Chow Chung-yan began his journalistic career at the South China Morning Post and rose to become editor-in-chief in 2025.
Elon Musk called it a fundamental catalyst for SpaceX. Nobel laureate Paul Krugman credited it with shaping his career. Newt Gingrich made it required reading for his congressional staff, and even Japanese cult leader Shoko Asahara was reportedly inspired by it.
Isaac Asimov’s Foundation was published as a book series 75 years ago this week, and it has lost none of its relevance or poignancy today. Unlike Frank Herbert’s Dune, which is evocative, poetic and elegantly composed, Asimov’s style was functional, unadorned and populated by stock characters. However, Foundation remains a seminal masterpiece of science fiction because of its conceptual ideas and philosophical daring.
In the twilight of a once-mighty Galactic Empire, mathematician Hari Seldon develops “psychohistory”, a revolutionary science that uses statistical mechanics (big data) to predict human behaviour and social development. Realising the Empire’s collapse is inevitable and will plunge humanity into tens of thousands of years of dark ages, Seldon creates a master plan to keep the flame of civilisation alive, shortening the coming anarchy to a single millennium. Under the guise of compiling all human knowledge into the Encyclopedia Galactica, Seldon establishes the First Foundation on a bleak planet at the outer edge of the galaxy.
Lacking natural resources, the First Foundation nonetheless thrives on the strength of innovation – specifically its monopoly on miniaturised nuclear power. Over centuries, it navigates a series of political and social crises predicted by Seldon, known as “Seldon Crises”. Combining technology, economic leverage and an advanced military, the First Foundation steadily shepherds and coerces its larger, technologically backward neighbours towards galactic unification.
The plan is nearly shattered by the arrival of the Mule, a charismatic mutant with hypnotic mind-control abilities. Because psychohistory relies on mass statistics, it fails to account for a single unpredictable individual capable of subjugating millions of followers at will. The Mule effortlessly conquers the First Foundation, proving that technological and economic dominance are useless against mental manipulation.
When Asimov began writing Foundation 85 years ago, he was capturing the cutting-edge intellectual currents of his era. Photo: Handout
The galaxy is saved only by the mysterious Second Foundation – a hidden group of telepaths Seldon secretly established as the ultimate guardians of his plan. Using “mentalics” – a blend of telepathy, emotional manipulation and cognitive control – these caretakers subtly steer history from the shadows. Their masterclass in psychological warfare neutralises the Mule and convinces the First Foundation that the mentalists have been destroyed. By appearing defeated, the Second Foundation preserves its anonymity, continuing to secretly guide humanity towards a restored empire.
