Line #25 Literature/InsertKnobAInHoleB


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/9a54b2becec9a0292e43f6057c5de969_1.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Little did Dr. Asimov know, IKEA were about to steal his robot]]
3	At 8:00pm on 21 August 1957, Dr Asimov was participating on [[ScienceShow a televised discussion panel]] convened to share the importance of clearly communicating scientific ideas. Creator/IsaacAsimov represented science fiction, Creator/JohnHansen represented technical documents, and Creator/DavidOWoodbury represented science fact.
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5	During the discussion, Dr Asimov claimed that he could write under any circumstances and his fellow panelists [[TheBet challenged him to prove his claim]] by writing a new ShortStory before the end of the panel. He accepted this invitation with excitement (having primed himself to expect the challenge while backstage), and began writing vigorously. With his {{Pride}} at stake, Dr Asimov continued to participate in the panel while creating the story. Before 8:30pm, he read the story aloud for the StudioAudience.
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7	"Insert Knob A in Hole B" takes place [[SpaceStation in a remote outpost]] where [[WriteWhoYouKnow his fellow panelists]] have been having trouble assembling the various equipment they've been provided with. At best, their equipment is somewhat functional, and some of the life-support systems [[TechnoDystopia occasionally stop working]]. Like the panelists they’re based on, Hansen and Woodbury complained about poorly written technical documents. They sent formal (and emphatic) requests for solutions. To help them, a robot was designed to assemble any possible machine that has ever been built, no building instructions needed. Now that it's arrived, Hansen and Woodberry discuss what they'll instruct the robot to reassemble first. The crate is [[TheReveal opened to reveal]]... [[ShaggyDogStory a blurry sheet of badly written directions and five hundred pieces to assemble]].
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9	This story was later published in ''Magazine/TheMagazineOfFantasyAndScienceFiction'' (December 1957), ''Literature/NightfallAndOtherStories'' (1969), ''Literature/IsaacAsimovTheCompleteStoriesVolume1'' (1990), ''Literature/TellMeAStoryScienceFictionOne'' (1997), ''Podcast/CreationMythOrMiracle'' (13 December 2013)
10	----
11	!!The following tropes may need some assembly:
12	* TheAnnotatedEdition:
13	** When it was published in ''Magazine/TheMagazineOfFantasyAndScienceFiction'', the editor's introduction focused on Dr Asimov's [[BeyondTheImpossible incredible list of achievements]] since this story was yet another; [[FlashFiction a story written in twenty minutes while engaged in a conversation]]. Naturally, this introduction is longer than the story itself.
14	** When it was published in ''Literature/NightfallAndOtherStories'', this story contained an introduction where Dr Asimov explained the inspiration behind the story.
15	* AntiClimax: The story is a build-up to a ScienceFiction resolution to the elimination of unclear assembly instructions. The solution created by the best engineers on Earth is... [[ShaggyDogStory an unassembled robot with unclear assembly instructions]].
16	* AudioAdaptation: Adapted to audiobook format by Creator/PaulWilliams for his {{Anthology}} named ''Literature/TellMeAStoryScienceFictionOne''.
17	* BeigeProse: Due to the [[FlashFiction tight time constraints]], this story is positively minimalist, using physically descriptive adjectives with emotional connotations to drive the viewer's imagination. Because he was performing in front of an audience when he initially wrote this story, [[FeaturelessPlaneOfDisembodiedDialogue he didn't describe the protagonists very much]], relying on the fact that he was [[WriteWhoYouKnow using his fellow panelists]] to tell the story.
18	* ConstrainedWriting: Creator/IsaacAsimov wrote this story while live on television (although he admitted he saw the challenge coming and prepared for it). The preparation time was a few minutes before the show started.
19	* DisintegratorRay: Hansen and Woodbury use "demoleculizer rods" to take apart the crate, making sure not to damage the contents inside.
20	* FeaturelessPlaneOfDisembodiedDialogue: The characters and setting are [[BeigeProse barely given any description]], Dr Asimov relies on the StudioAudience being able to see his fellow panelists and the context of the panel itself to paint the scene. The only room mentioned in the entire space station is the airlock.
21	* FlashFiction: Dr. Asimov was challenged to write a complete story that shared a CentralTheme with the discussion panel from scratch before the end of the discussion panel. This 350 word story is the result.
22	* FurnitureAssemblyGag: Hansen and Woodbury, two scientists in the remote SpaceStation A5, have trouble with assembling all the necessary equipment sent to them, since the instructions are poorly written and barely legible. Their bosses on Earth respond to their complaints bysending a robot capable of assembling any piece of machinery, no instructions necessary. [[TheKeyIsBehindTheLock But the robot ships to them in disassembled form, with "one blurred and ambiguous direction sheet for assemblage."]]
23	* TheKeyIsBehindTheLock: The machine that can correctly put together the components of any device, is disassembled into its components for shipping.
24	* RapidFireInterrupting: If you can find a copy of the show, you'll see Hansen and Woodbury are deliberately trying to interrupt Dr Asimov as he writes this story, making it harder for him to win the bet.
25	* ScienceShow: WGBH invited Creator/IsaacAsimov, Creator/JohnHansen, and Creator/DavidOWoodbury to present on the importance of clear communication for science and technical ideas.
26	* ShaggyDogStory: In almost a whole year, the two characters have been unable to correctly assemble a single piece of equipment due to the poorly written instructions. So Earth sends a robot which will perfectly assemble any machine without need of instructions. [[TheKeyIsBehindTheLock It arrives unassembled, with a set of poorly written instructions.]]
27	* TechnoDystopia: Hansen and Woodbury are struggling with life on SpaceStation A5, due to the fact that ''none'' of their equipment works correctly.
28	* WhamLine: [[ShaggyDogStory "And there within it were five hundred separate pieces-and one blurred and ambiguous direction sheet for assemblage."]]

Context Literature / InsertKnobAInHoleB