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A colleague is desperate to find out and it sounded kind of familiar to me, I think it's been mentioned here at some point. What he remembers is this: A man is the last employed man on Earth. His job is to push a button randomly, because they haven't got a machine that can do that, unlike all the other jobs. They eventually invent a machine that can push the button randomly and he's put out of a job. Anyone know what that is and who it is by? |
Help me identify the author and title of this sci fi story
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MetalDog 24,076 posts
Seen 3 years ago
Registered 20 years ago -
Probably a Ray Bradbury short story. -
MetalDog 24,076 posts
Seen 3 years ago
Registered 20 years agoBradbury, Asimov or Ellison seem likely, but ... which one? -
glaeken 12,070 posts
Seen 7 months ago
Registered 17 years agoPiano Player by Kurt Vonnegut has a similar theme but not quite to the level where there is only one employee left. -
heyyo 14,356 posts
Seen 4 years ago
Registered 16 years agoStrikebreaker by Asimov? -
MetalDog 24,076 posts
Seen 3 years ago
Registered 20 years agoPiano player most likely contender so far... I'll wave the summary under his nose -
MetalDog 24,076 posts
Seen 3 years ago
Registered 20 years agoI'll send him the summary of Strikebreaker too. Memory is a funny thing, but the summaries should provide a clear yes or no from him. -
MetalDog 24,076 posts
Seen 3 years ago
Registered 20 years agoNope, neither of those, although he says he's going to read the Vonnegut for sure now.
Any other contenders? Button pushing job he is firm upon remembering. -
disusedgenius 10,677 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 14 years agoMetalDog wrote:
I know it's not the point of this thread - but I'm going to say it anyway:
A man is the last employed man on Earth. His job is to push a button randomly, because they haven't got a machine that can do that, unlike all the other jobs.
Sounds like a slightly unfortunate outline for a story - doing something truly randomly is actually waaaay easier from machines and next to impossible for us.
Carry on!.gif)
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neilka 24,021 posts
Seen 1 minute ago
Registered 16 years agoIs it Enemy Mine by Barry B. Longyear? -
Salaman 24,162 posts
Seen 6 days ago
Registered 17 years agoEnemy Mine?
/runs -
glaeken 12,070 posts
Seen 7 months ago
Registered 17 years agoIt does sound vaguely familiar but I doubt that helps. All I can suggest is maybe also consider Phillip K Dick as it sounds like the sort of thing he might have written. -
MetalDog 24,076 posts
Seen 3 years ago
Registered 20 years agoMachines don't really do random though. They just fake randomness - although they're reaching a point where the method of fakery is so complex it makes next to no odds. It used to be quite hard to coax a random number out though and I suspect this story is getting on in years.
If it helps at all, he reckons its a short story. -
disusedgenius 10,677 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 14 years agoMetalDog wrote:
They can though, usually they use something like static to produce the numbers rather than the pseudo-random stuff, iirc. Either way, we're supremely shit at it.
Machines don't really do random though. They just fake randomness - although they're reaching a point where the method of fakery is so complex it makes next to no odds. It used to be quite hard to coax a random number out though and I suspect this story is getting on in years. -
Rusty_M 7,172 posts
Seen 4 days ago
Registered 14 years agoYou wait all day then two come along at once. -
It's not one of the I, Robot stories is it? -
CosmicFuzz 32,632 posts
Seen 3 hours ago
Registered 15 years agoInteresting job, brother. -
MetalDog 24,076 posts
Seen 3 years ago
Registered 20 years agoNot I Robot, I would remember if it were. Also rules out 'The Rest of the Robots'. -
Salaman 24,162 posts
Seen 6 days ago
Registered 17 years agoRusty_M wrote:
He even put in the author and beat me by 5 seconds.
You wait all day then two come along at once.
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MightyMetalMonkey 600 posts
Seen 6 years ago
Registered 14 years agoglaeken wrote:
It's a bit like the start of 'Galactic Pot Healer' by PKD.
It does sound vaguely familiar but I doubt that helps. All I can suggest is maybe also consider Phillip K Dick as it sounds like the sort of thing he might have written.
The main character is stuck in a meaningless job, but gets offered the opportunity to do something that will really matter... -
Did you ever find out what book it was? -
MetalDog 24,076 posts
Seen 3 years ago
Registered 20 years agoI didn't! But it no longer matters =) -
phAge 25,487 posts
Seen 3 weeks ago
Registered 18 years agoMetalDog wrote:
AFAIK the NSA and other government organisations use what are essentially lava lamps hooked up to photographic sensors to create random numbers. Particle decay detectors (a la Schrödinger) are also pretty random - although I suppose you could say that neither get their randomness from the machine component.
Machines don't really do random though. They just fake randomness - although they're reaching a point where the method of fakery is so complex it makes next to no odds. It used to be quite hard to coax a random number out though and I suspect this story is getting on in years.
If it helps at all, he reckons its a short story.
Anyhoo - sounds like an interesting story. Some wonderful sci-fi short stories out there. -
dominalien 10,703 posts
Seen 1 hour ago
Registered 15 years agoI don't know the story, but isn't that the one Lost is based on? -
Unpossable. Lost has no coherence in any way what so ever so it couldn't possibly be based on anything written.
.gif)
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