Scientist, author, visionary, scuba diver, Oscar nominee, President of the International Space University and knight of the realm. Only a few of the words to describe the man best known for writing "2001 - A Space Odyssey".As a science fiction fan Clarke stood among the elite, the very top echelon of the genre. Isaac Asimov certainly out produced him (of course Asimov wrote more books than some countries), Robert Heinlein probably out sold him. It's hard to imagine anyone else at this level. (I can hear the SciFi fans getting wound up. Bring me anyone else that had this level of production, this kind of sweeping vision and who profoundly altered the landscape of the genre and we'll talk)
Clarke came up with the idea of communication satellites at a time when no one would even consider such ideas (he was turned down by at least one publication because the idea was considered too "fanciful"). Geo-synchronous orbits are referred to as Clarke orbits.
My favorite books of his include - 2001, Rendezvous with Rama, Tales from the White Hart(sci-fi and mystery and wordplay!)and Childhood's End.
A great loss.
Clarke was undecided on the subject of God in his lifetime but not a fan of religion. I hope that God will take Clarke's good sense about religion into consideration when they meet.
Rest in Peace and thank you for the adventures you led me on.
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1 comment:
He was an author with some amazing ideas. I found his relentless optimism about the future of humanity the most attractive part of his stories - even though he lived in Sri Lanka which is torn apart with violence.
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