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"I myself feel that our country, for whose Constitution I fought in a just war, might as well have been invaded by Martians and body snatchers."
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
 |
| Positronic Brain | ||
| A computer CPU with the capacity to rival a human brain. |
This is the first reference to the phrase "positronic brain", if not the first use of the word "positronic", in science fiction (see below).
| 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:
It fitted snugly into the cavity in the skull of the robot on the table...
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.
The word "positronic" was used by itself in Trail of the Comet, a 1936 story by James Blish:
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.
He handled it gingerly, for it was the most complicated mechanism ever created by man. Inside the thin platinum-plated “skin” of the globe was a positronic brain, in whose delicately unstable structure were inforced [sic] calculated neuronic paths, which imbued each robot with what amounted to a pre-natal education.
(The Positronic Brain from 'Reason' by Isaac Asimov)
The Planeteer brought out a heavy hammer and applied it diligently to the slats of the crate. "Positronic - uh - secondary screen -" he replied, between mighty tugs.
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Additional
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and Technology from Reason
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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?
| Light Society: Simulates Earth-Scale Society With A Billion AI Agents |
| Collective Superintelligence Is At Hand! |
| AI Operates An Excavator |
| Grok And The City Fathers From 'Cities In Flight' By James Blish |
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'Our study of your race has convinced us that you are not fitted to leave your planet in the present state of your civilization.'
'...the spreading beam of the deranging ray struck them, and Then one toppled and fell. Then another.'
'Within seconds the material was spread out over fifty yards, in a matter of hours it might occupy several cubic miles of space...'
'The men are dead, but their acquired wisdom lives on and I am the beneficiary.'
'Young people found the driverless car admirable for petting.'
'After twenty generations of shillyshallying...'
