I’m about two-thirds through Asimov’s “I, Robot” and I have to say that although it is entertaining, it’s pretty far off the mark. It’s very interesting to see where Asimov thought we were going and what was going to be the next major technological breakthroughs.

For instance, I’m at the story in the book (since the book is just a collection of stories that document the rise of the robots) where the robots discover the “Hyperatomic Drive.” I guess that was because the book was written around when atomic energy seemed like it was saviour of the world. They don’t really think that anymore. Furthermore, this “Hyperatomic Drive” is discovered with the guidance and assistance of etheric physicists. That’s right, physicists that specialize in the physics of the “ether.”
The ether. For those who don’t know what the ether is, it’s what physicist thought the blackness of space was (since they didn’t really have an explanation of it.) It had a period of popularity among physicists but was eventually thought to be wrong. That’s why you don’t hear about it anymore.

Ignoring the nitpicking of the aforementioned, you have to agree that Asimov set the framework for a lot of future science fiction. For instance, all the robots in his book have a positronic brain. Guess who else has a positronic brain? That’s right, Lt. Cmdr. Data. And even the “Hyperatomic Drive” has been reused many times in science fiction as the “hyperdrive.”