What is the main idea of The Last Question?
The Last Question, by Isaac Asimov, is a short story about the evolution of humanity and technology, a single question, and the inevitable end of the universe due to increasing entropy. The Last Question also explores the relationship between humans and technology.
What is the meaning of The Last Question?
While science and religion typically have an oppositional relationship, “The Last Question” explores some biblical contexts (“Let there be light”). In Asimov’s story, aspects like the great meaning of existence are culminated through both technology and human knowledge.
What is entropy The Last Question?
The question was: “How can the net amount of entropy of the universe be massively decreased?” This is equivalent to asking: “Can the workings of the second law of thermodynamics (used in the story as the increase of the entropy of the universe) be reversed?”
What is the AC in The Last Question?
The AC (“analog computer”) goes through six different names, one for each time it is asked The Question: Multivac, Microvac, Galactic AC, Universal AC, Cosmic AC, and then, simply, AC. As Multivac, it takes up hundreds of square miles of a planet, reaching deep underground; there is one per planet.
What is the ending of the story The Last Question?
In the story, it doesn’t matter how our technology evolves, there’s only one question no human nor computer is able to answer, which is how to revert/stop entropy. Unfortunately all life in the universe has ended, including humans. Turns out, the answer is finally “Let there be light” and there was light.
What is Multivac in The Last Question?
In “The Last Question”, Multivac is shown as having a life of many thousands of years, growing ever more enormous with each section of the story, which can explain its different reported sizes as occurring further down the internal timeline of the overarching story.