Conclusion

Asimov’s science fiction psychohistory, which he first published in 1942 and added to for the remaining 50 years of his life, is a wonderful fantasy of individuals standing up to the forces of history and changing its course for the better. His fictional mathematical psychohistory is so much easier than the real-life psychohistory scholars and psychotherapists have been struggling to write throughout our century. Isaac Asimov neither coined the term psychohistory, which was in use at least as early as 1922, nor invented the notion of a mathematical study of society. He did do an enormous amount to popularize these concepts and science generally. His readers appear to be thoughtful people who often come from a scientific or technical background and who feel a debt of gratitude to Asimov for opening their eyes to many new ideas in the worlds of fantasy and reality.