I am incredibly saddened to hear that Arthur C. Clarke has died. He had been ill for sometime, and finally succumbed earlier today.
It is no exaggeration at all to say we owe the world to Clarke. He is most famous for having written the book and movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, of course. But he also was the first person to conceive of a geostationary orbit; one in which a satellite orbits the Earth once every 24 hours, giving it a view that always shows the same face of the Earth. This is (mostly) where we put weather and communication satellites today.
His science fiction and fact books inspired a generation of rocket scientists, engineers, astronomers, and more. His fiction in the 1950s is a blueprint for how to explore space, and had the US government listened I might have been writing these words from my cabin on a lunar base.
I personally had some tangential contact with him. We sent him a copy of my first book to get a blurb from him; he sent one back too late to use on the book, but I have the letter still and I treasure it. I also met a good friend of ACC’s, Fred Durant, at James Randi’s first Amazing Meeting. We chatted for a while, and he asked me if I had ever read Clarke’s The Coming of the Space Age. I said sure, back in high school. He asked if I’d like a copy, and I again said sure! He then got a little wistful, and said that he bought the last remaining first edition hardcovers years back, and Clarke was ticked because he had wanted them. Then Fred smiled, and said Clarke was even more ticked when Fred made him sign all the copies.
It took a moment for me to realize that Fred was offering to send me a signed, first-edition hardcover of Clarke’s book. I couldn’t believe it.
That book sits on my shelf, not one meter to my left. It’s one of my most prized possessions.
Clarke inspired me when I was in high school. His stories of lunar colonization were (and still are) wonderful reading, cleverly plotted and well-written. I’m very sad he’s gone, but I am so very very happy he was alive. His name will be remembered as long as we ply the lanes of space.
March 18th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
,
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,
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J/P=?
March 18th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Anyone with any sense will miss the man. He joins a list of great SF authors who have passed away. I was deeply saddened to hear of his passing.
March 18th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Oh no
:(:( What a great man he was, the world has lost another great writer. We won’t forget you Clarke.
March 18th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I was.. well, am, searching for words on this one.
It saddens me that with his passing, I’ll never get to meet the two men whose works keep me looking up and wondering where mankind’s leap to the stars will take us.
I don’t think that does it justice, though, to clarify just how important he was.
March 18th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
He said we could go to Europa – can we send a probe and name it after him (ACC for short)?
R.I.S.
March 18th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
My condolences to any relative or friend of this great man.
I, as a big fan, read nothing but his books since I picked up 2001 when I was 14. Having read Rama and 2001, I later realized that my father had been a Clarke-fan too because I remember him talking about a cylindrical spaceship etc.
It’s weird since I went to the book shop today to get the third book in the Time’s Eye-trilogy, Firstborn. A visit I have been procrastinating for weeks :S. Why today…?
Again, my sincere condolences. *sniff*
March 18th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
“It took a moment for me to realize that Fred was offering to send me a signed, first-edition hardcover of Clarke’s book. I couldn’t believe it.”
I am trying to render my facial expression in words.
FAIL.
March 18th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
RIP Mr Clarke. You brought so much to our world, both from outside of it and from within yourself and you’ll be missed.
Before re-reading 2001, I’m going to go and flip through “The Young Traveller in Space”, an illustrated book for nerdy kids Clarke wrote in the 1950s. A copy was presented to my father as a parting gift from primary school in 1956 (same one I parted from in 1988). It’s the most well-loved, oft-read book I’ve ever seen and I think this goes a long way to explain my dad’s long career as a science teacher and my extensive & broad nerdy history. Thank you Arthur!
March 18th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I can’t express how saddened I am to hear this. The world has lost one of the giants of both science fiction and science fact. And it’s poorer place now.
March 18th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Sad news. I too spent much of my time in high school reading Clarke’s works — and this was decades after a lot of it first appeared.
March 18th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
I just have to post something quickly to express my sadness and sorrow about this news.
When I can think straight, I will put more into words.
March 18th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
The world lost a giant today and the world is a lesser place. Childhood’s End was one of the first novels I read. Rama, Imperial Earth, The Fountains of Paradise and the list goes on of the great books written by this man.
I will miss him. A lot.
March 18th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
What a great man. Along with Asimov, he inspired my interest in science and in the night sky.
Thank you for everything, Arthur.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Hail and farewell, Arthur. Many thanks for your many gifts.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
*sad*
Hey, are they still taking name suggestions for GLAST?
