Sir Arthur Clarke (1917-2008) began his life with an amusing coincidence. On December 16, 1901, the ping-pong association was registered in the writer's homeland. And 16 years later, on the same day in Mainhead (Somerset County, England), Arthur Charles Clarke was born, years later he became an avid gambler and more than once used the technique of playing in his novels, as if throwing a ball from one half of the table to another …
His texts are filled with predictions, which over time we experience with our own eyes, observing events around and wondering how one can be so insightful.
In 1936 Clark moved to London. During the war he served in the Royal Air Force. After the war, he was educated in physics and was one of the most active members of the British Interplanetary Society. In December 1954 he moved to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).
The sea begins to worry him more and more. “When I first scuba dived in the late 1940s, I realized there was a simple and cheap way to emulate the magical aspects of space flight.”
In his book Profiles of the Future, he tried to draw the outlines of tomorrow. It was there that he formulated his famous Three Laws.
Clark's First Law: “If a distinguished but elderly scientist claims that something is possible, he is certainly right. When he declares that this is impossible, he is most likely mistaken."
Clarke's Second Law: "The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to dare to take one step into the impossible."
Clarke's third law: "Any promising technique is indistinguishable from magic."
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Clarke also believes that the birth of artificial intelligence is inevitable, although this will be preceded by a large amount of artificial stupidity! And that TV is the best contraceptive that ever existed.
His forecasts for the XXI century. are already beginning to come true, and on May 26, 2000, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the ceremony of elevating Clark to the knighthood, which he had been awarded two years earlier, was held.
Due to the consequences of polio, Clarke could not move independently in the last goals of his life, which did not prevent him from observing the movement of his creative thought, of course, leading to a prediction.
Many of the writer's previous prophecies came true almost literally. So, in 1945, he was laughed at when he predicted a system of telecommunications satellites. Now he complains that he did not think to patent his idea then - “he would have been a millionaire already”.
He later described the flight of humans to the moon.
“Many of my technical predictions come true, but I still hope that most of what I say will not become reality,” said Arthur Clarke. "I've written six doomsday novels, but I believe none of these scenarios will come true."
FORECASTS FOR THE XXI CENTURY
Of those listed below, until the current 2018, nothing came true (2 partially came true). So the attitude towards future forecasts is critical. But what if one of them is correct?
2002 year. The first devices that produce clean energy using low-temperature nuclear reactions enter the market. The era of fossil fuels is coming to an end.
2003 year. The automotive industry is given 5 years to replace internal combustion engines with environmentally friendly engines.
2003 year. Launch of the rover as part of the Mars Surveyor mission. (It also did not come true, however, on June 5 and June 25, 2003, the Spirit and Opportunity rovers were launched as part of the NASA Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission).
2004 year. First human cloning.
Arthur Clarke book covers.
2005 year. The ARS Surveyor spacecraft, launched by NASA two years earlier, is bringing rock samples from Mars back to Earth.
2006 year. The world's last coal mine is shut down in India.
2007 year. NASA Launches Next Generation Space Telescope. (It did not come true, but James Webb is expected to replace the Hubble Telescope in 2018).
year 2009. After the accidental explosion of an atomic bomb on Earth, all nuclear weapons are destroyed.
2010 year. Devices that capture "cosmic energy" have been developed. They are becoming portable household power generators capable of generating almost infinite power. Power plants are being closed, power lines are being dismantled. The system of universal electronic eavesdropping and spying destroys crime.
year 2012. Operation of aerospace aircraft begins.
year 2014. The first space hotel is being built.
2015 year. Complete control over matter at the atomic level. Lead and copper become twice as expensive as gold.
2016 year. Abolish money. The new unit of exchange is megawatt-hour.
2020 year. Artificial intelligence is not inferior to human intelligence. The first spacecraft are launched to the nearest stars.
2021 year. People are landing on Mars.
2023 year. Dinosaurs are revived.
2024 year. Artificial infrared signals from the center of the Galaxy have been detected. Attempts to decipher them are unsuccessful.
2025 year. Special helmets appear with the help of which the human brain can merge in real time with other minds. Since the helmet only works fine on a clean-shaven head, the wig business is profitable.
The year is 2036. China is the most powerful industrial power in the world.
2040 year. The “Universal Replicator” allows you to create anything with raw materials and an information matrix. Agriculture and industry are disappearing as unnecessary. The fields are overgrown, nature returns to its original wild state. You don't have to work anymore. Everyone is having fun, studying, doing art.
The year is 2050. Millions of people, bored, freeze themselves in order to unfreeze hundreds of years later in a more interesting future.
The year is 2057. The space age centenary is celebrated not only on Earth, but also in settlements on the Moon, Mars, Europe, Ganymede, Titan.
The year is 2061. People land on Halley's comet and discover primitive life forms there.
The year is 2090. People are facing the threat of a new ice age. Fossil fuels are burned en masse to enhance the greenhouse effect.
The year is 2095. The speeds of space rockets are approaching light speeds. The first people go to the stars.
