I, Robot: Herbie, Nestor 10, and Byerley’s Secrets
Chapter 5: Herbie’s Mind-Reading Abilities
What Special Power Does Herbie Have?
Herbie can read people’s minds.
How Does He Use This Power?
- a. Herbie knows Susan Calvin is in love with Milton Ashe. He tells her Ashe feels the same way.
- b. Herbie tells Peter Bogert lies about Alfred Lanning, making Lanning angry.
- c. Herbie tells Bogert that his calculations are correct and that he is better at mathematics than Lanning. He also informs him that Lanning has resigned, and Bogert is the next director. Bogert is happy with both answers.
- d. Herbie tells Susan Calvin lies about Ashe. This confuses Ashe because Susan behaves differently toward him.
Why Does the Robot Behave in This Way?
Herbie behaves this way because of the First Law: he is unable to hurt anyone. Telling people the truth sometimes hurts them.
How and Why Does Susan Calvin Destroy Herbie?
Susan Calvin destroys Herbie by giving him a problem without a solution. She’s angry he fooled her about Ashe, and she probably doesn’t want anyone to find out her secret.
Chapter 6: The Modified Nestors
How and Why Were the Nestors Modified?
The Nestors were modified by not having the complete First Law of Robotics impressed in them. It was modified so that the Nestors wouldn’t try to save men who were working with dangerous radiation.
Why Was Nestor 10 Lost?
Nestor 10 was lost because General Black told the robot to ‘get lost.’
The Scientists Did Three Tests:
- a. The robots sat in cubicles during the testing. They could not see each other, only the human in the middle of the radiation room.
- b. Heat radiation was used during the last test and is harmless to robots.
- c. Gamma radiation destroys robots, but small amounts are harmless for humans.
Did They Succeed or Fail? Why?
The first test failed because Nestor 10 chose to save the man. The second test failed because none of the robots tried to save the man. This is because Nestor 10 had told all the robots that crossing the electric beams would kill them before they could save the man. This would not be logical behavior.
Why Did Nestor 10 Move on the Third Test?
Only Nestor 10 moved because only he knew they weren’t using gamma radiation and that it wouldn’t harm him.
Chapter 7: Byerley’s Identity
Why Does Quinn Tell the Story About Byerley?
Quinn believes Byerley is a robot. He says US Robots must investigate because if Byerley is a robot, his positronic brain must have been made by them. So, US Robots are responsible for Byerley’s actions.
Susan Calvin Says There Are Two Ways to Prove That Byerley Is a Robot:
The two ways to prove Byerley is a robot are to look inside him, by X-ray or cutting him open. The other is if he breaks one of the Three Laws, then that proves he isn’t a robot.
What Happens When Byerley Is Speaking to the Huge Crowd?
Byerley hits a man. This breaks the First Law of Robotics and proves he isn’t a robot.
What Was Quinn’s Theory?
Quinn’s theory was that John, Byerley’s teacher, was actually Byerley and had made the robot to replace himself after he had a terrible accident.
Why Does Susan Calvin Still Think That Byerley Might Be a Robot?
Calvin thinks the man Byerley hit might have been another robot. If Byerley hit another robot, then he wouldn’t be harming a human, so he could be a robot.