Arthur C. Clarke

as reading sex manuals without the software.

In the above quote we get a sense of the humor encompassed within the personality of Arthur C. Clarke, a man who often dealt with quite serious issues pertaining to the nature of the universe and mankind’s meaning within it. Clarke was born in Somerset, England, on December 16, 1917 (Biography 1). Before he was twenty he would join the British Interplanetary Society, beginning a lifelong experimentation and fascination with all things astronautic. While he was deeply interested in skin-diving (as it was then called) and ocean exploration, Clarke’s major contributions to society came from his involvement with space exploration and his love of science fiction. Perhaps no one other than Isaac Asimov is as closely associated with the writing of science fiction and Clarke, like Asimov, was very prolific, “He is the author of more than sixty books with more than 50 million copies in print, winner of all the field’s highest honors” (Unauthorized 1).

Clarke remains instrumental as a founding figure in satellite communication, and his invention of it with satellites in geostationary space in 1945 brought him even greater acclaim and a host of additional honors. During World War II he was an officer in the Royal Air Force and supervised the first radar talk-down equipment. His only work

. . .
Clarke besieges Loyola with rhetorical questions. He wonders if Loyola would have felt similarly upon seeing the vision of the explored universe as opposed to having to imagine what might exist in the supposed realm of the Creator. He also admits that his trip into space has left him with a burden, the burden that accompanies undeniable fact that at once shatters former illusion and renders going back to one’s faith without critically questioning it an impossibility. In the face of scientific evidence, it is hard to believe in words that are promoted as absolutes in religious texts, “Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam (For the greater glory of God), the message runs, but it is a message I can no longer believe. Would you still believe it, if you could see what we have found?” (Star 2). What makes Clarke question his own faith and wonder even if the founder of it would still adopt it wholeheartedly is his firsthand knowledge of the scientific evidence of space. Supernovas are a mighty humbling phenomena for even an atheist, and the immensity of these cosmic bombs at once renders earth and mankind no more than a floating sphere at the mercy of physics and math, but certainly not at the mercy of an omnipotent Creator. It is difficult
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Dei Gloriam, Ignatius Loyola, Arthur Clarke, Star Clarke, Clarke Asimov, Controlled Approach, Interplanetary Society, Jesuit Clarke, Supernovas Reading, Space Odyssey, arthur clarke, march 15, 15 1999, march 15 1999, science fiction, scientific evidence, collective fruits, 15 1999 1-2, satellite communication, nature universe, spiritual beliefs, leap faith,
Approximate Word count = 1472
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Arthur C. Clarke