ROBOTS

[jason]

Ok, where does the word Robot mean, and where does it come from? I have the source text infront of me, but it is a question for my students, but everyone can play.

Comments

[jmiak.livejournal.com]

Well, in the dictionary that I have the definition of a robot is a mechanical creature built to do the work in the place of human beings and that the word robot is based on a Czech word meaning forced labor.

[complicittheory.livejournal.com]

Yay. That's a start. There's more! :)

[aogg.livejournal.com]

Just to add to jmiak's comment, the term was first coined by K. Čapek, a Czech science fiction writer, in his play R.U.R. "Rossum's Universal Robots" (1920). The robots in the play take over and implant humans with circuitry.

My Oxford is also telling me that it's also used in South Africa to mean a set of automatic traffic lights. That's cool

[complicittheory.livejournal.com]

great Anne! There's even room for more information! BTW, he co-writer brother Joseph died in Belsen. Strangely prophetic.

[poszoski.livejournal.com]

i have extra information from the surprising coincidence corner.
I met my friends sister last week whom I haven't seen for over a year. Past summer she travelled with her boyfriend to The Jewish Autonomous Oblast at the very end of Russia, bordering with China, 200,000 inhabitants living on 36,000 sq m. strange. the capitol is called Birobidzhan and that's a good name, that. So getting to Birobidzhan requires a week on the Transsiberian and I was asking her how that goes, a week on the train and she said, we met some nice French backpackers and the girl surprised me, she was reading R.U.R.

While robot means robot even in Polish, rabat can mean a discount or a patch of flowers.

Robot-icz

[rosemerced.livejournal.com]

seemz like the dictionary word for ROBOT has been used ... the only thing i could think of is the dance craze style "robot" in the 1980s ... where one dances so mechanically ...

having read the article by Asmov, I am reminded by the movie made my Williams the Centennial Man or something to that name ...

Re: Robot-icz

[complicittheory.livejournal.com]

that could be it :)

[complicittheory.livejournal.com]

I thought I'd responded to this already. This was an amazing post. I've never even seen another copy other than the one I have, which was a gift. And I've never heard of the JAO. I must check this out. Thanks! Found some web sites, and stuff on the net. Neat.

Re: Robot-icz

[rosemerced.livejournal.com]

If the ece912 did the robot-icz dance of the 1980s i think we would do a great job dancing so mechanically ... hmmm how about break dancing?

[sflemmings.livejournal.com]

The only thing I can think of to add to the definition of Robot is that it is not human. It is not alive, and therefore cannot experience such sensations as taste, touch and emotions in general.