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* ArtifactTitle: At the end of the story, George asks about an InUniverse example; Olympics Day. The UsefulNotes/OlympicGames 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.
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* ArtifactTitle: ArtifactName: At the end of the story, George asks about an InUniverse example; Olympics Day. The UsefulNotes/OlympicGames 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.
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-> ''Some people can't be taught, no matter what method you use. Even the [[NeuralImplanting Education Tape machine]] failed on some abnormal individuals...''
--> --Introduction in ''Astounding Science Fiction''
First published in ''Magazine/AstoundingScienceFiction'' (July 1957 issue), it was reprinted in the UK edition for the November 1957 issue. This ScienceFiction {{Novella}} by Creator/IsaacAsimov takes place in TheFuture where everyone is educated with [[NeuralImplanting computer tapes recorded directly into your brain]]. However, there exists [[FantasticCasteSystem 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 ([[AffectionateNickname Stubby to his friends]]) were eight years old, on Reading Day. Reading Day is when children get the ability to read and write [[NeuralImplanting 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 [[OutgrowingTheChildishName Trevelyan]] take their [[IneptAptitudeTest 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 UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco 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 [[FantasticCasteSystem 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 [[FantasticCasteSystem 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 SecretTest has been passed, and George returns to the Home and Omani for the {{Denouement}}.
Outside of the original PulpMagazine, this story has been reprinted several times; ''Literature/NineTomorrows'' (1959), ''Literature/ValenceAndVisionAReaderInPsychology'' (1974), ''Literature/OtherWorldsOfIsaacAsimov'' (1987), ''Literature/TheAsimovChroniclesFiftyYearsOfIsaacAsimov'' (1989), ''Literature/AstoundingStoriesThe60thAnniversaryCollection'' (1990), ''Literature/TheCompleteStoriesVolume1'' (1990), and ''Literature/DieAsimovChronikDieVierteGeneration'' (1991).
----
!!Examples of tropes within this work:
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: This story explores the idea of a society at least four thousand years in the future, where NeuralImplanting has replaced mainstream schooling and FasterThanLightTravel 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.
* AffectionateNickname:
** 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 [[OutgrowingTheChildishName decided that it was too childish]].
* ArtifactTitle: At the end of the story, George asks about an InUniverse example; Olympics Day. The UsefulNotes/OlympicGames 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.
* BrickJoke: 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 [[ArtifactTitle why they're named]] the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames.
* DeflectorShields: [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture Far in the future]], cities like UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco 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 HolographicTerminal.
* {{Denouement}}: After George passes the SecretTest 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 BrickJoke.
* EmbarrassingFirstName: Tevelyn's first name is Armand, but he ''never'' uses it. When he was eight, he went by "Stubby", [[OutgrowingTheChildishName discarding that as he grew up]] and forcing his friends to be on a LastNameBasis with him.
* FantasticCasteSystem: 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 [[NeuralImplanting 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 [[spoiler: 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]].
* FunetikAksent: George's eight-year-old nickname, "Jaw-jee", is a phonetic spelling of the typical "Georgie".
* HowWeGotHere: 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.
* IneptAptitudeTest: 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 [[NeuralImplanting by computer]], so instead of having [[TheNamesake 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". [[spoiler:This place is a SecretTest 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.]]
* InternalizedCategorism: When the IneptAptitudeTest says that George cannot [[NeuralImplanting 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. [[spoiler:Turns out, the whole thing is part of a SecretTest 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}}.]]
* LastNameBasis: Trevelyan's full name is Armand Trevelyan, but Trevelyan preferred [[AffectionateNickname Stubby]] as a child, and still [[EmbarrassingFirstName dislikes his given name]]. His best friend (and the narration) calls him Trevelyan or [[AffectionateNickname Trev]].
* NeuralImplanting: Everyone in TheFuture learns reading when they're eight, and this is called Reading Day. After taking a [[IneptAptitudeTest neurological aptitude test]], their skills are downloaded into the brain. Naturally, your skills are only as good as the quality of the [[ComputerEqualsTapedrive tapes]] because learning without tapes is now unthinkable.
* OutgrowingTheChildishName: George and Trevelyan both had nicknames when they were eight, and they're [[ShowDontTell shown to grow up]] by discarding their nicknames by the time they're eighteen.
