A Quote by Arthur C. Clarke
I'm surprised at some technological development, and the realization that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. I think the CD-ROM is the best example of that. The idea of having a whole symphony, or opera, or novel in a little piece of plastic is pretty amazing.
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Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a completely ad hoc plot device.
1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong. 2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible. 3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
It's not that any sufficiently advanced technology is magic, it's that any technology taking place beyond the threshold of our senses is.
Any technology that is distinguishable from magic is not sufficiently advanced.
Some countries were able to turn their manufacturing operations into advanced technology areas. South Korea is a great example of this, and manufacturing there is done using advanced technological methods.
Any sufficiently badly-written science is indistinguishable from magic.
Sufficiently advanced political correctness is indistinguishable from sarcasm.
Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
I'm old enough to remember the advent of CD. You thought, "What's this piece of space age technology that's in front of me?" Now I ask, "When's the last time you bought a CD?" You see things come and you see things go, and you have to be on your toes and be nimble and stay with it, or you die. It's exciting. I love technology.
The DNA of the novel - which, if I begin to write nonfiction, I will write about this - is that: the title of the novel is the whole novel. The first line of the novel is the whole novel. The point of view is the whole novel. Every subplot is the whole novel. The verb tense is the whole novel.
The book the Ziff folks sent me as an example of their art was 'Late Night VRML 2.0 with Java,' 700 pages + CD-ROM, published February 1997. I was personally acquainted with more movie stars than people who might conceivably have wanted to buy this book or any book like it.
I think British men build up the idea of us French girls having some magic extra sex appeal so much, they lose their heads. I can't really understand the whole thing - but it makes me laugh. It's such a cliche to think all French girls are well dressed, elegant, sophisticated and sexy. Some are utter slobs, I promise you that.
Art is magic... But how is it magic? In its metaphysical development? Or does some final transformation culminate in a magic reality? In truth, the latter is impossible without the former. If creation is not magic, the outcome cannot be magic.
I think if you talk to anybody who ever went from not having much to having enough to buy what they wanted, they're always happier. Now I get that whole '$75,000 a year is some kind of magic number,' but my experience is 'more is better, up to a point.' Then there's a point where it doesn't make any difference.
In our day, computer technology and the proliferation of books on CD-ROM have not affected - as far as statistics show - the production and sale of books in their old-fashioned codex form.
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