Re: Arthur C. Clarke question

On Mar 14, 9:41=EF=BF=BDpm, Gene Ward Smith <g...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Cece <ceceliaarmstr...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in news:27537ad6-8588-43f0-88c7-
> 04e7493a8...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> > Poul Anderson was never
> > depressing! =EF=BF=BDSickening, once (revised Broken Sword: the
descript=
ion of
> > the blood eagle); horrifying once (when Flandry observed the results
> > before ordering, "Turn it off"). =EF=BF=BDDepressing, no.
>
> Here's a YASID: a mathematician is depressed because he's useless--all
rea=
l
> work is being done by AIs, and only a few top humans are needed to
interfa=
ce
> (I don't believe that part.) Sp when re runs accross a bipedal robot, he
> dumps it all out on him. The robot tells him he's got the same
problem--he=
's
> also useless. They made an intelligent bipedal robot just to see if they
> could, but there's really no point in building them. Sp they waved
goodbye=

> and told him to go do whatever he liked.


"Quixote and the Windmill", anthologised in "Strangers From Earth" and
no doubt elsewhere.

The poor robot hadn't even the option of getting drunk to tem****arily
escape its predicament.

--


Mike Stone - Peterborough, England

Always drink upriver from the herd. (song title).