Zitate von Arthur C. Clarke

„Clarkes Drittes Gesetz: Jede hinreichend fortgeschrittene Technologie ist von Magie nicht mehr zu unterscheiden.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

„Ich bin sicher, das Universum ist voll von intelligentem Leben. Es war einfach zu intelligent, um hierher zu kommen.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

„Ich möchte so früh wie möglich einen dauerhaften und bedeutungsvollen Frieden in Sri Lanka erreichen. Mir ist jedoch bewusst, dass Frieden nicht nur gewünscht werden kann. Es beinhaltet harte Arbeit, Mut und Ausdauer.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

„Kommunikationstechnologien sind notwendig, aber nicht ausreichend, damit wir Menschen miteinander auskommen können.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

„Clarkes zweites Gesetz: Die einzige Möglichkeit, die Grenzen des Möglichen zu entdecken, besteht darin, sich ein Stück weit an ihnen vorbei ins Unmögliche zu wagen.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

„Jede hinreichend fortgeschrittene Technologie ist von Magie nicht mehr zu unterscheiden.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

Clarkes Drittes Gesetz aus Profiles of the Future - zitiert von Andreas Weber in: Biokapital. Die Versöhnung von Ökonomie, Natur und Menschlichkeit, Berlin Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 3827007925, Seite 57.
Original engl.: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Profiles of the future: an inquiry into the limits of the possible (revised edition 1973). Seite 36
Variante: Jede hinreichend fortschrittliche Technologie ist von Magie nicht zu unterscheiden

„Es muss wunderbar sein, siebzehn zu sein und alles zu wissen.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

„Einsteinian time dilation.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

2010: Odyssey Two

„Magie ist nur eine Wissenschaft, die wir noch nicht verstehen.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

„Ich möchte, dass wir unsere Stammesunterschiede überwinden und anfangen, so zu denken und zu handeln, als wären wir eine Familie. Das wäre echte Globalisierung…“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

„I'm sure the universe is full of intelligent life. It's just been too intelligent to come here.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

IRC discussion at Scifi.com (1 November 1996) http://web.archive.org/web/20021201214228/http://www.scifi.com/transcripts/aclarke.txt with Clarke and Gentry Lee
1990s

„Every revolutionary idea seems to evoke three stages of reaction. They may be summed up by the phrases: (1) It's completely impossible. (2) It's possible, but it's not worth doing. (3) I said it was a good idea all along.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

„In my time I’ve been very fortunate to see many of my dreams come true!“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

90th Birthday Reflections (2007)
Kontext: In my time I’ve been very fortunate to see many of my dreams come true! Growing up in the 1920s and 1930s, I never expected to see so much happen in the span of a few decades. We "space cadets" of the British Interplanetary Society spent all our spare time discussing space travel — but we didn’t imagine that it lay in our own near future… I still can't quite believe that we've just marked the 50th anniversary of the Space Age! We’ve accomplished a great deal in that time, but the "Golden Age of Space" is only just beginning. Over the next 50 years, thousands of people will travel to Earth orbit — and then, to the Moon and beyond. Space travel — and space tourism — will one day become almost as commonplace as flying to exotic destinations on our own planet.

„Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

As quoted in Visions : How Science Will Revolutionize the Twenty-First Century (1999) by Michio Kaku, p. 295
2000s and attributed from posthumous publications

„Clarke's Second Law: The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

"Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination" in Profiles of the Future (1962)

„Clarke's Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

Profiles of the Future (revised edition, 1973)
Quelle: Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry Into the Limits of the Possible

„We have abolished space here on the little Earth; we can never abolish the space that yawns between the stars.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

We'll Never Conquer Space (1960)
Kontext: We have abolished space here on the little Earth; we can never abolish the space that yawns between the stars. Once again, as in the days when Homer sang, we are face-to-face with immensity and must accept its grandeur and terror, its inspiring possibilities and its dreadful restraints.

„I want to see lasting and meaningful peace achieved in Sri Lanka as early as possible. But I am aware that peace cannot just be wished; it involves hard work, courage and persistence.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

As quoted in the [Sri Lanka] Sunday Times (31 December 2000)
2000s and attributed from posthumous publications
Kontext: We should be less concerned about adding years to life, and more about adding life to years. I have been very fortunate to have witnessed some of humanity's greatest achievements during the 20th century that is nearing its end. Yet we must admit that it has also been the most savage century in the history of our kind. If I can have one more wish, I want to see lasting and meaningful peace achieved in Sri Lanka as early as possible. But I am aware that peace cannot just be wished; it involves hard work, courage and persistence.
As we welcome 2001, let us harness our collective energies to create a culture of peace and a land of prosperity.

„I now spend a good part of my day dreaming of times past, present and future.“

—  Arthur C. Clarke

90th Birthday Reflections (2007)
Kontext: I now spend a good part of my day dreaming of times past, present and future. As I try to survive on 15 hours sleep a day, I have plenty of time to enjoy vivid dreams. Being completely wheel-chaired doesn't stop my mind from roaming the universe — on the contrary!