Arthur C. Clarke quotes - page 4

The rash assertion that 'God made man in His own image' is ticking like a time bomb at the foundation of many faiths, and as the hierarchy of the universe is disclosed to us, we may have to recognize this chilling truth: if there are any gods whose chief concern is man, they cannot be very important gods. (Arthur C. Clarke)
The search for alien artefacts in the Solar System should be a perfectly legitimate branch of science ('exoarchaeology'?). Unfortunately, it has been largely discredited by claims that such evidence has already been found - and has been deliberately suppressed by NASA! p. 97, Acknowledgements. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
Of course, we in the so-called developed countries thought we were civilized. At least war wasn't respectable any more, and the United Nations was always doing its best to stop the wars that did break out.' 'Not very successfully: I'd give it about three out of ten...' View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
Before you become too entranced with gorgeous gadgets and mesmerizing video displays, let me remind you that information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom, and wisdom is not foresight. Each grows out of the other, and we need them all. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
We have to abandon the idea that schooling is something restricted to youth. How can it be, in a world where half the things a man knows at 20 are no longer true at 40 - and half the things he knows at 40 hadn't been discovered when he was 20? View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
But please remember: this is only a work of fiction. The truth, as always, will be far stranger. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
If such a thing had happened once, it must surely have happened many times in this galaxy of a hundred billion suns. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
Whether we are based on carbon or on silicon makes no fundamental difference we should each be treated with appropriate respect. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
Now I understand,” said the last man. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
Never attribute to malevolence what is merely due to incompetence. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
I have great faith in optimism as a guiding principle, if only because it offers us the opportunity of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. (Arthur C. Clarke)
It was the mark of a barbarian to destroy something one could not understand. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
Excessive interest in pathological behavior was itself pathological. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
All human plans [are] subject to ruthless revision by Nature, or Fate, or whatever one preferred to call the powers behind the Universe. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
Then he [The Star Child] waited, marshaling his thoughts and brooding over his still untested powers. For though he was master of the world, he was not quite sure what to do next. But he would think of something. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
But he knew well enough that any man in the right circumstances could be dehumanised by panic. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
There is the possibility that humankind can outgrow its infantile tendencies, as I suggested in 'Childhood's End.' But it is amazing how childishly gullible humans are. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
Humor was the enemy of desire. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
The time was fast approaching when Earth, like all mothers, must say farewell to her children. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
The creation of wealth is certainly not to be despised, but in the long run the only human activities really worthwhile are the search for knowledge, and the creation of beauty. This is beyond argument, the only point of debate is which comes first. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
Space can be mapped and crossed and occupied without definable limit; but it can never be conquered. (Arthur C. Clarke)
After their encounter on the approach to Jupiter, there would aways be a secret bond between them---not of love, but of tenderness, which is often more enduring. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
Open the pod bay doors, Hal. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
My favourite definition of an intellectual: 'Someone who has been educated beyond his/her intelligence. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke
"I am the King.” Ah, but which king? The monarch who had stood on these granite flagstones - scarcely worn then, eighteen hundred years ago - was probably an able and intelligent man; but he failed to conceive that the time could ever come when he would fade into an anonymity as deep as that of his humblest subjects. View quote
Arthur C. Clarke