R.I.P. Arthur C. Clarke

[kelber at mindspring.com]

Clarke was one of the first and greatest masters of hard sci-fi.  His ability to predict where technology was headed was only hampered by his inability to take into account the political and economic forces that would hamper that technology. One of his saddest statements, back in the 60s:  "I'd like to go to Mars some day and I intend to go to the moon."  The technological, if not the economic ability was there.

He was the writer that first attracted me to sci-fi as a kid.  I consider the film 2001: A Space Odyssey to be the greatest movie ever made.  This wasn't merely based on his short story (The Sentinel).  It marked an active collaboration between Clarke and Kubrick.  In the Pan-Am space shuttle sequence we can see that the rotating space station is still under construction.  Clarke always tempered his visions of the possible with a realistic sense of what was probable: no way there would be a finished space station by then.  His predictions were certainly within the ballpark. 

Among the many writers he influenced were Gregory Benford and Stephen Baxter. 

Anyway, I'm sad to hear of his passing.

Laura