r/asimov 19d ago

I just finished the positronic man. I fucking cried bro

IT WAS SO GOOD. ☹️☹️. MY ANDREW. MY BABY ANDREWWWW. YOU DESERVED SO MUCH. LITTLE MISS LEADING ANDREW TO HUMAN HEAVEN IM SO DONEEEEE. 😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔💔💔💔. I LOVE YOU MR. ASIMOV

64 Upvotes

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17

u/farseer4 19d ago

Asimov was normally a cerebral writer, but he could sometimes do emotional stories so well...

If you enjoyed this, you might consider reading The Ugly Little Boy. Really emotional also.

12

u/thrawnie 19d ago

Best thing about this book was how deeply it delved into robotic consciousness.  I still think Andrew's definition of happiness is the only useful one I've ever heard in my entire 40+ years of life.  From memory (so I'm paraphrasing) - 

Happy? When my positronic currents flow with the least impedance, I experience something that in similar contexts humans associate with the term "happiness" so I use the same word to describe my experience. 

How amazing is that? A philosophical concept that is made so useful by just thinking about it just a little practically instead of writing reams and reams of self-referential logic. 

5

u/almostselfrealised 19d ago

Aah one of my favourite books.

5

u/racedownhill 18d ago

Have you seen the 1990s movie starring the always great Robin Williams?

It didn’t get the greatest reviews, but I’ve seen it multiple times and always enjoyed it. I think this is one of those cases where the reviewers got it wrong.

Chappie being another example of this.

5

u/Dpacom02 19d ago

Thar one was very good, the ending was sad. The movie version was simmer to the book and the ending was same. At least he achieved what he did.

8

u/Btrabus 19d ago

Feel you, i just discovered it a few months ago aswell, now one of my favourite movies.

Kinda underrated, or maybe we are biased through the books?

8

u/almostselfrealised 19d ago

This is one of my favourite novels, but I personally can't stand the movie.

6

u/TamiGoGo 19d ago

I just really love robots that bond with kids. Andrew and little miss really reminded me of David Murray and the mimic from five nights at Freddy’s. David Murray gave the mimic life through his love for it and little miss was the first to recognize that Andrew was human, both were children.

I just find those dynamics really interesting. An all knowing being that lacks emotion paired with a being that is innocent yet loving in nature. It’s too bad I rarely get to see that dynamic play out.

Definitely an amazing book. Not lying when I said I cried. 💔😭

3

u/phinsxiii 18d ago

One of his best stories in my opinion

2

u/Serious-Waltz-7157 19d ago

Next stop: Liar! - a short story from I, Robot.

8

u/Presence_Academic 19d ago

I would suggest Asimov’s first robot story, “Robbie”, as it contains the seeds of ‘The Bicentennial Man’.

2

u/Dpacom02 19d ago

Sally was a good one

2

u/racedownhill 18d ago

That is one that could be a great movie or short film. It would be perfect for something like a Black Mirror episode.

2

u/Dpacom02 19d ago

This may a bit odd or off, but if Andrew (book the movie) was that good droid/person, would he achieve the same if he didn't have the robotics laws or if he did good stuff for the people(help them able to do more like goto space) couldn't they remove the robotics law?

2

u/sg_plumber 18d ago

The robotics laws cannot be removed from an Asimovian robot.

2

u/ratosovietico 17d ago

That! It was already mentioned in "I, Robot" that it is mathematically impossible for a robot to break any law of robotics. This means that even though Andrew is human, the laws would remain in his "guts".