Arthur C Clarke

[matgb]

tiredstars reminded me elsewhere I have an apology to make. faeriecween?

http://www.lsi.usp.br/~rbianchi/clarke/ACC.Laws.html

In the book Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry into the Limits of the Possible Arthur C. Clarke states his three Laws, which are formulated as follows:

Clarke's First Law:

"When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong."

Clarke defines the adjective 'elderly' as :"In physics, mathematics and astronautics it means over thirty; in other disciplines, senile decay is sometimes postponed to the forties. There are of course, glorious exceptions; but as every researcher just out of college knows, scientists of over fifty are good for nothing but board meetings, and should at all costs be kept out of the laboratory". (in Profiles of the Future.)

Clarke's Second Law:

"The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible."

Clarke's Third Law:

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

Thought he wrote after the laws that "Since three laws was sufficient for both the Isaacs - Newton and Asimov - I have decided to stop here", he continued to write laws, as we can see in the Appendix 2 of The Odissey File where he states Clarke's 69th Law:

"Reading computer manuals without the hardware is as frustrating as reading sex manuals without the software."

There was a broadcast on the BBC today, and it reminded me how much I've always liked the old buffer. As I was misquoting him in conversation yesterday without realising it, a tribute post and a link to the Listen Again seems like a good plan.

Comments

[faeriecween.livejournal.com]

Apology accepted. Me I am always right. :o)

[matgb]

Always? Ok... ;-)

[faeriecween.livejournal.com]

Well except when I'm wrong of course, but we don't talk about that...