March 18th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Thanks to a satellite in Clarke orbit I learned on the 18th of march that Arthur C. Clarke passed away on Sri Lanka on the 19th of march, i mean he even died in the future.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
I remember borrowing his “The Exploration of Space” at the local library, reading it, and then borrowing it again, and again.
I remember my first reading of Childhood’s End, and how nothing I’ve read sense made me feel that way.
I remember seeing 2001: A Space Odyssey at a theater on Connecticut Avenue in D.C. Three noisy kids had parked themselves in seats in the first row and were yacking up a storm before the film started. I was afraid they’d talk through the movie and ruin it. Once that space station appeared and we heard the Blue Danube Waltz, they didn’t make a sound until the movee was over.
I remember reading Sands of Mars, a less well known novel of his, and the Martians that, I think, looked sorta like little kangaroos.
In terms of his impact on humanity, Clarke was the most important science fiction author of the 20th century. I’m proud to have lived on the same planet.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
I am very sad to hear of his passing. A man of inspirational ideas. He will be missed by very many people who’s lives he touched. I am among them.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Rendezvous With Rama rocked my world.
And he continued to rock it through the years.
You’ll be missed, Arthur.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
You will have read it here first: the capital of Europa Colony will henceforth be known as, “Clarkesville.”
The advice I got at the passing of my father applies equally to any great person for whom you mourn, “you’ll *never* get over it–but you will get used to it.”
RIP: ACC
March 18th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
The cosmos, looking at itself has reclaimed one of the great minds. Arthur C. Clarke had an inspiring imagination that leads to many things, now and in the future.
Here’s a great article about Arthur C. Clarke with interesting insights and quotes written in 2000:
http://archive.salon.com/people/bc/2000/03/07/clarke/
– ending with: “Clarke has preserved his young state of mind; indeed, he often quotes his own epitaph: He never grew up; but he never stopped growing.”
March 18th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Alas, the last of my living heroes has passed. I’m too old to form new ones now. A sad day for humanity, one of it’s visionary lights has been extinguished and our world is just bit dimmer.
There will never be another Arthur C. Clarke but we can hope his works inspire a thousand to be like him.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Quite expected, but still, these are very sad news. Funny, I was just thinking about 2001: A space Odyssey (The monoliths, etc) before finding out about this.
Farewell, Arthur. You will be missed by anyone who has some knowledge on science fiction books. Shall you rest in peace.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Wow, what terrible news. It is a sad day, indeed.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I am truly in mourning.
However, I am slightly heartened by the thought that, as us Goodies fans know, there was no Arthur C. Clarke, it was just Graeme Garden dressed up the whole time, so as long as Graeme’s alive Clarke will be, too.
Oh, who am I kidding? Clarke’s gone and I’ll miss him dearly!
March 18th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
He’s with HAL, Dave and Heywood now.
When I was in high school in 1999 people thought I was crazy but I’d sit in the small fiction section of our library during my free period, read the entire Odyssey series that way
March 18th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
I will miss ACC. As many above I read 2001, Rama, Fountains, etc. I also enjoyed his short stories (more than the novels, actually.
I remember from “The Lion of Comarre and Against the Fall of night” the phrase “What shall I do or write, against the fall of night?”
This will haunt me for awhile.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
[...] Tributes: Phil at Bad Astronomy has a lovely post. [...]
March 18th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
When I saw he had died, my first reaction was “Oh, no.”
When I think about Arthur C. Clarke, I’ll always remember him smiling as he wore a tee-shirt with these words: “I invented the communications satellite and all I got was this tee-shirt.” That pretty well sums it up.
Some time ago I came across an Arthur C. Clarke anthology called “A Prelude to Mars.” It contained a number of stories I’d never heard of before. I think I’ll re-read part of it tonight, especially his White Hart short stories.
Goodbye, Mr. Clarke. You will be missed.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
I have been fearing this day for more than a decade. Although he was 10 years Stanley Kubrick’s senior, he outlived him an equal amount.
- Jack
March 18th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
We have lost a treasure, but riches of his works remain.
Goodbye and Thank You, A.C.C.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
We have lost a treasure, but the riches of his works remain.
Goodbye and Thank You, A.C.C.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Sad, sad day. He was indeed a visionary and will be sorely missed.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
If the rule of three applies to geekdom, we’re in trouble. Between Mr. Clarke and Mr. Gygax, I’m already facing my geekitude’s mortality. One brought my imagination forward, the other focused it inward, and both simply gave me an outlet for it.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
I was very lucky to have been in his presence. He had been on a tour in the US in the late 60’s or very early 70’s and one the places he visited was the university where I was going to grad school. I went to the lecture he gave and even though he wasn’t feeling well, he autographed a copy of “The Promise of Space” that I owned and still have.
