Let there be light!

Arthur C. Clarke

doi:10.1117/12.150115

6 August 1993 Let there be light!

Arthur C. Clarke

Proceedings Volume 1867, The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) in the Optical Spectrum; (1993) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.150115
Event: OE/LASE'93: Optics, Electro-Optics, and Laser Applications in Scienceand Engineering, 1993, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Abstract

I'm very happy to send greetings to Stuart Kingsley, my old friend Barney Oliver, and all those attending the Conference on the Optical Search for ET. At the saiae time, I'd like to tell you about an uncomfortable analogy that has just popped into my mind. ... Imagine a group of serious thinkers on a remote Pacific island who've never had any contact with the rest of the human race. Their technology is Late Neolithic, but they are philosophically inclined, and they're debating the question is there anyone else out there over the horizon? Unfortunately they can't go and look: a barrier reef right round the island discourages boat-building...

Citation Download Citation

Arthur C. Clarke "Let there be light!", Proc. SPIE 1867, The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) in the Optical Spectrum, (6 August 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.150115

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