Hari Seldon
Encyclopedia
Hari Seldon, a fictional character, is the intellectual hero of Isaac Asimov
's Foundation Series
. In his capacity as mathematics professor at Streeling University on Trantor
, he developed psychohistory
, allowing him to predict the future in probabilistic terms. His prediction of the eventual fall of the Galactic Empire
is the reason behind his nickname "The Raven" Seldon.
In the first five books of the Foundation Series, Hari Seldon made only one in-the-flesh appearance, in the first chapter of the first book (Foundation), although he did appear other times in pre-recorded messages in order to reveal a Seldon Crisis
. After writing five books in chronological order, Asimov went back with two books to better describe the initial process. The two prequels—Prelude to Foundation
and Forward the Foundation
— describe his life in considerable detail. He is also the central character of the Second Foundation Trilogy written after Asimov's death (Foundation's Fear
by Gregory Benford
, Foundation and Chaos
by Greg Bear
, and Foundation's Triumph
by David Brin
), which are set after Asimov's two prequels.
was founded at an unknown date roughly eleven thousand years in the future: the timeline can be deduced from some hints Asimov dropped in his other science fiction works, including the Robot series and the Empire series
.)
He was born on the planet Helicon in the Arcturus sector where his father worked as a tobacco grower in a hydroponics plant.
He showed precocious mathematical abilities at a very early age. He also learned martial arts on Helicon that later helped him on Trantor, the principal art being Heliconan Twisting (a form seemingly equal parts Jiu Jitsu
, Krav Maga
, and Submission Wrestling
). Helicon was said to be "less notable for its mathematics, and more for its martial arts" (Prelude to Foundation).
Seldon was the subject of a biography by Gaal Dornick
. Seldon was Emperor Cleon I
's second and last First Minister, the first being Eto Demerzel/R. Daneel Olivaw
. He was deposed as First Minister after Cleon I's assassination.
by sheer force of social pressure, but over only a thousand-year time span, rather than the ten-to-thirty-thousand-year time span that would normally have been required. The Foundation is placed on Terminus, a planet entirely populated by scientists and their families. The planet was originally occupied to create the Encyclopedia Galactica
, a vast compilation of the knowledge of a dying galactic empire.
, future adopted son Raych Seldon
, and future partner Yugo Amaryl
.
, just as was the case with the original trilogy. They take place at intervals a decade or more apart, and tell the story of Hari's life, starting about ten years after Prelude
and ending with his death. The stories contrast his increasingly successful professional life with his increasingly unsuccessful personal life.
Seldon becomes involved in politics when Eto Demerzel
becomes a target for a smear campaign conducted by Laskin Joranum. He eventually takes Demerzel's place as First Minister, despite his reluctance to divide his attention between government and the development of Psychohistory. His career comes to an end when Cleon I is assassinated by his gardener (a random event Seldon could not have predicted) and the seizure of power by a military junta. Seldon eventually causes the fall of the junta by dropping subtle false hints about what Psychohistory foresees, leading to the Junta making unpopular decisions. However, an agent of the Junta inside Seldon's team, having deduced that Dors is a robot, builds a device that ultimately kills her, leaving Seldon heartbroken. Years later, Seldon discovers that his grand-daughter Wanda has telepathic abilities and begins searching for others like her but fails. Raych eventually decides to move his family to the planet Santanni, but Wanda chooses to remain with her elderly grandfather. However, just after they arrive a rebellion breaks out on the planet and Raych is killed in the fighting. His wife and child are lost when their ship disappears. Seldon eventually finds Stettin Palver, another telepath who becomes Wanda's husband and the pair are eventually instrumental in creating the Second Foundation.
Seldon mentions two indigenous species of Helicon: the lamec and the greti. The first is a hardworking animal, while the latter is dangerous as indicated by the native Helicon saying "If you ride a greti, you find you can't get off; for then it will eat you." The saying bears an uncanny resemblance to the age-old Chinese proverb "He who rides the tiger finds it difficult to dismount" (騎虎難下). The words lamec and greti are anagrams of camel and tiger, respectively.