* SecretTest: The story begins with George living in "A House for the Feeble-minded" despite [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture a future]] where everyone is [[IneptAptitudeTest assigned a job]] and Educated (that is, [[NeuralImplanting their minds are filled with information from a computer]]) except for the [[InternalizedCategorism "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.
----
--> --Introduction in ''Astounding Science Fiction''
First published in ''Magazine/AstoundingScienceFiction'' (July 1957 issue), it was reprinted in the UK edition for the November 1957 issue. This ScienceFiction {{Novella}} by Creator/IsaacAsimov takes place in TheFuture where everyone is educated with [[NeuralImplanting computer tapes recorded directly into your brain]]. However, there exists [[FantasticCasteSystem 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 ([[AffectionateNickname Stubby to his friends]]) were eight years old, on Reading Day. Reading Day is when children get the ability to read and write [[NeuralImplanting 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 [[OutgrowingTheChildishName Trevelyan]] take their [[IneptAptitudeTest 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 UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco 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 [[FantasticCasteSystem 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 [[FantasticCasteSystem 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 SecretTest has been passed, and George returns to the Home and Omani for the {{Denouement}}.
Outside of the original PulpMagazine, this story has been reprinted several times; ''Literature/NineTomorrows'' (1959), ''Literature/ValenceAndVisionAReaderInPsychology'' (1974), ''Literature/OtherWorldsOfIsaacAsimov'' (1987), ''Literature/TheAsimovChroniclesFiftyYearsOfIsaacAsimov'' (1989), ''Literature/AstoundingStoriesThe60thAnniversaryCollection'' (1990), ''Literature/TheCompleteStoriesVolume1'' (1990), and ''Literature/DieAsimovChronikDieVierteGeneration'' (1991).
----
!!Examples of tropes within this work:
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: This story explores the idea of a society at least four thousand years in the future, where NeuralImplanting has replaced mainstream schooling and FasterThanLightTravel 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.
* AffectionateNickname:
** 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 [[OutgrowingTheChildishName decided that it was too childish]].
* ArtifactTitle: At the end of the story, George asks about an InUniverse example; Olympics Day. The UsefulNotes/OlympicGames 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.
* BrickJoke: 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 [[ArtifactTitle why they're named]] the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames.
* DeflectorShields: [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture Far in the future]], cities like UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco 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 HolographicTerminal.
* {{Denouement}}: After George passes the SecretTest 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 BrickJoke.
* EmbarrassingFirstName: Tevelyn's first name is Armand, but he ''never'' uses it. When he was eight, he went by "Stubby", [[OutgrowingTheChildishName discarding that as he grew up]] and forcing his friends to be on a LastNameBasis with him.
* FantasticCasteSystem: 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 [[NeuralImplanting 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 [[spoiler: 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]].
* FunetikAksent: George's eight-year-old nickname, "Jaw-jee", is a phonetic spelling of the typical "Georgie".
* HowWeGotHere: 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.
* IneptAptitudeTest: 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 [[NeuralImplanting by computer]], so instead of having [[TheNamesake 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". [[spoiler:This place is a SecretTest 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.]]
* InternalizedCategorism: When the IneptAptitudeTest says that George cannot [[NeuralImplanting 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. [[spoiler:Turns out, the whole thing is part of a SecretTest 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}}.]]
* LastNameBasis: Trevelyan's full name is Armand Trevelyan, but Trevelyan preferred [[AffectionateNickname Stubby]] as a child, and still [[EmbarrassingFirstName dislikes his given name]]. His best friend (and the narration) calls him Trevelyan or [[AffectionateNickname Trev]].
* NeuralImplanting: Everyone in TheFuture learns reading when they're eight, and this is called Reading Day. After taking a [[IneptAptitudeTest neurological aptitude test]], their skills are downloaded into the brain. Naturally, your skills are only as good as the quality of the [[ComputerEqualsTapedrive tapes]] because learning without tapes is now unthinkable.
* OutgrowingTheChildishName: George and Trevelyan both had nicknames when they were eight, and they're [[ShowDontTell shown to grow up]] by discarding their nicknames by the time they're eighteen.
* SecretTest: The story begins with George living in "A House for the Feeble-minded" despite [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture a future]] where everyone is [[IneptAptitudeTest assigned a job]] and Educated (that is, [[NeuralImplanting their minds are filled with information from a computer]]) except for the [[InternalizedCategorism "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.
----
