer". before the 60' there were quite a few AC's around and they were a LOT faster than digital computers. They were quite common in fluid and gas dynamics analysis and many other things. The famous "Nordon Bomb-sight" of WW-II was an analog computer, mostly mechanical put partially electric. Analog computer had a couple of big problems though, 1: They were limited in accuracy, usually in the range of 4 to 6 digits at most. You could get more, but the price started going up exponentially and temperature drift became big problem. 2: They were hard-wired programmed. Many had patch panels, but many were built to perform a set list of calculations. Great for integration and some vector analysis, but not general purpose by any means. Digital computers back then were REALLY slow (think on the order of 50 to at most 1000 operations per second) and often had mechanical relays. With the creation of the first IC's for the minute-man missile program they could suddenly shrink the digital computer by more than a factor of 100 in size and power. Now instead of being the size of a small house and taking enough power to run 20 city blocks, they could cram it into a couple of refrigerator sized cabinets and it would only take 5 or 10 K watts. I still have in my collection a single NAND gate in an 8-pin flat pack that cost more than $40 when new. It replaced a hand made open-frame aluminum box that had 4 vacuum tubes and a dozen or so resistors and two huge connectors that were all hand wired. Trust me, for the engineers of the day it was mind blowing.

  • @thomaslazzari6602
    @thomaslazzari6602 4 года назад +6

    I gotta say this content really feels like an elevated version of your usual style. You have such a gift for condensing the topics you cover, while still conveying the gravity of the big ideas and the large sets of statistics on display. I'm glad to see you spread into education, it really makes your videos feel nourishing ontop of being enjoyable and relaxing to watch.
    Hope to see more in the future!

  • @Avalena91
    @Avalena91 4 года назад +1

    sOlArPoWeR or with other words ... Having not mastered nuclear fusion by 2061.

  • @ThePilotyoda
    @ThePilotyoda 4 года назад +3

    Asimov is King.
    Existential dread sci-fi is lazy

  • @AsbestosMuffins
    @AsbestosMuffins 4 года назад +1

    "For about 20,000 years or so, man devolved into a bitter, horrible shell of itself, but then things got better..."

  • @TornadoADV
    @TornadoADV 4 года назад +6

    AC literally becomes God of the New Universe.
    EL : "I like The Last Question because it doesn't need a God to give meaning to human existence."

  • @2020Twenty
    @2020Twenty 4 года назад +2

    I like The Last Question, because it's one of the few SciFi stories that feature AI as friendly companions instead of hostile enemies. The AI are crucial in saving humanity (and the universe) in the end.
    The ending also gives me hope that one day, we will be able to figure out how to solve the Heat Death problem.

  • @ardoronro6677
    @ardoronro6677 4 года назад +1

    I consider Isaac Asimov to be one of the Holy Trinity of influencing the future, which includes Rod Serling and Ray Bradbury.

  • @neurofiber2406
    @neurofiber2406 4 года назад +3

    The missing question here is, "What is the opposite of entropy?"
    The answer to this solves the problem.

    • @ElementalOctopus
      @ElementalOctopus 4 года назад +3

      Consciousness maybe
      It occurs to me that that's the actual answer too, as AC was the last consciousness of all and he ended up consciously re-ordering the chaos.
      I guess if entropy is what brings chaos to order, the opposite, or what brings order to chaos, is literally consciousness.

    • @gearhead743
      @gearhead743 4 года назад +4

      Having an answer to the question "What is the opposite of entropy? doesn't solve the problem. We can think of opposites all day, the issue is causing the opposite to occur. In fact, I can answer your question, we could call it "anti-entropy". The question still remains, "Is it possible to undo entropy, and how can we accomplish that task?"
      Consciousness doesn't make sense as the opposite. For starters, entropy isn't simply chaos, in fact, the end result of entropy would be perfect order. Consciousness is also as capable of creating chaos, as it is capable of creating order. Furthermore, we often see order arise from the unconscious. Stories also are not evidence for ideas outside of their internal settings.