Arthur C. Clarke – June 2007

Sir Arthur Charles Clarke is a British author and inventor, most famous for his science-fiction novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, and for collaborating with director Stanley Kubrick on the film of the same name. Clarke’s work is marked by an optimistic view of science empowering mankind’s exploration of the solar system. His early published stories would usually feature the extrapolation of a technological innovation or scientific breakthrough into the underlying decadence of his own society. He later elaborated on his optimism of the future by creating three “laws” of prediction. We will use his second law for the month of June which we think best describes his train of thought on the future.

Source: the essay Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination, in his book Profiles of the Future (1962); This statement is often referred to as “Clarke’s Second Law”

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