Birth of a Notion (short story)
| "Birth of a Notion" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Isaac Asimov | |
| Country |  USA |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction short story |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Amazing Stories |
| Publication type | Periodical |
| Publisher | Ziff-Davis |
| Media type | Print (Magazine, Hardback & Paperback) |
| Publication date | April 1976 |
Birth of a Notion is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. The story was written to celebrate the semicentennial (fiftieth anniversary) of the magazine Amazing Stories in April 1976. It appeared in the 1976 collection The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories.
Simeon Weill, a physicist, experiments with time travel and travels back to New York in 1925, where he meets Hugo Gernsback, a science fiction author and Weill's hero.
Although only given a few minutes sitting with Gernsback on a park bench, he manages to convey to the author some of the scientific developments to come in the next fifty years. Just before being transported back to 1976, he suggests that Gernsback's proposed science fiction magazine be titled Amazing Stories.