Arthur C. Clarke Quotes
December 16, 1917 – March 19, 2008
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Yet now, as he roared across the night sky toward an unknown destiny , he found himself facing that bleak and ultimate question which so few men can answer to their satisfaction. What have I done with my life , he asked himself, that the world will be poorer if I leave it.
Arthur C. Clarke— Glide Path (1963) Chapter 27
One of the biggest roles of science fiction is to prepare people to accept the future without pain and to encourage a flexibility of mind . Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories. Two-thirds of 2001 is realistic hardware and technology to establish background for the metaphysical , philosophical , and religious meanings later.
Arthur C. Clarke— As quoted in The Making of Kubrick's 2001 (1970) by Jerome Agel, p. 300
After all, it has yet to be proved that intelligence has real survival value.
Arthur C. Clarke— The Lost Worlds of 2001
If we have learned one thing from the history of invention and discovery, it is that, in the long run and often in the short one the most daring prophecies seem laughably conservative .
Arthur C. Clarke— The Exploration of Space (1951), p. 111
It is not easy to see how the more extreme forms of nationalism can long survive when men have seen the Earth in its true perspective as a single small globe against the stars .
Arthur C. Clarke— The Exploration of Space (1951), p. 187
Others, one suspects, are afraid that the crossing of space , and above all contact with intelligent but nonhuman races, may destroy the foundations of their religious faith . They may be right, but in any event their attitude is one which does not bear logical examination for a faith which cannot survive collision with the truth is not worth many regrets.
Arthur C. Clarke— The Exploration of Space (1951)
As our own species is in the process of proving, one cannot have superior science and inferior morals . The combination is unstable and self-destroying.
Arthur C. Clarke— Voices from the Sky : Previews of the Coming Space Age (1967)
Behind every man now alive stand 30 ghosts , for that is the ratio by which the dead outnumber the living.
Arthur C. Clarke— 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) "Foreword"
Perhaps our role on this planet is not to worship God but to create Him.
Arthur C. Clarke— "The Mind of the Machine" in Report on Planet Three and Other Speculations (1972)
The greatest tragedy in mankind's entire history may be the hijacking of morality by religion.
Arthur C. Clarke— "Credo" (1991); also in Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds! : Collected Essays, 1934-1998 (1999), p. 360
CNN is one of the participants in the war . I have a fantasy where Ted Turner is elected president but refuses because he doesn't want to give up power .
Arthur C. Clarke— Quoted in And I Quote: The Definitive Collection of Quotes, Sayings, and Jokes for the Contemporary Speechmaker (1992) by Ashton Applewhite, Tripp Evans and Andrew Frothingham, p. 279
It is later than you think. May it not be true for this Sundial.
Arthur C. Clarke— Inscription for a Sundial at the University of Moratuwa Sri Lanka (1996)
I'm sure the universe is full of intelligent life . It's just been too intelligent to come here.
Arthur C. Clarke— with Clarke and Gentry Lee
The Information Age offers much to mankind , and I would like to think that we will rise to the challenges it presents. But it is vital to remember that information in the sense of raw data is not knowledge, that knowledge is not wisdom, and that wisdom is not foresight. But information is the first essential step to all of these.
Arthur C. Clarke— As quoted in "Humanity will survive information deluge — Sir Arthur C Clarke" in OneWorld South Asia (5 December 2003)
There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a vacuum.
Arthur C. Clarke— As quoted in Values of the Wise : Humanity's Highest Aspirations (2004) by Jason Merchey, p. 31
The best measure of a man's honesty isn't his income tax return. It's the zero adjust on his bathroom scale.
Arthur C. Clarke— As quoted in The Mammoth Book of Zingers, Quips, and One-Liners (2004) by Geoff Tibballs, p. 264
SETI is probably the most important quest of our time , and it amazes me that governments and corporations are not supporting it sufficiently.
Arthur C. Clarke— Seti@Home Donor List (2006)
I don't believe in God but I'm very interested in her.
Arthur C. Clarke— As quoted in Multiple Intelligences in Practice : Enhancing Self-esteem and Learning in the Classroom (2006) by Mike Fleetham, Section 2 : Using MI
I am afraid that this chapter will amply demonstrate the truth of Clarke's 69th Law, viz., "Reading computer manuals without the hardware is as frustrating as reading sex manuals without the software." In both cases the cure is simple though usually very expensive.
Arthur C. Clarke— "Appendix II: MITE for Morons," The Odyssey File (1984), p. 123
Through long and bitter experience, Rajasinghe had learned never to trust first impressions, but also never to ignore them.
Arthur C. Clarke— Chapter 2 “The Engineer” (p. 10)
Since women are better at producing babies, presumably Nature has given men some talent to compensate. But for the moment I can’t think of it.
Arthur C. Clarke— Chapter 10 “The Ultimate Bridge” (p. 52)
“I am the King.” Ah, but which king? The monarch who had stood on these granite flagstones scarcely worn then, eighteen hundred years ago was probably an able and intelligent man; but he failed to conceive that the time could ever come when he would fade into an anonymity as deep as that of his humblest subjects.
Arthur C. Clarke— Chapter 11 “The Silent Princess” (p. 65)
If the house is to be demolished tomorrow anyhow, people seem to feel, we may as well burn the furniture today. None of our problems are insoluble...But it seems clear that to prevail we humans will have to act with a smartness and selflessness that has so far eluded us during our long and tangled history.
Arthur C. Clarke— Chapter 4 (The Light of Other Days (2000))
What we need is a machine that will let us see the other guy’s point of view.
Arthur C. Clarke— Chapter 5 (The Light of Other Days (2000))
A single test which proves some piece of theory wrong is more valuable than a hundred tests showing that idea might be true.
Arthur C. Clarke— Chapter 6 (The Light of Other Days (2000))
Science demands patience.
Arthur C. Clarke— Chapter 6 (The Light of Other Days (2000))
Our lifetime may be the last that will be lived out in a technological society.
Arthur C. Clarke— Attributed to Clarke on the internet, this has also been attributed to Isaac Asimov in published works.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Arthur C. Clarke— Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry Into The Limits of the Possible (1962; revised 1973)
Religion is the most malevolent of all mind viruses.
Arthur C. Clarke— The Onion AV Club interview (18th February 2004).
