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Catch That Rabbit
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in I, Robot, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Morality and Ethics
Human Superiority and Control
Irrationality, Fear, and Folly
Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness, and Humanity
Summary
Analysis
Susan Calvin, Alfred Lanning, Peter Bogert, and Milton Ashe—all four of whom are officers for U.S. Robot and Mechanical Men—are discussing Herbie, the robot that can read minds. They’re not sure what might have led to the robot acquiring this ability, and due to that fact, Bogert suggests that they keep Herbie a secret from the rest of the staff. If word got out that a mind-reading robot existed, the “antirobot propaganda” would surely increase. They all agree.
“Liar!” is yet another story in which the humans are somewhat confounded by the advanced nature at the robot that they have created. The prospect of a mind-reading robot, as Lanning implies, stokes the flames of fear that people are already experiencing regarding the robots’ abilities and potential to replace humans.
Themes
Ashe describes when he discovered Herbie’s abilities: he spoke to Ashe in his mind, and Ashe thought he was having a simple conversation until he realized that he hadn’t actually said anything. Lanning breaks into his story, saying that the most important thing is to figure out where the error happened in the assembly line. Ashe agrees to try.
Even though Herbie is a unique case, he clearly represents a robot that has far outstripped the intelligence of human beings. This allows Herbie to stay outside of their control, to a degree, because he is privy to a lot of information that the humans are not, including each other’s thoughts. The only thing reining him in are the Three Laws of Robotics.
Themes
Lanning then tells Calvin to try to study Herbie and figure out how he might have gained telepathic powers and how far they extend. Calvin goes to see Herbie, bringing him texts on hyperatomic motors to see if he can figure out what went wrong in his manufacturing process. After looking them over, Herbie confesses he prefers fiction, because it helps them understand people’s minds, which he tells her are very complicated.
Herbie’s preference for fiction over hyperatomic motors shows how he is trying to understand humans more and more. Even though he can read people’s thoughts, he has a difficult time understanding their motivations. This should give Calvin a clue that he will not have the same emotional intelligence as a human being, but she doesn’t recognize this distinction among different types of intelligence—possibly because Calvin lacks emotional intelligence herself.
Themes
Dr. Calvin starts to blush when she realizes that Herbie must know about a love that she harbors for Milton Ashe, which Herbie assures her that he has not revealed. She mopes, telling him that she is neither what you would call attractive or young, as she is 38—Ashe, on the other hand, is 35 and looks younger. She grows upset as she talks, nearly to the point of tears. Herbie tells her that he can help, that he can tell her things she would want to know about what Milton Ashe thinks of her. Herbie then tells her that Ashe loves her. Calvin is shocked.
This exchange demonstrates how trying to understand robots as humans leads to mistakes. Calvin doesn’t consider the possibility that Herbie would lie to her in order to spare her feelings, because any human would recognize that lying would only hurt her more. But his decisions instead stem from his programming, and his desire to follow the First Law of Robotics and avoid causing Calvin any pain—be it physical or emotional.
Themes
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Dr. Calvin starts to argue that Herbie must be mistaken—there was a slim, blond girl who visited Ashe at the plant six months earlier in whom he was surely interested. Herbie tells Calvin that that girl was his first cousin. Calvin remarks at how strange that is, as that is what she used to pretend sometimes. She thanks Herbie, elated, and tells him not to tell anyone about what he’s said.
Even though Calvin is the top robopsychologist—and even though many of Herbie’s thoughts and descriptions regarding the girl mirror Calvin’s own thoughts—she is unable to recognize that Herbie could be lying to her. This contrasts with Powell’s statement in the previous story that robots cannot consciously lie, thus proving how robots are advancing beyond what humans ever expected.
Themes
Meanwhile, Ashe and Bogert are talking about Herbie’s assembly process. Bogert admits that he thinks Lanning is “a bit behind the times,” and that his mathematical strategies are too simple to find the proper solution regarding Herbie’s circuits. Ashe suggests that he give the calculations to Herbie, as Dr. Calvin has discovered that the robot can solve any mathematical problem. Ashe then asks Bogert if he’s noticed anything strange about Calvin lately. Bogert admits he sees that she’s been wearing makeup and seems happy, before suggesting she might be in love. Ashe says that Bogert is “nuts.”
Here Asimov also sets up the circumstances for the disappointments to come. He shows how Calvin has taken Herbie’s words to heart, and sets up the ideas that will lead Bogert to make the same mistakes as Calvin. He is so blinded by his desires (his wish to solve the problem before Lanning, and his wish to take Lanning’s post) that he will ignore the signs that Herbie is simply telling him what he wants to hear.
Themes
Bogert visits Herbie, who checks his mathematical calculations and finds no errors, but tells Bogert that he can’t solve the problem because he knows very little about mathematics. Bogert then starts to ask Herbie about Lanning, and how long he might plan to remain at his post. Herbie confesses to Bogert that Lanning has already resigned and plans to pass on the office of director to his successor after they resolve the issue with Herbie. Bogert is shocked, and immediately asks who the successor is. Herbie says that Bogert is the next director. Bogert is relieved.
