Q 01/05

Which author wrote the Foundation series?

A) Robert A. Heinlein

B) Isaac Asimov

C) Arthur C. Clarke

D) Frank Herbert

Answer · why

B) Isaac Asimov

He was one of science fiction's 'Big Three' and wrote or edited more than 500 books while working as a biochemistry professor.

Q 02/05

Seldon's psychohistory can predict the future of what, but never of individuals?

A) Individual robots

B) Planetary weather

C) Stock markets

D) Large populations

Answer · why

D) Large populations

It relies on the statistical laws of mass action, so a single unpredictable person like the Mule can wreck it.

Q 03/05

Which mathematician devises psychohistory and foresees the fall of the Galactic Empire?

A) Hari Seldon

B) Salvor Hardin

C) Gaal Dornick

D) Hober Mallow

Answer · why

A) Hari Seldon

He is born on the planet Helicon, where his father grows tobacco, and later serves as First Minister of the Empire.

Q 04/05

According to Seldon's calculations, how long would the dark age after the Empire's fall last if nothing were done?

A) 1,000 years

B) 10,000 years

C) 30,000 years

D) 100,000 years

Answer · why

C) 30,000 years

His Plan aims not to prevent the fall but to shrink the interregnum to a single millennium.

Q 05/05

In which magazine were the original Foundation stories published between 1942 and 1950?

A) Amazing Stories

B) Astounding Science-Fiction

C) Galaxy Science Fiction

D) Thrilling Wonder Stories

Answer · why

B) Astounding Science-Fiction

Editor John W. Campbell helped Asimov develop the concepts of the collapsing Empire and the Foundations in a single two-hour meeting.