I, Robot, A Metaphorical Analysis Essay, Research Paper
We as humans always assume that we can do as we please, that there are not rules defining what we can and cannot do. We think this of all of the creatures that are placed on this earth. However, when we create something, we place defining rules upon it. In the book i, Robot, Isaac Asimov, gives a series of short stories relating to the creation, “life” and the evolution of robot kind. The robots in his story are experimented with and changed, new things are put in when old one don’t work, in fact the robots in his story are much like a pot that a child would throw things into and see how they turn out.
As children we want to experiment with things, whatever they be. That is the purpose of the juvenile mind. It is a curious mind, full of amazement with, “What happens when I do this?”
This thought carries though childhood, though puberty, and even through adulthood. The people who this applies to are most often scientists. The scientists in i, robot seem to be the people who as moppets, played with putting things together to see what they made. To these people, the robots in the book are just Tinker-Toys, which are very big and have positronic brains. The sponge that made up the brains in a concoction of platinum and iridium which make up a sponge. This sponge, made mostly by trial and error, and just throwing things into “pots” and seeing what it did.
Many children, when they find something they like, some food in the pot, stick with it, but they try to improve on it, putting sweet things into it. The robots, who are treated like pots, have one good thing. The one good thing that the robots have is the positronic brain. Although the brain is improved upon by putting “sugar” into it, the basis always stayed the same. The basis of the brain, other than just the platinum and iridium, are the basis of the actions of the robots. There are three rules that all of the robots must abide by. The laws are as follow:
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm
2.A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law and;
We as humans always assume that we can do as we please, that there are not rules defining what we can and cannot do. We think this of all of the creatures that are placed on this earth. However, when we create something, we place defining rules upon it. In the book i, Robot, Isaac Asimov, gives a series of short stories relating to the creation, “life” and the evolution of robot kind. The robots in his story are experimented with and changed, new things are put in when old one don’t work, in fact the robots in his story are much like a pot that a child would throw things into and see how they turn out.
As children we want to experiment with things, whatever they be. That is the purpose of the juvenile mind. It is a curious mind, full of amazement with, “What happens when I do this?”
This thought carries though childhood, though puberty, and even through adulthood. The people who this applies to are most often scientists. The scientists in i, robot seem to be the people who as moppets, played with putting things together to see what they made. To these people, the robots in the book are just Tinker-Toys, which are very big and have positronic brains. The sponge that made up the brains in a concoction of platinum and iridium which make up a sponge. This sponge, made mostly by trial and error, and just throwing things into “pots” and seeing what it did.
Many children, when they find something they like, some food in the pot, stick with it, but they try to improve on it, putting sweet things into it. The robots, who are treated like pots, have one good thing. The one good thing that the robots have is the positronic brain. Although the brain is improved upon by putting “sugar” into it, the basis always stayed the same. The basis of the brain, other than just the platinum and iridium, are the basis of the actions of the robots. There are three rules that all of the robots must abide by. The laws are as follow:
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm
2.A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law and;
3.A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First and Second Laws.
These laws for the basis of all of the things that a robot, whether it be “Robbie” or “Cutie” which are the least advanced and at the time most advanced robots in existence. The very idea that we are forced to abide by any set of rules in our behavioral pattern, disgusts us, but the robots are not aware of this.
The curiosity that scientist must have in order to do the job that they do, will eventually be reflected in their work. The robot named QT-1 or, “Cutie” is an example of exactly that. The first of its kind, QT-1 is designed to work on energy creation facilities, and were meant to replace the need for humans. These robots are the pioneers of the self awareness. They have a curiosity of the world around, as well as inside themselves. This curiosity eventually leads to the necessity to scrap the whole batch of them.
The very thing that has allowed humankind to evolve, other than opposable thumbs, is our curiosity. We MUST experiment in order to advance. Our nature demands that we are as curious as the cat, and throw things into pots, ot see if what comes out is good. And as the old saying goes, curiosity killed the cat, although, that does not mean that one should cook a cat, just to see what happens.