The Machine that won the war by Issac Asimov

No.	Page	Question	Answer
STORY FIVE– The Machine that won the war
1	80	The story starts with a celebration, in which something ‘had not been halted long’. What is this something, and for what time period might it still be halted for?	Multivac, a giant computer, has not been halted for long. It will be halted for between a day and a week.
2	80	For what reason do you think the computer was halted?	The computer seems to have been halted because of peace with ‘Deneb’
3	80	John Henderson is talking about the end of war and the destruction of the Denebians. Is this sentence about his mood true or false? ‘John was ecstatic about the destruction of the Denebians but able to regulate his happiness.”	This is false. We know this because Asimov writes that John found it ‘hard to control the relief he felt’. He was unable to regulate his happiness in this situation.
4	81	Swift argues that the computer Multivac saved the group from the Denebians. He glances at the ‘imperturbable’ Jablonsky. How would you differently describe Jablonsky’s reaction in this moment? a)Terrified b) Unbelieving c) Unsure d) Calm and collected e) Confused	The only answer which is an appropriate synonym for ‘imperturbable’ is d) calm and collected.
5	81	How many people were allowed to smoke in the tunnels of Multivac?	Just one, Jablonsky.
6	81	There is a conversation going on here between a group of people about whether Multivac won the war or not. What are the full names of the people talking?	Max Jablonsky, John Henderson, Lamar Swift
7	81	Who of the above thinks that Multivac won the war, and who thinks that Multivac did not win the war?	Did not win: Henderson, Jablonsky Won: Swift
8	81	Henderson is overwhelmed by a sense of guilt and has to inform the others that ‘Multivac had nothing to do with victory’. What gives Henderson the right to have such an authoritative opinion on this subject?	Henderson should know because he supplied the data to the computer. He was ‘chief programmer’.
9	82	Henderson explains to Swift and Jablonsky his understanding of how Multivac worked. What does he say Multivac’s data was made up of?	He says that Multivac’s data was made up of a hundred subsidiary computers on Earth, on the Moon, on Mars, and even on Titan.
10	82	Henderson continues to convey his anger about how little the others know about working for Multivac. In this exchange, we learn a little more about the what the characters were doing throughout the war. What do we learn?	Lamar Swift: Never left the mansion except on state visits Max Jablonsky: Never left Multivac Henderson: Chief Programmer
11	82	What does Henderson mean when he says that the others were not ‘out in the thick of it’?	The expression ‘in the thick of it’ means to be completely involved in an activity or a situation. So the idea that the others were not ‘out in the thick of it’ means that they were not fully involved in the war itself.
12	83	Throughout Henderson is admitting something about the nature of the data that Multivac provided and the way in which that data was manipulated. What is he admitting about what the data could not actually do?	Henderson is admitting that Multivac’s data was meaningless and unreliable. It was supposed to predict and circumvent any Denebian move but it could not do so.
13	83	In what way did Henderson manipulate the data?	He corrected the data and made it ‘look right’. He wrote out the necessary data as they were needed. He had Multivac Annex prepare data for him according to a private programming pattern.

14	83	Do you think that computer data is more reliable than the human mind? What from the story could support your idea?	This is a question with a number of potential answers. Answers should display analytic and linguistic depth.
15	84	We learn that Jablonsky also did not approach the Multivac in the way that he was supposed to. Why did Jablonsky ignore the report about unauthorized use of the Multivac Annex?	He ignored it because he did not think that the data mattered.
16	84	Who abandoned Jablonsky as the war came to a close?	His technicians
17	85	Soon after, we learn that even Swift did not take the data seriously. Why was this?	Swift points to the ambiguity of the data given by Multivac. He also says that he could not be certain what Multivac was saying.
18	85	Which of these sentences shares its meaning with the following: “Caught up in the conspiracy of mutual confession, Jablonsky put titles aside.” 1- Over excited by the group telling of secrets, Jablonsky decided to use first names instead of last names. 2- Terrified by the idea that everybody was telling secrets, Jablonsky decided to put his data to the side. 3- Unsure as to whether it was the right time to tell anybody, Jablonsky put his best data to the side.	The answer is 1.
19	85	In what time and place is this story set? a) On planet earth in the past b) On planet earth in the future c) On planet Multivac in the present d) On planet Rexor in the future e) On planet Solar in the future	The answer is b). It is set on planet earth in the future.
20	85/86	Given that Swift did not take the data seriously, what did he use to make decisions? What is so special about this choice of object over and above Multivac?	Swift used a coin to make decisions. This is special because a coin does not involve data, but simply human luck. It is not, therefore, a giant computer like Multivac.
21	86	What message is Asimov trying to portray by showing that none of the three leaders trusted the data of Multivac?	He seems to be trying to show that we place too much trust in computers, and that humans can be just as good ‘machines’ without the need for accurate data.
22	86	How is the title ‘The Machine That Won The War’ ambiguous?	It is ambiguous because it could point either to Multivac, or most probably, to the coin that Swift used to finally make his decisions.