Fwd: Asimov and Pynchon

[Mark Kohut]

Asimov on entropy:

https://gemini.google.com/share/552580f6c968


On Sun, May 3, 2026 at 1:10 AM Michael Bailey via Pynchon-l <
pynchon-l at waste.org> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> In addition to his "Golden Age" science fiction, Asimov wrote prolifically
> on scientific topics, in a popularizing mode. I suspect many Thomas Pynchon
> readers of a certain vintage partook of Asimov's well-written, very
> palatable non-fiction books with a cheerful outlook and a dash of humor,
> and in fact derived from those books a substantial portion of the general
> knowledge that makes Pynchon's fiction accessible and enjoyable  - I know I
> did.
>
> I think that Pynchon in citing Isaac Asimov as one of his sources on
> entropy was referring to Asimov's non-fiction.  In aid of modestly
> asserting no more than an intelligent layperson's knowledge on the subject,
> he was referring/deferring to Asimov as a middlebrow (though very good
> imho) source: he was disclaiming expertise, didn't want to become "the
> entropy guy".
>
> The story "Entropy", imho, uses the concept of entropy artistically to
> apply to a state of affairs in which the protagonists, their situation in
> life, and indeed the larger society are running down, moving from a more
> organized state to a less-organized one. This theme parallels, or
> foreshadows, the "decky-dance" theme in V.
>
> The foundation in Asimov's Foundation trilogy embodies a decidedly
> "anti-entropic" plan and how it affects society over many years - including
> some successes and some problematic unforeseen circumstances. The Mule, for
> instance, possessed an unforeseeable talent for manipulating others, along
> with a lack of conscience. Such figures in the Pynchon oeuvre as Scarsdale
> Vibe in AtD, maybe Pointsman and Weissmann in GR, Dr Hilarius in CoL49,
> Vond in VL, the Golden Fang in IV, Windust and Gabriel Ice in BE, and now
> Bruno Airmont in ST aren't freakishly gifted like The Mule, but they
> manipulate others and abuse power. That's a thematic similarity that seems
> reasonable; there may well be others.
> ________________________________
> From: Pynchon-l <pynchon-l-bounces at waste.org> on behalf of Corbeau
> Castrum via Pynchon-l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Sent: Friday, May 1, 2026 11:31 AM
> To: Pynchon Mailing List <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Subject: Asimov and Pynchon
>
> Hi folks,
>
> I recently acquired an Everyman Library's edition of Isaac Asimov's
> Foundation trilogy, and in the introduction Michael Dirda makes some very
> interesting comments:
>
> "Pulp-magazine heroes traditionally save the day, or the universe. But
> where is the place for heroes against the 'dead hand' of the Seldon Plan?
> If the concatenation of myriad forces, carefully analyzed by Hari Seldon,
> determines outcomes, what of individual effort? In essence, psychohistory
> recalls Calvinist theology: If God, or Seldon, rules, then one should
> simply trust in his wisdom, bow to circumstances, and know that all is
> ineluctably predestined" (xiv).
>
> The fact that psychohistory is a statistical science of prediction which
> produces a Calvinist-esque fatalism is very reminiscent of much in
> Gravity's Rainbow. Pynchon for his part references Asimov in the
> introduction to Slow Learner as one of the people whom he read on the topic
> of entropy. I briefly searched for essays and articles connecting the two
> but couldn't find anything. My thoughts are still churning about how the
> two might relate to each other. What do you folks think? Have you ever made
> the comparison before?
>
> Happy May Day,
> Cormac
> --
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