The Fun They Had

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The Fun They Had is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in a children's newspaper in 1951, and was reprinted in the collections Earth Is Room Enough (1957) and The Best of Isaac Asimov (1973).

A very short (three page) story, in which a young girl in the future ponders how enjoyable the twentieth century school-based education system was, in comparison with the automated home-tutoring system of her time. Written by Asimov as a personal favour for a friend, the story went on to become more popular than he expected. It is the most anthologised of all Asimov's stories and has appeared in many publications outside of the science fiction genre.

Story: The famous American SF-writer Isaac Asimov already anticipated in the 1950s the developments in computer and communications technology. In this story he depicts the world in the year 2157 when each child has his/her own machine teacher.


Earth Is Room Enough
The Dead Past | The Foundation of S.F. Success | Franchise | Gimmicks Three | Kid Stuff | The Watery Place | Living Space | The Message | Satisfaction Guaranteed | Hell-Fire | The Last Trump | The Fun They Had | Jokester | The Immortal Bard | Someday | The Author's Ordeal | Dreaming Is a Private Thing


The Best of Isaac Asimov
Marooned Off Vesta | Nightfall | C-Chute | The Martian Way | The Deep | The Fun They Had | The Last Question | The Dead Past | The Dying Night | Anniversary | The Billiard Ball | Mirror Image