Talk:The Last Question

message: The ending is usually interpreted as the AC rebooting the universe, but i prefer the idea that it created a simulation within itself of the universe, a nested virtual reality for life to replay itself in.
Mike Schiraldi 06:49, 23 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: That is my interpretation too. In the story the Cosmic AC prepares a "program" with all the data it gathered. To me, this is an Universe Simulation, and the AC then becomes God by running this program. Stanislaw Lem also wrote a story that explicitly involved an "Universe Simulation", in this case by a mad computer that thought it was God (unfortunately I don't remember the title). In more recent works, this "Godlike Computer" and "Universe Simulation" themes have appeared for example in the "Matrix" trilogy and in the Manga/Anime "Ah! My Goddess". The Synthetic God seems to be a product of this technological age...
No way is it just a simulation that AC created.  A simulation would not have effected the massive decrease in entropy.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Marainlaw (talk • contribs) 23:29, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Untitled

message: I'm placing a spoiler warning on this article as the Synopsis section gives away too much of the plot. Counterfriction 07:04, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Spoiler Warning 

message: Kinda funny... I haven't read the story, although i do love Asimov, but if the Cosmic AC exists in hyperspace, then how can there be "nobody to report it to?" -- postglock 16:26, 24 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: how? everyone in the universe would have been killed by heat deathJoeyjojo 00:51, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

text: well maybe the comic AC was not out side of some sort of "hyperspace time" or didn't want to (or chouldn't) upset causality? but i don't know, like you i haven't read it.
Yeah, I suppose there could be implied or explicit laws to do with existing in hyperspace as far as this story is concerned. I suppose I just assumed that existing out of normal time suggests not being bound by the linear flow of it, but (as suggested) perhaps he is merely tied to some sort of meta-time from which he cannot escape... Hmmm... -postglock 05:36, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

text: True... but then this is opening up a whole other kettle of fish... :-) -postglock 08:27, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

text: Well, I finally got around to reading the story, and I think the spoilers confused me. While computing the answer, the Cosmic AC is not exactly in "hyperspace," as this implies a "normal" space and time, to which it is outside ("hyper"). I've rewritten sections of the spoiler now... -postglock 04:21, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Why should hyperspace be outside of time? It's just another dimension, still linked to our universe - and time.--Cyberman TM (talk) 15:30, 11 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Possible plot flaw?

message: In the story, the last consciousness of Man fuses with the AC when the last star dies, ten trillion years from the beginning. Toward the end of the story, reference is made to most stars being fading white dwarfs, and that all the stars and galaxies 'snuffed out.' This sounds more to me like a cold death--a scenario where all the stars have turned into black dwarfs, the Universe has expanded so far that any free energy is dissipated, and there is no longer any hydrogen available to create new stars. The heat death scenario in any case would take far longer than 10 trillion years. Jsc1973 14:55, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Heat death vs. Cold death?

message: I added this bit in, as it is very important to the story IMO. Cheezmeister 03:24, 21 January 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: It should be switched around; Man merged with the Cosmic AC The ConundrumerTC 05:17, 7 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: The Cosmic AC merged with Man

message: Ok, revealing the final in the plot summary is just wrong. I first read about this short story right here in Wikipedia, and read it using the link in this page. If had read the (spoiler removed) bit it will have spoiled the story. I don't know too much about wikipedia standars in plot summary (I'm just an avid reader of wikipedia, just editing some mistyping and vandalism) but the final twist shouln't be there, so I edited back that bit to the way I read it some time ago. If there's some kind of police about this, change it back, but please, try not to spoil this great short story. Kind Regards.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.209.128.161 (talk) 06:52, 30 December 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree, so I've removed the major spoiler from your comment. Have a nice day. :-D - Denimadept (talk) 20:16, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  (spoiler removed) 

message: Um no offense but "Overall, it is considered to be one of the greatest science fiction short stories ever written." This is a US centric viewpoint. It might be nice to find out what the rest of the world thinks, but I don't think we would agree (I'm British, I live in Asia). Azimov writes with a very 50s era American optimism, and it gets old very quick. Compare Azimov to Philip K Dick, and you'll see that Azimov's optimism seems so very old fashioned whereas Dick's Pessimism is right on the money, and at least his work reads as fresh today as it was then. Dick, Clarke, Silverberg are more representative of the rest of the world's view of good sci-fi. I'm sure if you bothered to check outside the US you would be surprised to get a different answer for the best short story ever written. I think more research is in order. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.48.101.225 (talk) 20:21, 27 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  US Centric 

message: The first two of the three "External links" in the article are dead (so tagged). The "Possibly this one" just above is also dead and, quite possibly, for the same reason as number 1 from "External links". If V2Blast was right then we have lost the "by whom?" reference (unless someone wants to query the Wayback Machine). --RoyGoldsmith (talk) 15:37, 25 August 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Dead Links

message: What does the "AC" acronym stand for? My googling has proved completely fruitless, only getting a line stating that it is indeed the name of the computer. Does anyone know what it actually stands for? 74.128.56.194 (talk) 09:13, 6 April 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: It stands for "Analog Computer." it's in the short story, at least in my edition. 118.139.6.190 (talk) 23:33, 6 September 2011 (UTC)

text: Yes. - Denimadept (talk) 15:45, 6 April 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  AC Definition 

message: I know this story, narrated by Leonard Nimoy, was presented in the 1970s at the Boston Museum of Science, because I saw it there. I do not know the year, but I would guess 77-79. I wish I had better references to this, but I don't. Coincidentally, the museum is within a couple of blocks of where Nimoy grew up.  Bobkeyes (talk) 22:42, 20 July 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: On 9 August 2015 this article was changed from "the Hayden Planetarium in the Boston Museum of Science" to "the Hayden Planetarium in New York City". As no citation was provided, I have changed it back. Does anyone have any reference to this show appearing at either planetarium? Lee Choquette (talk) 04:15, 10 April 2017 (UTC)

text: In the absence of any reference, let's just kill it instead of guessing. If it's not noted anywhere, Wikipedia should not be the first place to note it. TJRC (talk) 17:28, 11 April 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: It's not quite a guess, as Bobkeyes above personally remembers it showing at the one in Boston. I don't know if that's sufficient for Wikipedia. (I personally saw it at Hansen Planetarium in 1980, but I was also able to find a reference before adding that.)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lee Choquette (talk • contribs) 18:51, 11 April 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: Good point, and my apologies to Bobkeyes. In any event, personal memories aren't citable. (I have a great quote from Grace Hopper I would add to her article, otherwise!). WP:RS requires a published source. TJRC (talk) 23:07, 11 April 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Planetarium 

message: Is this book anyway related to Douglas Adams' series?
They have quite a few common items.
Supercomputer calculating answer to ultimate question is most significat one.
:Frederic Brown's "Answer" is much more closely paid homage in the completion of Deep Thought. "The Last Question" is, however, the basis for an xkcd comic. - Dravecky (talk) 22:48, 20 November 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 

message: It isn’t the one in this article. It’s “THE BEGINNING”. 82.36.70.45 (talk) 15:26, 22 January 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: Do you have a citation for that? - Denimadept (talk) 19:12, 22 January 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: I have the story itself: https://archive.org/details/Science_Fiction_Quarterly_New_Series_v04n05_1956-11_slpn/page/n13/mode/2up 82.36.70.45 (talk) 20:51, 22 January 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Original publication ending