...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Profession

93 statements
17 feature instances
13 referencing feature instances

Profession	type	TVTItem
Profession	label	Profession
Profession	page	Profession
Profession	comment	First published in Astounding Science Fiction (July 1957 issue), it was reprinted in the UK edition for the November 1957 issue. This Science Fiction Novella by Isaac Asimov takes place in The Future where everyone is educated with computer tapes recorded directly into your brain. However, there exists a class of people who cannot be educated this way. They are instead kept apart from the rest of society and kept as wards of the government.George Platen is a resident of "A House for the Feeble-minded". He and his roommate Hali Omani are incapable of becoming educated, so they're held as wards of the government. Olympics Day approaches, and this starts another argument between the two of them.George's introspection leads to a Flashback to when he and Armand Trevelyan (Stubby to his friends) were eight years old, on Reading Day. Reading Day is when children get the ability to read and write imprinted into their heads. While there, the children are tested for potential aptitudes, but this is hidden from them.Next, the story jumps forward to Education Day, where eighteen-year-old George and Trevelyan take their aptitude test and assignment to the job that best fits their abilities. According to the test, however, George cannot be taught by the computer. So he is sent to a House for the Feeble-minded.Finally catching up to the start of the story, George decides to escape, and confront the doctor that assigned him to the Home for the Feeble-minded instead of a Profession. No locks hold him with the building, no police are sent to retrieve them, he's able to cross the country to San Francisco to look for the doctor that sent him to the House instead of assigning him to Computer Programmer.Distracted by the announcement that his friend Trevelyn is competing in the Olympics, George goes to watch. After Trevelyn's poor showing, George tries to console him, when Trev's anger and frustration turn on George, demanding what sort of Profession he was given. The police come to break up the altercation before any violence happens, but George's identity as a "feeble-minded" is about to be revealed.Luckily, a stranger rescues George from the police and offers to host George for awhile. He turns out to be Ladislas Ingenescu, Registered Historian, and George notices by the way the police defer to him that he must be important. So George shares dinner with him and convinces Ingenescu to contact a Novian official. Although the interview itself goes poorly, the Secret Test has been passed, and George returns to the Home and Omani for the Dénouement.Outside of the original Pulp Magazine, this story has been reprinted several times; Nine Tomorrows (1959), Valence And Vision A Reader In Psychology (1974), Other Worlds Of Isaac Asimov (1987), The Asimov Chronicles Fifty Years Of Isaac Asimov (1989), Astounding Stories The60th Anniversary Collection (1990), The Complete Stories Volume 1 (1990), and Die Asimov Chronik Die Vierte Generation (1991).
Profession	fetched	2018-08-05T02:29:03Z
Profession	parsed	2020-06-24T07:32:17Z
Profession	isPartOf	DBTropes
Profession / int_1606a707	type	Secret Test
Profession / int_1606a707	comment	Secret Test: The story begins with George living in "A House for the Feeble-minded" despite a future where everyone is assigned a job and Educated (that is, their minds are filled with information from a computer) except for the "feeble-minded". It was really a test — if he protested being labelled feeble-minded and continued to learn and create on his own, it proved he was gifted with the ability of original thought and therefore a cornerstone of human society.
Profession / int_1606a707	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_1606a707	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_1606a707
Profession / int_17dbe19a	type	Internalized Categorism
Profession / int_17dbe19a	comment	Internalized Categorism: When the Inept Aptitude Test says that George cannot learn by computer, he's sent to "A Home for the Feeble-minded". George's struggle against this categorization drives the plot. Even after a year, he continues to rail against the idea that he can't learn. Turns out, the whole thing is part of a Secret Test to see if George has a creative drive or if he's just a good learner. The best method their society has for finding creative talents is to insult/patronize them until they throw off the categorization and declare that they are Creators.
Profession / int_17dbe19a	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_17dbe19a	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_17dbe19a
Profession / int_2b7d29e1	type	Artifact Title
Profession / int_2b7d29e1	comment	Artifact Title: At the end of the story, George asks about an In-Universe example; Olympics Day. The Olympic Games referred to the Greek city of Olympus, but they're now held yearly and involve demonstrations of Professional skills. Trevelyn and others on Earth use the Olympics to get companies/planets to notice their skills and get more prestigious hiring offers.
Profession / int_2b7d29e1	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_2b7d29e1	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_2b7d29e1
Profession / int_403c6dbf	type	Neural Implanting
Profession / int_403c6dbf	comment	Neural Implanting: Everyone in The Future learns reading when they're eight, and this is called Reading Day. After taking a neurological aptitude test, their skills are downloaded into the brain. Naturally, your skills are only as good as the quality of the tapes because learning without tapes is now unthinkable.
Profession / int_403c6dbf	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_403c6dbf	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_403c6dbf
Profession / int_48d9e12d	type	Funetik Aksent
Profession / int_48d9e12d	comment	Funetik Aksent: George's eight-year-old nickname, "Jaw-jee", is a phonetic spelling of the typical "Georgie".
Profession / int_48d9e12d	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_48d9e12d	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_48d9e12d
Profession / int_61ff365d	type	Deflector Shields
Profession / int_61ff365d	comment	Deflector Shields: Far in the future, cities like San Francisco will be able to enact city-wide shields that keep out the bad weather, and allow news headlines to be broadcast as though the whole thing doubled as an Holographic Terminal.
Profession / int_61ff365d	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_61ff365d	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_61ff365d
Profession / int_72fb1638	type	Outgrowing the Childish Name
