Foundation - Isaac Asimov
Details
To make our discussion more engaging, I am asking the participants to select one, or several, of the questions to read to the group. The person reading a question will have the option of answering it, but they may choose to just read it and then throw the question out for group discussion.
Please let me know which question(s) you chose as soon as possible as the first person requesting a question will get it.
The questions are:
Foundation: Part 1
- After an unsettling ride on a gravitic elevator, Gaal arrives on the terrace and takes in Trantor’s expanse of continuous sheet of metal, with no visible greenery. What does that tell us about Trantorians relationships to the outside world?
Foundation: Part 2
2. What are Anacreon’s ambitions and plans for Terminus?
Foundation: Part 3
3. Why does Hardin repair and gift the battle cruiser to Anacreon?
Foundation: Part 4
4. Why is Askone so resistant to nuclear technology?
Foundation: Part 5
5. Mallow correctly predicts war with Korell. How does this demonstrate Mallow’s awareness of the geopolitical landscape?
Foundation
6. Asimov is often described as an "ideas writer." Does that characterization seem fair here?
7. If psychohistory can predict the behavior of billions of people, what does that imply about individual freedom?
8. Which is more important for civilization: scientific knowledge, political stability, or cultural values?
9, Are Asimov's characters sufficiently developed, or are they mainly vehicles for ideas?
10. Does Foundation argue that history is shaped primarily by great individuals, or by large social and economic forces?