In his old age, he gains the nickname Raven for his dire predictions of the future.
, the Nobel Laureate in Economics, mentioned Hari Seldon. According to Krugman, his interest in economics began with Asimov's Foundation novels, in which the social scientists of the future use 'Psychohistory' to attempt to save civilization. Since 'Psychohistory' in Asimov's sense of the word does not exist, Krugman turned to economics, which he considered the next best thing.
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's Foundation Series
The Foundation Series
The Foundation Series is a science fiction series by Isaac Asimov. There are seven volumes in the Foundation Series proper, which in its in-universe chronological order are: Prelude to Foundation, Forward the Foundation, Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, Foundation's Edge, and...
. In his capacity as mathematics professor at Streeling University on Trantor
Trantor
Trantor is a fictional planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series and Empire Series of science fiction novels.Trantor was first described in a short story by Asimov appearing in Early Asimov Volume 1. Later Trantor gained prominence when the 1940s Foundation Series first appeared in print . Asimov...
, he developed psychohistory
Psychohistory (fictional)
Psychohistory is a fictional science in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe which combines history, sociology, and mathematical statistics to make general predictions about the future behavior of very large groups of people, such as the Galactic Empire...
, allowing him to predict the future in probabilistic terms. His prediction of the eventual fall of the Galactic Empire
Galactic Empire (Asimov)
In Isaac Asimov's Robot/Empire/Foundation series of novels, the Galactic Empire is an empire consisting of millions of planets settled by humans across the whole Milky Way Galaxy. Its symbol is the Spaceship and Sun logo.-Author's creation of the empire:...
is the reason behind his nickname "The Raven" Seldon.
In the first five books of the Foundation Series, Hari Seldon made only one in-the-flesh appearance, in the first chapter of the first book (Foundation), although he did appear other times in pre-recorded messages in order to reveal a Seldon Crisis
Seldon Crisis
A Seldon Crisis is a fictional socio-historical phenomenon in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series of science fiction novels. They are part of the field of psychohistory, and refer to a social and political situation that, to be successfully surmounted, would eventually leave only one possible,...
. After writing five books in chronological order, Asimov went back with two books to better describe the initial process. The two prequels—Prelude to Foundation
Prelude to Foundation
Prelude to Foundation is a Locus Award nominated 1988 novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is one of two prequels to the Foundation Series. For the first time, Asimov chronicles the fictional life of Hari Seldon, the man who invented psychohistory and the intellectual hero of the series.-Plot...
and Forward the Foundation
Forward the Foundation
Forward the Foundation is a novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is the second of two prequels to the Foundation Series. It is written in much the same style as the original novel Foundation, a novel composed of chapters with long intervals in between...
— describe his life in considerable detail. He is also the central character of the Second Foundation Trilogy written after Asimov's death (Foundation's Fear
Foundation's Fear
Foundation's Fear is a science fiction novel by Gregory Benford, set in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe. It is the first book of the Second Foundation trilogy, which was written after Asimov's death by three authors, authorized by the Asimov estate....
by Gregory Benford
Gregory Benford
Gregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine...
, Foundation and Chaos
Foundation and Chaos
Foundation and Chaos is a science fiction novel by Greg Bear, set in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe. It is the second book of the Second Foundation trilogy, which was written after Asimov's death by three authors, authorized by the Asimov estate....
by Greg Bear
Greg Bear
Gregory Dale Bear is an American science fiction and mainstream author. His work has covered themes of galactic conflict , artificial universes , consciousness and cultural practices , and accelerated evolution...
, and Foundation's Triumph
Foundation's Triumph
Foundation's Triumph is a science fiction novel by David Brin, set in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe. It is the third book of the Second Foundation trilogy, which was written after Asimov's death by three authors, authorized by the Asimov estate...
by David Brin
David Brin
Glen David Brin, Ph.D. is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. He has received the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards.-Biography:...