Profession / int_72fb1638	comment	Outgrowing the Childish Name: George and Trevelyan both had nicknames when they were eight, and they're shown to grow up by discarding their nicknames by the time they're eighteen.
Profession / int_72fb1638	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_72fb1638	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_72fb1638
Profession / int_80251be3	type	How We Got Here
Profession / int_80251be3	comment	How We Got Here: After establishing George Platen's situation (living in a Home for the Feeble-minded), the narration moves back in time to reflect on what happened during his Reading Day (when he was eight) and Education Day (when he was eighteen), providing Exposition based on what George/"everyone" knows about society. Returning to his present, George escapes the Home and watches his childhood friend compete in Olympics Day.
Profession / int_80251be3	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_80251be3	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_80251be3
Profession / int_829b958e	type	Embarrassing First Name
Profession / int_829b958e	comment	Embarrassing First Name: Tevelyn's first name is Armand, but he never uses it. When he was eight, he went by "Stubby", discarding that as he grew up and forcing his friends to be on a Last-Name Basis with him.
Profession / int_829b958e	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_829b958e	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_829b958e
Profession / int_b838c815	type	Dénouement
Profession / int_b838c815	comment	Dénouement: After George passes the Secret Test by trying to convince the Novian official to essentially start a "Home for the Feeble-minded" off Earth, he returns to his room and talks about the events since his escape. The test is explained to him (and the audience), and the story ends on a Brick Joke.
Profession / int_b838c815	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_b838c815	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_b838c815
Profession / int_c7a40e17	type	Inept Aptitude Test
Profession / int_c7a40e17	comment	Inept Aptitude Test: Eight-year-olds go to Reading Day; after they learn how to read, their brains are tested for aptitude, but it doesn't affect much. Ten years later, eighteen-year-olds are tested again; based on their neurological responses, they're assigned a profession. George's scan reveals that he cannot be taught by computer, so instead of having a profession assigned, he is sent to a government home for "feeble-minded people". George insists that they got it wrong and he should be a computer programmer, not "feeble-minded". This place is a Secret Test to discover if he is merely someone capable of learning on his own, or if he is capable of truly original thought; the only variable they can't fully quantify or implant. The tapes are made by other people like him.
Profession / int_c7a40e17	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_c7a40e17	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_c7a40e17
Profession / int_dcd423d2	type	Affectionate Nickname
Profession / int_dcd423d2	comment	Affectionate Nickname: When they were eight, Trevelyan would call George "Jaw-jee". When they were eight, George would call Armand Trevelyan "Stubby", which changed to "Trev" when Trevelyan decided that it was too childish.
Profession / int_dcd423d2	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_dcd423d2	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_dcd423d2
Profession / int_e28f88b8	type	Last-Name Basis
Profession / int_e28f88b8	comment	Last-Name Basis: Trevelyan's full name is Armand Trevelyan, but Trevelyan preferred Stubby as a child, and still dislikes his given name. His best friend (and the narration) calls him Trevelyan or Trev.
Profession / int_e28f88b8	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_e28f88b8	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_e28f88b8
Profession / int_edcc813f	type	Fantastic Caste System
Profession / int_edcc813f	comment	Fantastic Caste System: There's a vast and complicated social structure in this future, which includes multiple planets (the planets themselves are graded, implying classism of birth planets). At the very bottom, George learns, are a class of people who cannot be taught by computer downloads. They are instead kept as wards of the government and separate from the rest of society. What he doesn't realize until later is they're actually the highest class of society. People like him who can learn on their own are able to arrange meetings with foreign diplomats and VIP tickets. People who create the computer downloads inadvertently direct society.
Profession / int_edcc813f	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_edcc813f	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_edcc813f
Profession / int_f32d85ab	type	20 Minutes into the Future
Profession / int_f32d85ab	comment	20 Minutes into the Future: This story explores the idea of a society at least four thousand years in the future, where Neural Implanting has replaced mainstream schooling and Faster-Than-Light Travel has been used to colonize multiple worlds. The most precious resource isn't metals or living space; it is the creative drive to invent and innovate.
Profession / int_f32d85ab	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_f32d85ab	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_f32d85ab
Profession / int_fe0330fb	type	Brick Joke
Profession / int_fe0330fb	comment	Brick Joke: While George is waiting to join the crowds of people watching the Olympics, he has a Flashback to being eight again, asking why they had that name. At the end of the story, George once again demands to know why they're named the Olympic Games.
Profession / int_fe0330fb	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_fe0330fb	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_fe0330fb
Profession / int_name	type	ItemName
Profession / int_name	comment
Profession / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Profession / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Profession	hasFeature	Profession / int_name
Profession / int_name	itemName	Profession

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Profession	hasFeature	Affectionate Nickname / int_157a4ac9
Profession	hasFeature	American Literature (N to S) / int_157a4ac9
Profession	hasFeature	Artifact Name / int_157a4ac9
Profession	hasFeature	Computer Equals Tapedrive / int_157a4ac9
Profession	hasFeature	Deflector Shields / int_157a4ac9
Profession	hasFeature	Fantastic Caste System / int_157a4ac9
Profession	hasFeature	Funetik Aksent / int_157a4ac9
Profession	hasFeature	Instant Expert / int_157a4ac9
Profession	hasFeature	Internalized Categorism / int_157a4ac9
Profession	hasFeature	Neural Implanting / int_157a4ac9
Profession	hasFeature	Novella / int_157a4ac9
Profession	hasFeature	Secret Test / int_157a4ac9
Profession	hasFeature	20 Minutes into the Future / int_157a4ac9

Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.