The Last Answer
by Isaac Asimov · first published 1980
72% recommend28% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short story about a scientist preserved by a god to think for eternity, often paired with The Last Question. Readers find it profound, unsettling, and a good pick for fans of simulation and afterlife themes.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
On the thoughts of eternal beings.
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Read Isaac Asimov's The Last Answer: https://www.highexistence.com/the-last-answer-short-story/
on “We Must Cure Aging” ↗Asimov's "The Last Answer" is perhaps more profound: http://www.thrivenotes.com/the-last-answer/
on “The Last Question by Isaac Asimov (1956)” ↗There's a great short story called "The Last Answer," by Isaac Asimov.[1] In it, a scientist dies and is preserved by a "god" to think for eternity. He is quickly horrified by this and declares that he won't do it. Murray said, “Consider, then, that my…
on “The Lonely End: in aging Japan, thousands die alone and unnoticed” ↗Also check out "The Last Answer", the only work by Asimov I've read that actually terrified me. If it takes place in the same universe as "The Last Question", you could argue it has a bit of a "Roko's basilisk" flavor.
on “The Last Question” ↗Wait, are you telling me there are people out there who don’t know Asimov and haven’t read one of his best short stories??? The Last Question, along with Nightfall and The Last Answer are generally accepted as the best.
on “The Last Question” ↗The Last Answer - Isaac Asimov https://highexistence.com/the-last-answer-short-story/ Murray Templeton was forty-five years old, in the prime of life, and with all parts of his body in perfect working order except for…
on “Is Death Reversible?” ↗I like "The Last Answer" also. It says a lot about Asimov's religious views. My first exposure to Asimov short stories was Robot Dreams which has both The Last Question and The Last Answer.
on “Ask YC: What's the most inspiring sci-fi book you've read?” ↗…not a die-hard HN reader. At any rate, given how many readers are probably new to the The Last Question, it's probably worth citing another Asimov piece that is oft-mistaken for The Last Question - The Last Answer. It's a more recent work, and a bit more obscure, but worth the read if you're into Asimov. http://www.thrivenotes.com/the-last-answer/
on “The Last Question - Isaac Asimov” ↗…times, and each time, the supreme Code Monkey suspends the simulation, fixes the bug, and rolls back the state to before the hole was poked I suggest you track down and read the Asimov short story "The Last Answer". I think you will enjoy it. It deals with a similar situation to what you describe, although not quite in the context of a universe simulation.
on “Is reality a computer simulation? Does it matter?” ↗There's also "The Last Answer" by Asimov, and if you're into these types of stories I can also recommend The Egg (by the writer of The Martian).
on “Was There a Civilization on Earth Before Humans?” ↗That's a little reductive, short form writings/storytellings do infact exist, and can also be wildly popular, Isaac Asimov's The Last Answer immediately comes to mind.
on “GitLab – A $1B business where all employees work remotely” ↗To whoever out there that hasn’t read the two greatest short stories by Asimov, here they are: The Last Question - https://www.multivax.com/last_question.html The Last Answer - https://www.highexistence.com/the-last-answer-short-story/
on “Let's kill the universe” ↗…even knew what it was. But—” He made a gesture with his hands as if dropping a ball. “—I claim no more than the average share of wisdom. We could have made mistakes.” There's the classic Asimov - The Last Answer There's a nacesant one in True Names by Vinge (the post singularity in Marooned in Realtime doesn't have any AIs) https://ia801004.us.archive.org/0/items/truenamesvingevernor... And digging fairly deep…
on “Don Knuth Plays with ChatGPT” ↗And then read Asimov's The Last Answer, good dichotomy of stories.
on “Isaac Asimov: The Last Question” ↗Lesser known? The only Asimov stories I'm cognizant of having read are The Last Question and The Last Answer.
on “Isaac Asimov: The Last Answer” ↗