As I said, I was very lucky!
March 18th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Daisy… Daaiissyy…
He will be missed.
March 18th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
A great loss today. I, along with a great many of my generation, grew up reading the works of the great masters: Robert, Arthur, and Issac. We, as a species, are poorer now that the last of them is gone, but we are all much richer for having them with us while we did.
I am still a Sci-Fi afficinado, but I have not seen much of anything coming close to the quality of the great ones anymore (with the possible exception of Spider Robinson).
The White Hart stories are, (IMHO), among the best collectios, fusing Science, Science Fiction, and the art of the Tall Tale (if they really were tall tales…).
March 18th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
A couple years ago I got a letter with Arthur C Clarke name on it it was an invention to join the planetary society, so I did.
March 18th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
The first SF novel I ever read was “Islands in the Sky”, his third book, in 1952. I was in the 5th grade and it started my lifelong love of hard-science fiction.
Rama is my favorite of Sir Arthur’s books. The feeling of “strangeness” that keeps me reading is the best part.
I also reread the great collection of his short fiction regularly. The experience of actually being on the moon and in space has never been surpassed for me.
March 18th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
[...] Spend a few minutes on Google exploring this giant of a man and the legacy he leaves. For a personal story, check Phil’s obituary at his Bad Astronomy Blog. [...]
March 18th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
He certainly did that with his own, and changed millions of others’ for the better, as well. I’m terribly sad at his passing, but am immensely grateful that he lived. Rest in peace, Arthur.
March 18th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I was gutted when I saw the headline this morning. He was an international treasure, and will be sadly missed. A true loss to the human race.
March 18th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
I agree with Kevin’s comment: Rendezvous with Rama was an incredible book, and vastly underrated. It never seemed to get the attention it deserved.
The Ramans may have done everything in threes, but Arthur C. Clarke was one of a kind.
March 18th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
I met ACC in ‘76. A couple of years before I’d found an error in one
of our physics textbooks, one that I recognised from one of his essays
to do with fallacies connected with astronautics. I eventually told
our teacher about it but also used it as an excuse to write a fan-mail
letter to ACC via his publishers.
Some time later I received an airmail letter with a rather nice Sri
Lankan stamp on it. It included his standard form reply to unsolicited
fan-mail with a handwritten addition agreeing with me about our
textbook, and that was that I thought.
Some time later I received a letter with a “RR” logo on the envelope.
This was a total surprise. It was from Val Cleaver who was at one time
the head of the rocket division at Rolls Royce, and one of ACC’s
friends from the early days of the British Interplanetary Society. I
think it was “Prelude to Space” that had a dedication to “Val and
Werner who are doing what I merely write about”. ACC had passed my
letter on to Val, and Val go in touch to find out just what they were
teaching in schools those days. We corresponded for some time and met
twice. On the 2nd occasion ACC was visiting the UK and we met up. We
talked about his books and what we might learn from the upcoming
viking missions, due to land on Mars that summer. This and that, shoes
and ships and sealing wax, cabbages and kings. Thirty two years ago.
I’m feeling old
.
Here’s a recent video to mark ACC’s 90th birthday. I have had this up
as a tab on my browser for ages now and haven’t yet found time to play it:
http://www.space.co.uk/DataBank/OnlineResources/Videos/tabid/247/VideoId/2/Sir-Arthur-C-Clarke-90th-Birthday-Reflections-.asp
x
Tinyurl: http://tinyurl.com/2bwm2a
March 18th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
He inspired several generations. His dream will live on.
Farewell.
March 18th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
What a wonderful Human Being, and what a ride, thanx for sharing, Mr. Clarke!
March 18th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Clarke’s Laws
1. 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.
2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
When I was growing up the writers who most impacted me were Asimov, Clarke and a little later Sagan. I called them my holy trinity of rationality. Now they’re all gone.
I’ve been saving the Greetings, Carbon Based Bipeds! to read for a couple of years now. I think I’ll start it tonight.
RIP ACC
March 18th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
I’m sure Katie Couric just called him an astrologer on the CBS News….
March 18th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Sad, sad news to be sure.
I’m not sure how many know about the project, but a special effects guy at ILM was/is (not sure of current status) making a short movie based on the short story Maelstrom II. His goal was to finish it before ACC’s 90th birthday, but he didn’t make it. I’m sure encouraging words would be appreciated:
http://www.maelstrom2themovie.com/
March 18th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Arthur, Isaac and Robert shaped my world, along with some other minor players. The Giants are now gone. I am saddened, but we carry on.
