

Arthur C. Clarke has died at the age of 90 - rms
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ijDA5bgxiHlTvS_r-SSjskS1Tq1wD8VG3BKO4

======
benl
This is a sad moment for me. ACC was the first science fiction author I ever
read, and it wouldn't be an understatement to say that he changed my life.

His novels stimulated to think in a new way and to break free of the religious
shackles I'd been brought up with.

Thanks.

------
parker
Can't help but thing of this song:

"Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer true; I'm half crazy over the love of you;
It won't be a stylish marriage; I can't afford a carriage; But you look sweet,
upon the seat; Of a bicycle built for two"

Trivia sidenote -- he called the supercomputer in 2001 HAL because he thought
the company IBM would become increasingly dominant in a technical world. HAL's
letters each are one below IBM's.

~~~
maxwell
Though Clarke denied that, asserting it simply stood for "Heuristically
programmed ALgorithmic computer" and was just a coincidence. Obviously, the
odds are against him...

~~~
parker
Another one of his mysteries I suppose... but I DID learn that while watching
a TBS 2001/2010 marathon in like 1996. Ted Turner has never steered me wrong
before.

------
Eliezer
I'm really tired of hearing this kind of news. People need to start signing up
for cryonics.

The following is a public service announcement: PLEASE STOP DYING

------
wallflower
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." -
Arthur C. Clarke

Thanks for the magic in your writing that transported me as a teenager to
worlds beyond imagination and high school...

------
hernan7
Bummer. I was expecting that he would indeed get to teenage centenarian.

<http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.01/ffclark.html>

------
nazgulnarsil
Clarke was one of the true masters. He not only wrote great books but brought
attention and respect to the entire genre of sci-fi. Before Clarke a
government space program wouldn't have been caught dead asking for a sci-fi
author's opinion.

"Clarke's most important scientific contribution may be in propagating the
idea that geostationary satellites would be ideal telecommunications relays.
He described this concept in a paper titled "Extra-Terrestrial Relays — Can
Rocket Stations Give Worldwide Radio Coverage?", published in Wireless World
in October 1945. The geostationary orbit is now sometimes known as the Clarke
Orbit or the Clarke Belt in his honour."

------
srp
Arthur C Clarke was one of my heroes. I started reading ACC when I was still
at school, the impression he left on me has not only helped me cultivate a
scientific temperament but also helped me see humanity as one people. The
sheer excitement of reading a ACC story playing out on a global or bigger
stage was more than enough to lift you up from whatever your current set of
mundane problems are and make you feel part of something bigger. Thanks ACC
for all the times you made me feel special.

------
SwellJoe
It's a perfect time to celebrate his life, by reading (or re-reading)
"Childhood's End", "2001", and "Rendezvous with Rama". All wonderful books
that will enlighten and inspire.

------
PieSquared
It seems to me that Arthur C. Clarke was one very thought stimulating and
unique author, in line with Isaac Asimov and the like.

Thank you, Arthur Clarke.

------
TrevorJ
Dammit :-( This guy was a real hero to me :-(

~~~
sabat
I am thankful that he was so prolific, because he doesn't really have to
leave.

------
jeroen
Sad, but 90 isn't bad.

------
sabat
RIP Arthur. May you soon learn the nine billion names of God.
<http://lucis.net/stuff/clarke/9billion_clarke.html>

