Я, Робот
The Evitable Conflict
Presumablythere’stheaveragelengthofthethreads,theirfeel,theextentandnatureoftheirslickness,thewaytheyhangtogether,andsoon.-Severaldozenitems,subconsciouslyweighed,outofyearsofexperience.Butthequantitativenatureofthesetestsisnotknown;maybeeventheverynatureofsomeofthemisnotknown.SowehavenothingtofeedtheMachine.Norcanthebuyersexplaintheirownjudgment.Theycanonlysay,`Well,lookatit.Can’tyoutellit’sclass-such-and-such?’"
"Isee."
"Thereareinnumerablecaseslikethat.TheMachineisonlyatoolafterall,whichcanhelphumanityprogressfasterbytakingsomeoftheburdensofcalculationsandinterpretationsoffitsback.Thetaskofthehumanbrainremainswhatithasalwaysbeen;thatofdiscoveringnewdatatobeanalyzed,andofdevisingnewconceptstobetested.ApitytheSocietyforHumanitywon’tunderstandthat."
"TheyareagainsttheMachine?"
"Theywouldbeagainstmathematicsoragainsttheartofwritingiftheyhadlivedattheappropriatetime.ThesereactionariesoftheSocietyclaimtheMachinerobsmanofhissoul.Inoticethatcapablemenarestillatapremiuminoursociety;westillneedthemanwhoisintelligentenoughtothinkoftheproperquestionstoask.Perhapsifwecouldfindenoughofsuch,thesedislocationsyouworryabout,Coordinator,wouldn’toccur."