), which are set after Asimov's two prequels.
Biographical
Galactic Empire First Minister and Psycho-Historian Hari Seldon was born in the 10th month of the 11,988th year of the Galactic Era (GE) (-79 Foundation Era (FE)) and died 12,069 GE (1 FE). (In Asimov's saga, the Galactic Era started when the Galactic EmpireGalactic Empire (Asimov)
In Isaac Asimov's Robot/Empire/Foundation series of novels, the Galactic Empire is an empire consisting of millions of planets settled by humans across the whole Milky Way Galaxy. Its symbol is the Spaceship and Sun logo.-Author's creation of the empire:...
was founded at an unknown date roughly eleven thousand years in the future: the timeline can be deduced from some hints Asimov dropped in his other science fiction works, including the Robot series and the Empire series
Isaac Asimov's Galactic Empire Series
The Galactic Empire Series is a science fiction series containing three novels and one short story by the American author Isaac Asimov...
.)
He was born on the planet Helicon in the Arcturus sector where his father worked as a tobacco grower in a hydroponics plant.
He showed precocious mathematical abilities at a very early age. He also learned martial arts on Helicon that later helped him on Trantor, the principal art being Heliconan Twisting (a form seemingly equal parts Jiu Jitsu
Jujutsu
Jujutsu , also known as jujitsu, ju-jitsu, or Japanese jiu-jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon, or only a short weapon....
, Krav Maga
Krav Maga
Krav Maga is a noncompetitive eclectic self-defense system developed in Europe that involves striking techniques, wrestling and grappling. Krav Maga is known for its focus on real-world situations and extremely efficient, brutal counter-attacks...
, and Submission Wrestling
Submission wrestling
Submission wrestling or Combat wrestling in Japan, is a formula of competition and a general term describing the aspect of martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission using submission holds...
). Helicon was said to be "less notable for its mathematics, and more for its martial arts" (Prelude to Foundation).
Seldon was the subject of a biography by Gaal Dornick
Gaal Dornick
Gaal Dornick is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. It is Gaal Dornick that introduces the Foundation series, appearing in the first chapter of Foundation, describing his meeting with Hari Seldon. He eventually went on to be his biographer...
. Seldon was Emperor Cleon I
Cleon I
Cleon I is a character in the fictional universe of The Foundation Series. He was the last Emperor of the Entun dynasty . He was Emperor of the Galactic Empire when Hari Seldon first arrived on Trantor...
's second and last First Minister, the first being Eto Demerzel/R. Daneel Olivaw
R. Daneel Olivaw
R. Daneel Olivaw is a fictional robot created by Isaac Asimov. The "R" initial in his name stands for "robot," a naming convention in Asimov's future society...
. He was deposed as First Minister after Cleon I's assassination.
Foundation
Using psychohistory, Seldon determined the right time and place to set up a new society, one that would replace the collapsing Galactic EmpireGalactic Empire (Asimov)
In Isaac Asimov's Robot/Empire/Foundation series of novels, the Galactic Empire is an empire consisting of millions of planets settled by humans across the whole Milky Way Galaxy. Its symbol is the Spaceship and Sun logo.-Author's creation of the empire:...
by sheer force of social pressure, but over only a thousand-year time span, rather than the ten-to-thirty-thousand-year time span that would normally have been required. The Foundation is placed on Terminus, a planet entirely populated by scientists and their families. The planet was originally occupied to create the Encyclopedia Galactica
Encyclopedia Galactica
The Encyclopædia Galactica is a fictional or hypothetical encyclopædia of a future human galaxy-spanning civilization, containing all the knowledge accumulated by a society with quadrillions of people and thousands of years of history...
, a vast compilation of the knowledge of a dying galactic empire.
