Tuesday, March 18, 2008

He Was Still Alive?! (Arthur C. Clarke)

Arthur C. Clarke, Premier Science Fiction Writer, Dies at 90...

2001 was great. Turns out it was mainly Kubrick. But I heard a speech from Clarke (on the 2001 DVD) and one line has stayed with me. I'm paraphrasing, but basically he asks what would happen if, in 1850, we had been given an image of the future, a jet airplane. To just know that the jet was possible would greatly clarify our thinking and enable a giant leap in technology and science. This is what he claimed would happen if we encountered alien intelligence (and what's the basis of the book/movie).

Note, this is the (unwritten?) basis for the great, underrated, Galaxy Quest.

Pic from here.

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