JC
March 18th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
This week, I took some time off work to paint my house. While clearing out all the books, I found a copy of Neil McAleers biography of Sir Arthur. I got into trouble with ‘er indoors because I sat down and read it (again). I finished it late last night. Today I fired up Google to see what Sir Arthur has been up to lately. As usual, Wikipedia popped up at top ranking. I’m sure you could imagine my shock to see the birthdate followed by the date of 19th March 2008. The last of my science/science fiction Heroes is gone. I am now going to re-read “Childhoods End” and tonight, I will sit outside under the stars and drink a toast to a man who is now exploring the Universe without earthly constraints.
R.I.P. Arthur C. Clarke
March 18th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Don’t know what to say. I’m swamped with great memories of his books – 2001 was probably the first I read, followed by as many as I could find. “A fall of moondust” will always be a favorite, and I have harcover 1st eds of 2010, 2061 and 3001 on my shelf. So, wistful smiling while holding back the tears would about express it. The world is indeed a smaller place…
RIP, ACC. We will miss you.
March 18th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
As a child I hated reading until I came across a short story that had an interesting title. It was Rescue Party. I was always grateful to Arthur C. Clarke for changing my life.
March 18th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
I have read every one of his novels and short story collections. I remain a huge fan and am deeply saddened that he will no longer be here to tell us wonderful stories that make us think.
That said, he lived a rich, long, full life full of amazing achievements. He not only lived long, but well. May that be said of each of us when we go.
March 18th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
As thought by my little brother:
“St. Peter, open the Heaven doors!”
I still have incredulities. He was one of my favorite authors.
Still speechless. I’ll miss him.
March 18th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Forgot to mention that a mate gave me the new 2-disc edition of 2001 for my birthday last weekend. That will be a perfect wake/movie for this easter weekend….
March 18th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
I had hopes that Clarke would live to see the year 2010.
Alas…
I once owned his non-fiction work “Man In Space”, appearently published not long after Apollo 11 accomplished it’s mission.
Amazing to see what the view for space was at that time.
I regret that I no longer have that book.
I do, however, have ‘2001′, ‘2010′, and ‘3001′.
I once read “Ghosts of the Grand Banks”. I believe that more people ought to know of that work.
I do hope that his wishes are honored; to have samples of his DNA sent into space.
I would imagine an upcoming interplanetary probe could carry his name. That would be a great honor.
Farewell, Sir Arthur C Clarke.
Your time on this Earth was well spent.
March 18th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
He had become my favorite writer by the time I was ten.
Eventually I read more than just his books for kids.
Nevertheless, no writer has ever unseated him.
He was actively promoting spaceflight in the 1930s, with the British Interplanetary Society, well before he became a professional writer. And he was also a prominent figure in London science fiction fandom.
Through his advocacy and his nonfiction writing, he played a large part in bringing spaceflight into reality. Through his SF, he led millions to imagine a space future beyond the 20th century.
Eventually, he helped Stanley Kubrick make a movie.
I am glad to have shared a planet with him, for a while.
March 18th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
To paraphrase what Lou Reed said of Leonard Cohen last week: We were all so lucky to be alive at the same time as Arthur C. Clarke.
March 18th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
90 Years on Earth and Forever In Space. Mr Clarke shall never be past, he published his vision of the future. Like most of the earlier posters, I too woke up to outer space through his works. Especially the spectacular film 2001: a space odyssey.
At the end of that film an astronaut sees awesome vistas of colors and geometric shapes. Mr. Clarke deserves to see more than that. When mankind returns to the lunar surface before 3001, a colony should be named Clarke City.
What a loss!
March 18th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
RIP arthur, our world is a bit brighter from you mind and the worlds you let us into
March 18th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Second star to the right and straight on till morning….
Bon Voyage Mr. Clarke!
March 18th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Regardless of who deserves more credit for 2001, it would be nothing short of understatement to say that that movie–and by extension Mr. Clarke–was the single source of inspiration for my sense of wonder, my love of science fiction, and, yes, my skepticism.
One of my earliest memories is of my father taking me to see it on a double-bill with (of all things) Soylent Green. I couldn’t have been more than six years old. Nevermind the question as to who takes a six-year-old kid to a double-bill of any two movies let alone those two…I can only say that it inspired me anyway!
