Frabjous Times

‘When I wrote my first few robot stories in 1939 and 1940, I imagined a “positronic brain” of a spongy type of platinum-iridium alloy. It was platinum-iridium because that is a particularly inert metal and is least likely to undergo chemical changes. It was spongy so that it would offer an enormous surface on which electrical patterns could be formed and un-formed. It was “positronic” because four years before my first robot story, the positron had been discovered in a reverse kind of electron, so that “positronic” in place of “electronic” had a delightful science-fiction sound.
‘Nowadays, of course, my positronic platinum-iridium brain is hopelessly archaic.’ — Isaac Asimov
Sam Patania Pendant and chain 1999 Fabricated platinum/iridium, 24k gold, aquamarine, golden beryl, diamonds