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Friday, December 15, 2023

'Going beyond – to the impossible'

 

“I don't pretend we have all the answers. But the questions are certainly worth thinking about.” – Arthur C. Clarke

Born in England on Dec. 16, 1917 Clarke wrote dozens of best-selling science fiction books and short stories but is perhaps best known for penning the screenplay for one of the top 100 movies of all time, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” 

 

A lifelong proponent of space travel, he joined the British Interplanetary Society while still a teenager and ultimately served for many years as its chairman.  Not only a writer but also a gifted thinker and planner, he proposed a prototype satellite communication system as early as 1945.

 

Clarke emigrated from England to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1956 to pursue his interest in scuba diving.  There, he discovered the underwater ruins of the ancient Koneswaram Temple off its coast. 

 

The author of 21 novels, 15 nonfiction books, and 12 collections of short stories, Clarke also hosted several popular television shows, including the award-winning “Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World.”   He was knighted for his achievements by Queen Elizabeth, named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, and awarded Sri Lanka’s highest civilian honor for his achievements and service to his adopted nation. 

  

 “The only way to discover the limits of the possible,” Clarke once said, “is to go beyond them into the impossible.”


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