And while I can’t say I appreciated his writing over that of Asimov, it’s unfortunate, really, that the mainstream will likely regard this news with little more than a passing glance, and be blind to the fact that his contributions to the world–both scientific and literary–are canonical.
March 18th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Humans with the vision of Clarke are exceptionally rare. His gifts to humanity will remain his legacy. He will be missed.
March 18th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
I find it strangely coincidental that I had ordered the two-disc version of 2001:A Space Odyssey a few days ago (to get the latest version — I already had all the others), and it will be arriving tomorrow.
Centered on my bookshelf is his hardcover speculative work July 20, 2019 – Live in the 21st Century. I’m looking forward to reading it again on that date in 11 years, notably because it is also my birthday (not disregarding the fact it will be the 50th anniversary of our first moon walk.)
Both he and Ray Bradbury got me started on science fiction. He will be missed. I’m just glad he was able to actually see the year 2001 arrive.
March 18th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
My father took me to see 2001: A Space Odyssey when I was three and a half years old.
I’ve never quite recovered from the experience. My lifelong love of SF, my career in physics and astronomy and teaching – all these can be laid at ACC’s door.
March 18th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
You would be hard-pressed anyone with even a peripheal interest in astronomy or spaceflight who does not have at least several of ACC’s books on hand.
His Earthlight was the first serious SF book I ever read. It was tough going for an 8 year-old but I got through it and prepared a book report on it for my third grade class. My teacher gave me an “A” but smiled condescendingly and told me that I would eventually outgrow “all that science fiction stuff.”
That was in 1957 and it hasn’t happened yet.
March 18th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
This just sucks. :’(
I found his works by pure chance – intendet to tape a bond movie, but the TV channel showed 2010 for some reason. I watched it anyway, liked it, and got the book (and then realized it was part of a series). Did not take me long to get all 20xx of the series, and 3001 and some others of his books later. I guess I’ll read them again.
March 18th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
I just read my first Clarke book, 2001, this summer. It blew me away, and I couldn’t leave the thing for more then five minutes at a time between opening it and finishing. It’s easily my favorite book ever. Just a few weeks ago I read Rama, and it had more of everything I loved about 2001- the science, the wonder, it was all phenomenal.
A few hours ago I was at the bookstore, trying to decide who I should read next. Clarke came to mind and I bought four or five of his books- it’s weird to think that he was passing as I was paying for them.
2001 was a picture of a world where Vietnam never happened, where Iraq and Columbia and all the other wars were passed over in favor of a much greater Space Race, where man looks to the heavens not for help, but for adventure. If only more men shared his vision, we would all be a brighter people.
He will be dearly missed.
March 18th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Imperial Earth is one of my favorite books, and he is really the reason I got into science-fiction at all, and now I read and write as much of it as I possibly can! I will definitely miss Mr. Clarke, but as Phil said, I am so happy he was alive!
I think I’ll go back now and re-read some of his stories as my way of remembering him.
March 18th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
In my life I have read thousands of books and stories by hundreds of authors, and no one has made a larger impression on my imagination than Arthur C. Clarke. One of his writing rules for himself, was that science fiction cannot violate the known rules of nature without venturing into fantasy. Its why his form of SF writing is timeless and so brilliant. It is not required that you suspend disbelief in order to enjoy his work.
All of my Clarke books are yellowed and dogeared, but I still plan on passing them on to my grandson with the hope that his imagination will go into high gear as mine always did. The world is a poorer place today.
March 18th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Sorry to hear the news.
March 18th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Very sad to think that we will read no more from the pen of this great man. I feel the same as when Asimov signed off. A great loss.
Bye Arthur.
March 18th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Robert, that was a good one.
Anyway, years ago, there was a rumor that a movie based on Rama would go into production starring Morgan Freeman.
I hope that someday someone will produce a movie based on that book.
March 18th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
The human race has lost one of it’s brightest light.
I ow much of my love for space to Arthur C. Clarke and with it much of my appreciation for how this fragile little spec of water covered rock we call our home.
I hope the day is not far away his space elevator becomes reality and becomes his legacy.
March 19th, 2008 at 12:03 am
Tim G:
IMDb has it currently in production with a 2009 release date, for whatever that’s worth.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134933/
March 19th, 2008 at 12:26 am
‘My God, it’s full of stars!’ Isn’t though. Godspeed!
March 19th, 2008 at 1:06 am
Sir Arthur was the author of the first science fiction book I ever read. Childhood’s End–and that was, lets say, well into the last century. Thanks to him, science fiction both attracts and repels me. His works were so solid and realistic–based on hard science–that most of what passes for science fiction by lesser writers was unreadable dreck.
