Forum: Lost Stories

Old Sci-Fi Political Story about Selecting a president

PotomacBob 🚫

Once upon a time, a good many years ago, there was a science-fiction story about how that society selected a president of the United States.
The story is decades old, written before computers were ordinary, certainly before there was the Internet. I cannot remember whether it might have been a short story as part of a collection, or maybe half of one of those paperbacks that had a "front cover" on both sides.
Somehow (computers, maybe - or maybe the powers that be) chose a single individual who would cast one vote, and the person he selected would become the new president.
Sorry for the fuzzy details; that's the best I remember it. Anybody else remember the story and can supply the name or author?

Replies: tendertouch PotomacBob

Wheezer 🚫

I remember the story. IIRC, it was a short story in an anthology or collection of short stories. I don't recall if all stories were by one author, or multiple authors. I do seem to remember that the story centered around the poor schmuck selected to make the one vote and how the attendant celebrity status affected his life.

Unfortunately, I'm clueless as to author or title.

Ernest Bywater 🚫

I remember reading it too, since nearly all of the sci-fi stories I read back then were by the better John W Campbell authors like Anderson, Asimov, Heinlein, Niven etc. it should be by one of them, and it was a short story.

tendertouch 🚫
Updated:

@PotomacBob

Isaac Asimov, 'Franchise'. I haven't read it but a quick Google turned it up right at the top.

Replies: PotomacBob

PotomacBob 🚫

@tendertouch

Thank you very much. I failed utterly in finding it using Google. Would you mind sharing your search terms?

tendertouch 🚫

One man chosen by computer to select the president science fiction

The science fiction part is important, otherwise you get critiques of the Electoral College first.

Replies: PotomacBob

PotomacBob 🚫

@tendertouch

thank you. I did not know you could effectively use search terms with that many words.

Replies: Keet

Keet 🚫

@PotomacBob

Here's a good search query that will give you a wealth of information about hoe to search: "how to enter a good search query". No joke, seriously, try it.

Replies: richardshagrin

richardshagrin 🚫

@Keet

hoe to search

It isn't a good idea to use a hoe to search, likely it will scratch or otherwise damage the keyboard.

Replies: Keet paliden

Keet 🚫
Updated:

@richardshagrin

It isn't a good idea to use a hoe to search, likely it will scratch or otherwise damage the keyboard.

The search site will ask you politely: "did you mean 'how to search'?".
I sometimes abuse that feature to check the spelling of a word :)

Replies: Obliterous

Obliterous 🚫
Updated:

@Keet

sometimes abuse that feature to check the spelling of a word :)

This feature exists as it does now, because it used to be invoked as 'spellcheck:-randomword-'

paliden 🚫

@richardshagrin

It isn't a good idea to use a hoe to search, likely it will scratch or otherwise damage the keyboard.

You are thinking of the wrong kind of ho. LOL

LonelyDad 🚫

You can pretty much use as many terms as you fell are necessary. You just have to understand how the are going to be parsed. Unadorned, they are all 'anded'. You can add 'and' and 'or' actuators, as well as other ones, as needed. Just find the section that defines all the operators are for searching.

Zellus 🚫

https://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/20-tips-use-google-search-efficiently.html

Replies: awnlee jawking

awnlee jawking 🚫
Updated:

@Zellus

Surely Mustang -car would be even better ;)

AJ

PotomacBob 🚫

@PotomacBob

Looks like the original story was from 1955.

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Forum: Lost Stories

Old Sci-Fi Political Story about Selecting a president

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