Prelude to Foundation
As a 32-year-old assistant professor of mathematics at Helicon University, Seldon visits Trantor from his native Helicon to attend the Decennial Mathematics Convention. He presents a paper which indicates that one could theoretically predict the Galactic Empire's future. At first, Seldon has no idea how this could be done in practice, and he is fairly confident that no one could actually fulfill the possibility. Shortly after his presentation, he becomes a lightning rod for political forces who want to use psychohistory for their own purposes. The rest of the novel tells of his flight, which lasts for approximately a year and which takes him through the complex and variegated world of Trantor. During his flight to escape the various political factions, he discovers how psychohistory can be made a practical science. It is in this novel that he meets his future wife Dors VenabiliDors Venabili
In Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series, Dors Venabili is a good friend, protector and later wife of Hari Seldon, the primary character of Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation. At face value, Dors is an attractive woman, two years younger than Seldon...
, future adopted son Raych Seldon
Raych Seldon
Raych Seldon is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. Raych is the adopted son of Hari Seldon and Dors Venabili, the primary characters in the first two books of the series...
, and future partner Yugo Amaryl
Yugo Amaryl
Yugo Amaryl is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. Amaryl, along with Hari Seldon, worked on psychohistory until his death at age 52....
.
Forward the Foundation
This novel is actually told as a sequence of short storiesShort Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
, just as was the case with the original trilogy. They take place at intervals a decade or more apart, and tell the story of Hari's life, starting about ten years after Prelude
Prelude to Foundation
Prelude to Foundation is a Locus Award nominated 1988 novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is one of two prequels to the Foundation Series. For the first time, Asimov chronicles the fictional life of Hari Seldon, the man who invented psychohistory and the intellectual hero of the series.-Plot...
and ending with his death. The stories contrast his increasingly successful professional life with his increasingly unsuccessful personal life.
Seldon becomes involved in politics when Eto Demerzel
R. Daneel Olivaw
R. Daneel Olivaw is a fictional robot created by Isaac Asimov. The "R" initial in his name stands for "robot," a naming convention in Asimov's future society...
becomes a target for a smear campaign conducted by Laskin Joranum. He eventually takes Demerzel's place as First Minister, despite his reluctance to divide his attention between government and the development of Psychohistory. His career comes to an end when Cleon I is assassinated by his gardener (a random event Seldon could not have predicted) and the seizure of power by a military junta. Seldon eventually causes the fall of the junta by dropping subtle false hints about what Psychohistory foresees, leading to the Junta making unpopular decisions. However, an agent of the Junta inside Seldon's team, having deduced that Dors is a robot, builds a device that ultimately kills her, leaving Seldon heartbroken. Years later, Seldon discovers that his grand-daughter Wanda has telepathic abilities and begins searching for others like her but fails. Raych eventually decides to move his family to the planet Santanni, but Wanda chooses to remain with her elderly grandfather. However, just after they arrive a rebellion breaks out on the planet and Raych is killed in the fighting. His wife and child are lost when their ship disappears. Seldon eventually finds Stettin Palver, another telepath who becomes Wanda's husband and the pair are eventually instrumental in creating the Second Foundation.
Seldon mentions two indigenous species of Helicon: the lamec and the greti. The first is a hardworking animal, while the latter is dangerous as indicated by the native Helicon saying "If you ride a greti, you find you can't get off; for then it will eat you." The saying bears an uncanny resemblance to the age-old Chinese proverb "He who rides the tiger finds it difficult to dismount" (騎虎難下). The words lamec and greti are anagrams of camel and tiger, respectively.
In his old age, he gains the nickname Raven for his dire predictions of the future.
Paul Krugman
At the 67th science-fiction world convention in Montreal, Paul KrugmanPaul Krugman
Paul Robin Krugman is an American economist, professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times...
, the Nobel Laureate in Economics, mentioned Hari Seldon. According to Krugman, his interest in economics began with Asimov's Foundation novels, in which the social scientists of the future use 'Psychohistory' to attempt to save civilization. Since 'Psychohistory' in Asimov's sense of the word does not exist, Krugman turned to economics, which he considered the next best thing.