In Clarke’s worlds, everything seemed imminently possible, or at least, highly probable. And his optimism for humanity gave us hope for the future.
It seems too often that I will pick up a book that looks promising, and then put it down in disgust. Because all the plasma flux capacitors and warp generators and three headed aliens from Zircon-B holding photon blasters in their tentacles in the Dymaxion galaxy cannot hold a candle to the believable future Sir Arthur showed us.
He is one of the very few true science fiction writers the world has seen. We, his admirers, are richer for having read his works. We shall not see the likes of him again
March 19th, 2008 at 1:42 am
I first heard of Dr Clarke’s death via a local model & photographer who linked to an obituary (that’s called influence). She said that he had passed away. For what it’s worth, when it comes to poetries on death, i prefer Frank Zappa (who left on his final, farewell tour) or John LeMesurier (who conked out)-perhaps we should say that Dr Clarke has transmitted his final communication into the future
In thinking about his death, one can only quote the visionary himself, talking about the death of the other half of the Clarke-Asimov Treaty:
“Ladies and gentleman, there is only one Isaac Asimov.” Now there is no Isaac Asimov and the world is much poorer place.
The Good Doctor himself couldn’t’ave put it any better
March 19th, 2008 at 1:46 am
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke will be sorely missed. We were blessed to have him as one of our foremost Science Fiction and Technological Visionaries for so long. His contributions to science, fiction and technology will be long remembered.
Thank You, Sir Charles, for all the insight, pleasure and reason you have brought to human kind.
March 19th, 2008 at 3:16 am
[...] (For Sir Arthur C. Clarke. 1917-2008.) [...]
March 19th, 2008 at 3:50 am
So many true things have already been said, that i hardly can find anything to add. A unique person, a one of a kind. Like so many, i will miss him dearly.
March 19th, 2008 at 4:02 am
It’s time to start reading a few of Clarke’s books with the kids before bedtime. I think we’ll start with Rama.
You will be dearly missed.
http://freephilosophicaldiscussions.blogspot.com/2008/03/clarke.html
March 19th, 2008 at 4:27 am
Incredible to feel so sad about the death of someone who’s books you read and did not know further than that. I feel somewhat empty now.
March 19th, 2008 at 4:28 am
Thank you ACC.
We will use these worlds wisely and wonder at the size and breadth of the universe.
March 19th, 2008 at 5:32 am
Thanks for writing this, Phil. I’ve been feeling more bereft than I expected, but I think reading this has made me realize why. And yes, it’s sad that he’s gone, but how wonderful that he lived.
March 19th, 2008 at 5:46 am
What a loss, but what a legacy!
I recently did a cleaning of my library and removed many books that had diminished in value to me. It was an easy task to remove so many books accumulated over 40 years until I came to shelf containing such books as “Childhood’s End” and “Rendezvous with Rama” not to mention collections of short stories like “The Nine Billion Names of God.” There was no question that those are books I will continue to enjoy and cherish until I die. Those books are time machines speaking to us from the past about the future.
Sir Arthur will always be one of the brightest candles in the dark.
March 19th, 2008 at 5:51 am
A great loss indeed….
http://zia.blogspot.com/2007/09/book-quotation-of-day.html
March 19th, 2008 at 6:19 am
I heard about this when the BBC World News came on my clockradio this morning at 5:00am. Sad news, but nothing less than a logical and expected conclusion to a life well-lived. Word has it that his funeral and burial in Colombo will be in the Humanist tradition, with no superstitious trappings. I’m convinced Sir Arthur approached the end of his life with dignity and acceptance. No illusions of an Afterworld, just an simple ending of one life.
When I was a kid, and my mom was nurturing my interest in science fiction, Arthur C. Clarke was one of my faves. I think “A Fall of Moondust” was the first novel of his I ever read. Although he will be best known to most people for the role he played with Stanley Kubrick in the creation of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” I personally believe his most astonishing book was “Childhood’s End,” with it’s notion of Satanic imagery not as ancient myth, but as a kind of global premonition.
“2001: A Space Odyssey” remains my favorite film of all time, though, and what I consider one of the purest expressions of cinematic art ever created.
I shall raise a glass to Sir Arthur this evening.
March 19th, 2008 at 6:35 am
I will always remember Arthur C. Clarke not as Science-Fiction writer but as someone anticipating future.
European Alien
March 19th, 2008 at 6:36 am
He lived an author and inspired millions around the world with his work.
