As a disclaimer, I will admit that I have been a fan of Isaac Asimov since my teen years in the late 60s. People here are complaining how far off he was on some predictions, but, a lot of them were very close to the mark. It is very hard to make predictions even one year in advance, much less, 50 years. I think we should give this guy with the big fuzzy side burns a pass on some of his less than accurate predictions and celebrate those which were nearly right on the mark. In those days world population was very much on every persons mind. I believe that he thought that the worlds' governments (i.e. China, etc.) would have to set in place population controls to prevent starvation. He did not count on the fact that advanced countries with high levels of education would cut their populations more or less naturally due to the fact that large families were no longer needed. But, look where populations are still growing unchecked. It's in third world countries with very low literacy rates or those countries which are still so religious in nature that birth control is out of the question. In future years those are the countries where famines will start to "cull" the human race. With all our science in agriculture knowledge, even we will not be able to feed everyone. I feel sorry for those who are under age 30 or so today, for they are the ones who will witness this carnage first hand. It's not too late though, education of third world masses, especially women, could still slow the birthrate. Barring an extinction event such as a huge asteroid strike or mega volcano eruption like Yellowstone or Indonesia, the real next killer will probably be a pandemic that is worsened by overpopulation and mal-nourishment. I doubt I will be around to see this, but, it could happen at any time. Oh my!, now I'm making predictions. I guess the genius of Mr. Asimov must have had a profound effect on me! That my friends is the power of writing genius. I miss you Isaac!