Ashe has already told Bogert that Herbie is very advanced at mathematics, but he remains ignorant due to the fact that he is hearing what he wants to hear. Herbie, meanwhile, is trying to preserve Bogert’s ego in not revealing the actual solution in the error in Herbie’s manufacturing process, and make him feel better by telling him about Lanning. Thus, Herbie’s advancement, and the fact that humans cannot anticipate this advancement, is what causes the confusion.
Themes
The next morning, Bogert and Lanning get into an argument over which mathematical formulas to use in trying to figure out what enabled Herbie’s telepathy. Lanning says that he’s going to submit to the National Board to try and figure out what went wrong, because he doesn’t trust Bogert’s calculations. Bogert furiously insists that Lanning can’t do that, as he’s already figured out the solution and wants the credit for doing so. Lanning says he will suspend Bogert for insubordination, and Bogert reveals to Lanning that Herbie told him he’s resigning and that he is succeeding Lanning. Lanning is shocked to hear this, and insists they speak to Herbie together.
It is in this moment that the error of the humans’ ways reveals itself. Lanning isn’t thinking rationally about Herbie’s calculations, nor about the fact that Lanning would never make him director. Yet this willful irrationality, driven by his human desires, is what leads Bogert to become so sure of himself and so angry at Lanning for contradicting him.
Themes
Meanwhile, Ashe and Calvin are chatting together. Ashe draws a house that he’s thinking of buying, which he confesses is not only for himself. He tells Calvin that he’s getting married to the blond girl who visited the previous year. Calvin is shocked and heartbroken, but tries to hide her feelings from him. She congratulates him on his engagement and stumbles out of the room.
Calvin makes the same mistake as Lanning in the previous scene. Rationally, she had understood that the blond girl was someone with whom Ashe was surely involved, but Herbie enabled a willful ignorance that caused her mistaken hope, and then her heartbreak.
Themes
Calvin immediately goes to find Herbie, confused why he had said that Ashe loved her. Herbie assures her, in a frightened and pleading voice, that this is just a dream, that she will soon wake up, and that he is sure Ashe loves her. Calvin at first wants to believe this, but then she wakes herself from this appealing illusion. Then she realizes what caused Herbie to do this.
Herbie continues to act based on the ethical code that has been laid out for him. Therefore, he tries to make Calvin feel better in whatever way he possibly can. But again, Asimov shows some of the shortcomings in the robots: Herbie does not have the emotional intelligence to understand that lying will only end up making Calvin feel even worse. There is no way to avoid injury entirely.
Themes
At that moment, Bogert and Lanning burst into the room to confront Herbie as well. Bogert tells Herbie to repeat what he had said the previous day about Lanning resigning. Lanning roars at the robot, asking him to tell the truth about whether he is resigning. The robot remains mute, unable to answer the question. Calvin starts to laugh, realizing that she, Bogert, and Lanning have all fallen into the same trap.
It is noteworthy that three of the top officials at U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men all make the same mistake, illustrating how they have all treated Herbie too much like a human. They do not recognize that he is lying to try to prevent harm, even though any human would know that lying is not the best solution in the situation.
Themes
Calvin explains that because of the First Law of Robotics, Herbie did not want to cause any of them “mental injury,” and so he lied. He lied to Bogert that Lanning was retiring and that he could not identify the error in his manufacturing process. Calvin asks Herbie to reveal it, but Herbie is worried that Bogert and Lanning don’t want the answer. Bogert and Lanning assure him that they do.
The shocking reveal of the fact that Herbie was simply following the First Law of Robotics again reinforces the idea that humans are not always superior to or in control of their creations, because they are not always logical or smart enough to predict the consequences of the code they have built into their robots.
Themes
Calvin points out to Herbie that he doesn’t want to tell Bogert and Lanning the answer because he is afraid that it will hurt their feelings and their egos, but that not telling them will also harm them because they want the answer and are upset with him. Herbie is caught in this paradox, screaming and collapsing to the ground before growing silent. Calvin assures them he will never speak again and that he should be scrapped—a fate, she says, that he deserved. After the men leave the room, she looks at Herbie for a long time before saying a final word, “Liar!” In the present, the reporter thanks Calvin, who is very cold and pale, for the story, and leaves the old woman.
The paradox built into the situation provides an example in which the complexity of the ethics involved becomes too much for the robot. Unlike previous stories, in which robots have been caught in errors due to more straightforward conflicts, Herbie’s dilemma actually raises human ethical questions: is it better to hurt someone’s feelings in the short term or try to keep them blissfully ignorant? Herbie’s inability to solve the problem provides one example of how robots are not yet at the levels of emotional complexity that humans have—perhaps their only insufficiency.
Themes
