Today in Technology History
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December 16
Two giants of twentieth century science fiction share today's date as their birthday. Their writings helped to shape how we think about science and technology.
Arthur Charles Clarke -- who was born on December 16, 1917 in Minehead, England -- first became interested in science fiction at the age of twelve. During the Second World War he served as a radar instructor in the Royal Air Force. He taught himself electronics theory, and after the war he went to college to study physics and mathematics. His writing career then began in earnest.
In addition to his works of science fiction -- several of which are now considered classics -- Clarke wrote many nonfiction articles and books about science. It was in one of his nonfiction articles that he became the first person to propose the idea of communications satellites, which eventually became a reality. And it was in a novel that he popularized the idea of a space elevator -- a concept now being considered as an alternative to costly rockets launches. Even if you've never read any of Clarke's science fiction, you've almost certainly heard of some of it, particularly the movie and novel 2001: A Space Odyssey. Sir Arthur, who turns 85 years old today, now lives in Sri Lanka.
Philip Kindred Dick was born on December 16, 1928 in Chicago. Like Clarke, his fascination with science fiction began at about the age of twelve. He led an unusual life, with mystical visions, five marriages, and lots of drugs and alcohol.
Dick's writing includes such science fiction staples as androids, time travel, computers and colonies on Mars. But his most important work relates to memory, perception, and uncertainty about reality. He wrote several stories about mind-altering drugs and their effects on individuals and society. These works, in which it is sometimes difficult for the characters (and the readers) to distinguish between illusion and reality, explore how memory and identity can be affected by drugs. This is an important topic nowadays, as legal drugs for modifying moods and behavior are coming into wider usage.
Once again, even if you've never read any of Dick's fiction, you might have seen it brought to the silver screen. The films Blade Runner and Total Recall were based on his writings -- as was Minority Report, which came out this year. Dick died in 1982 at the age of 53.
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The birthday coincidence is compounded by the fact that two other authors, famous for writing mysteries that contained elements of science fiction, share December 16, 1927 as their birthday: Peter Dickinson and Randall Garrett.
Click here to read more about Philip K. Dick.
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