h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

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What do I know?

I've heard of the pact between Asimov and Clarke too, though I hadn't heard Asimov put it into a dedication.

I think it was Clarke who said something to the effect that Science/Technology to one society, is magic to another.

2001:A Space Odyssey was a collaboration between Clarke and Kubrick. While Kubrick was primarily responsible for the film, and Clarke for the novel, it is my understanding the two of them were released simultaneously -- A rarity in Novel/Film history.

When talking to people about translation of novels to the Screen, I like to use 2001 to illustrate why it is sometimes *necessary* to make changes. Many people complain when movies change something in the novel, but Film is a much more visual medium. Clarke understood this. Even though Jupiter does have rings, and Clarke is able to explain this very clearly in the novel, the events that take place on Jupiter in the novel had to be moved to Saturn in the movie.

Clarke insists that H-A-L being one-character offset from I-B-M is pure coincidence. I've never heard him say for certain, but I suspect Clarke may have gotten the name Hal from Shakespeare. It is Henry IV's nickname, and the two characters bear some resemblance in personality.

Clarke, Asimov and Heinlein are often referred to as a group in talking about the Golden Age of Science Fiction.

The entry probably shouldn't talk about Clarke being "the greatest SF author alive." 1) May he live to be 120, we don't wish to jinx him 2) Even if he does live a decade or more, H2G2 may last longer.

General writing suggestions:

Before you begin writing an entry, write down on a piece of paper (or type into a word document on your computer) facts you want to include in the entry. Once you have a clear idea what you want to say, try to summarize it into one or two sentences.

Your first paragraph should be those one or two sentences, and the rest of the entry should flow from that opening.

Your first paragraph might be something like this:

Arthur C Clarke, born in 1917, is often listed as one of the three top authors of the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Well-known for such works as 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Cradle's End, he also successfully predicted the event of Satellite Communications decades before their invention.

You could then go on to describe his life and his works in chronological order.

Probably the most important thing is to plan ahead. Writing the facts down, and creating an outline helps immensely.

Gavroche

Thanks, Gav, you've jolted my memory.

I believe that the quote you refer to actually reads "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic".

He also, of course, formulated Clarke's Law of the Possible:
"If a senior and well-respected scientist in a given field states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right.
If a senior and well-respected scientist in a given field states that something is impossible, he is almost certainly wrong."

2001 was actually based on a short story by Clarke entitled 'The Sentinel'
Arthur C now lives near Columbo, on Sri Lanka.
His novel 'Fountains of Paradise' was allegedly set on Sri Lanka.

'G'

There is one Clarke series that everyone has failed to mention. If you want writing, try the Rama series. The first book was written solely by Clarke, and the other four in collaboration with Gentry Lee. This series was up there, it even spawned a computer game (also Clarke and Lee). My name, in fact, is from the third book in this series.

There is one Clarke series that everyone has failed to mention. If you want writing, try the Rama series. The first book was written solely by Clarke, and the other four in collaboration with Gentry Lee. This series was up there, it even spawned a computer game (also Clarke and Lee). My name, in fact, is from the third book in this series.

Among my favorite Arthur C. Clarke stories are The City and the Stars, Songs of a Distant Earth, and of course, Rendezvous with Rama.
In the book Ghost from the Grand Banks, I find extremely interesting how he took a fractal, the Mandelbrot set, and made the story about it. I never thought that some type of mathematical phenomena, particulary one that a lot of people know nothing about, and make it seem so important. His non-fiction science writing, although most of it is now out-dated, is also fascinating, and if anyone likes science-fiction short stories, his are among the best.

One of our memories is obviously wrong (probably mine) but I thought it was Jupiter in the movie and Saturn in the book.

Zathras

Although Asimov put the pact in a dedication, he didn't seem to take it seriously. In later Editorials in IASFMS (Iaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine) he refers to Heinlein, and (I think)either Verne or Wells as being the best science fiction writers of all time.