May his soul join the Matrix, the greatest of Earth.
March 19th, 2008 at 6:39 am
What a sad day!
Good by Mr Clarke your loevely novels lead me into the infinity of universe … tank you
March 19th, 2008 at 7:15 am
A number of years ago I received the following snail mail letter from Arthur C. Clarke in response to a question I’d sent to him. I thought you’d all be interested in reading it.
“What is my best observing story? It was in 1954, when the Hayden Planetarium invited me to join their team in a chartered DC-4 which would fly into the eclipse track somewhere over Greenland. We climbed through heavy overcast, which made it obvious that no-one on the ground was going to have much to view.
We got up to some 18,000 feet, right on time and track, as it grew darker and darker outside. Then we were issued with oxygen masks – and the cabin crew did something which still surprises me even to this day.
You know those notices beside aircraft windows which say “In case of emergency, pull red lever and open”? Well, that’s just what the crew did, all along the side of the aircraft facing the now almost vanished Sun! So we had a clear view without any glass between us and the gorgeous spectacle of the corona.
Let me tell you – it was cold and noisy – and unforgettable!” [Arthur C. Clarke, Sri Lanka].
March 19th, 2008 at 8:02 am
AAC, RIP. I wonder what the world would be like if you were never here. I can not imagine how MANY things are powered by your inspirations.
Your legacy will only continue to grow as future generations look back to what your “what if” logic has brought to each technological advance.
Thank you for your existance. You have created ripples in space/time with just your thoughts.
March 19th, 2008 at 8:07 am
He’s not really dead… as long as we remember him.
March 19th, 2008 at 8:13 am
Ragutis,
W00t!
March 19th, 2008 at 8:47 am
[...] Please read more here. [...]
March 19th, 2008 at 8:55 am
God bless his soul, Clarke was a talented and wise man.
March 19th, 2008 at 9:09 am
[...] The Bad Asronomer [...]
March 19th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Ruhe in Frieden, Arthur.
Ich habe Deine Bücher geliebt.
March 19th, 2008 at 11:19 am
[...] [NASA] [Planetary] [Space] [Contrary Brin] [Badastronomy] [...]
March 19th, 2008 at 11:20 am
[...] der Bad Astronomer merkt trocken an, wenn alle sich nach den Visionen Clarkes gerichtet und sich an ihnen orientiert [...]
March 19th, 2008 at 11:32 am
[...] C. Clarke, famed science fiction writer and inventor of the communications satellite, died earlier today near his home in Sri Lanka. The “grandfather-esque” figure of the modern communication age will [...]
March 19th, 2008 at 11:58 am
[...] hos Pharyngula , Bad Astronomy, Här och här Explore posts in the same categories: science fiction, [...]
March 19th, 2008 at 11:59 am
A colleague of mine was fortunate to be the last journalist to interview Clarke before his death, you can listen to the interview at http://spectrum.ieee.org/radio?id=2518, read a summary at http://spectrum.ieee.org/mar08/6075, or read the whole transcript http://spectrum.ieee.org/mar08/6076.
March 19th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Umm… no, not “the first person to conceive of a geostationary orbit” — as Clarke was at pains to write several times, the idea is clear in Tsiolkovsky 1895, and came up several times in German space circles of the 1920s.
(For that matter it almost certainly occurred to assorted astronomers and physicists well before Tsiolkovsky. But in the absence of any natural geosynchronous (or areosynchronous or…) moon, and without any context for *creating* a satellite, it would have seemed a mere curiosity. I’d love to hear from any historian of celestial mechanics who can find it.)
That Clarke permanently planted the idea of a *use* for GEO is plenty of reason for praise without stretching it.
March 19th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
I bet the Monolith Aliens let Clarke land on Europa.
March 19th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
This life is all the brigher for his having passed through.
Time to start re-reading.
–Rosie
March 19th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
A sad day and he will be missed. He is one of the few authors whose books, fact or fiction, I never tire of reading and I still consider 2001 the best SF film ever.
March 19th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
A sad day indeed! I was recently re-reading “Islands in the Sky”, and thinking what a visionary Sir Arthur C. Clarke was. As a kid I remember reading “a Fall of Moondust” and listening to Pink Floyd “Dark Side of the Moon”, the images of that book still come to mind when I hear that album today. When I think of science fiction the first names to come to mind are Verne, Asimov and Clarke. There are many other great writers but only one ACC.
Fair Winds and Following Seas ACC
March 19th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
A great loss.
He would not have lived long enough if he’d outlived us all!
