Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"...a lot of people find adventure on the Internet. That's their idea of being interactive. My idea of being interactive is going on out and doing it on the street."
- Harlan Ellison
 |
| Positronic Brain | ||
| A computer CPU with the capacity to rival a human brain. |
| By exact count, there are seventy-five thousand, two hundred and thirty-four operations necessary for the manufacture of a single positronic brain. |
| Technovelgy from Reason,
by Isaac Asimov. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1941 Additional resources -
|
Here's another quote:
Compare to the Laminated Mouse Brain Computer from Think Blue, Count Two (1962) by Cordwainer Smith, the neuristor from The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966) by Robert Heinlein, the artificial brain from The Metal Giants (1926) by Edmond Hamilton, the synthetic brain from Mad Robot (1936) by Raymond Z. Gallun and the Thorsen memory tube from The Door Into Summer (1956) by Robert Heinlein.
Thanks to Alex Mair for contributing this item.
All that had been done in the mid 20th century on "calculating machines" had been upset by Robertson and his positronic brain paths. The miles of relays and photocells had given way to the spongy globe of platinum iridium about the size of the human brain.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Reason
More Ideas
and Technology by Isaac Asimov
Tech news articles related to Reason
Tech news articles related to works by Isaac Asimov
Positronic Brain-related
news articles:
- Brain Chip Hardware Neurons And Synapses
- First Transistor That Mimics Brain Synapse
- Carbon Nanotube Synapse Circuit Like Human Neuron
- Human-like Brain For Robots?
- IBM's Neurosynaptic Computing Chips
- Neuromorphic Computer Offers Non-von Neumann Architecture
- Can An Entire Brain Be Simulated In A Computer?
| Virtual Rat Predicts Actual Rat Neural Activity |
| WiFi and AI Team Up To See Through Walls |
| Does The Shortage Of Human Inputs Limit AI Development? |
| Singapore Writers Push Back On LLM Training |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'What would you do,' Eric asked the robot cabdriver, 'if your wife had turned to stone, your best friend were a toad, and you had lost your job?'
'those suits they wear -- call them 'stillsuits' -- that reclaim the body's own water...'
'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.'
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...'
'Now, look, let's start with the three fundamental Rules of Robotics...'
'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.'
'But after washing and drying clothes had to be smooth - free from fine lines and wrinkles ...'