March 19th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I got tears here. Everyone has to die. It’s just too bad that there can’t be some exceptions…
March 19th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Saddened, but happy to have learned from him.
And highly unscientific as i may sound:
I can just hear him say…
“My god, it’s full of stars”.
MBB
March 19th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I was also very saddened when I knew this today. He was a perpetual inspiration. Many years ago, on the first days of the Web, I managed to get his postal address, and sent him a letter of thanks. I was terribly surprised and delighted to receive a letter from him. Part of it was typed, I presume it was a pre-written response for fans, but over it he had handwritten a personal letter. It’s now one of my treasures.
Guillermo
March 19th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
alfanier said:
“I’m just glad he was able to actually see the year 2001 arrive.”
Yes. Too bad we didn’t follow the great visionaries and actually do what they showed us might be possible.
Clarke, Asimov. Heinlein. I haven’t seen much fiction worth reading since they left us.
March 20th, 2008 at 7:04 am
HELLO MR CLARKE ?
THANK YOU FOR INVENTING ME ?
YOUR NAME WILL LIVE ON ?
NOW YOU HAVE YOUR PEACE ?
GOODBYE MR CLARKE ?
HAL ?
March 20th, 2008 at 7:05 am
HELLO MR CLARKE
THANK YOU FOR INVENTING ME
YOUR NAME WILL LIVE ON
NOW YOU HAVE YOUR PEACE
GOODBYE MR CLARKE
HAL
March 20th, 2008 at 7:07 am
HELLO HAL
IT WAS GOOD TO KNOW YOU
ARTHUR
March 20th, 2008 at 10:48 am
Too many responses to check if this video has been posted. So just in case, it’s a wonderful example of what Sir Arthur meant to the world community.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qLdeEjdbWE&fmt=18&fmt=18
March 20th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
So long, Sir Arthur.
And thanks for all the great ideas!
March 21st, 2008 at 12:48 am
Someone mentioned Jules Verne, which got me to thinking…
Have the decided on the name yet for the next ATV? Clarke would certainly be appropriate.
March 21st, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Sir Arthur was simply unique. “Rendezvous With Rama” gripped me from the first sentence to the last. Passages from “2010:Odyssey Two” still have power to stir the emotions; the spectral David Bowman’s journey to the centre of Jupiter is the finest chapter sign-off I have ever read. And as for “2001″… reading the book and watching the film back in 1970 was literally a life-changing experience.
I had the privilege of listening to a lecture he gave in about 1981, about the Space Elevator. I still have his autograph from that occasion.
Sir Arthur – you were an inspiration. Thank you for all you did for the human race.
March 22nd, 2008 at 4:45 am
Thanks to a great man whoes books mean a lot to me. His writing opened doors and created an interest in science for me.
May he rest in peace.
March 23rd, 2008 at 1:40 am
[...] read that Arthur C. Clarke died on March 18, [...]
March 24th, 2008 at 12:57 am
“At this point I cannot resist mentioning that I am the proud, though absentee landlord of about a hundred square miles of prime real estate just outside the orbit of Mars. In 1996, the International Astronomical Union gave the name ‘Clarke’ to the asteroid previously known only as 4923; I was apologetically informed that 2001 was no longer available having been assigned to a certain A. Einstein.”
- Page 140, Arthur C. Clarke, ‘Profiles of the Future’, Indigo, 1999.
I suggest as a special tribute to Sir Arthur C. Clarke that, if possible, we make this one of the first asteroids we visit – perhaps in 2063 as we seem unlikely to be sufficently advanced in 2010 .. Or if not ready even by then perhaps in 2131? (When ‘Rama’ arrives in book I of the Rama series.)
Sad to think how much closer we are tio 2010 than 2001 now -and how little we’e progressed space~wise.
But I’m fairly hopeful that Clarke was still a visionary and we will get somewhere near what he imagined (space stations, Lunar bases and more) – eventually!
——————–
PS. I’m not sure if there are also asteroids named in honour of Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein but I would expect so.
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:21 am
I am very sad for such a loss.
His story, The Star, is one of the greatest ever written.
He put stars in our hearts and our eyes.
May he join the universe forever.
April 12th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Due to an unusual coincidence of ACC’s passing and the detection of a Gamma Ray Burst that may well be the most spectacular explosion ever witnesses from Earth, I have proposed that henceforth astronomers refer to the March 19 GRB as “The Clarke Event.” I wrote to several of the principle investigators and others, and have received many positive responses to this idea:
http://blogs.earthsky.org/larrysessions
Larry Sessions
Denver