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Profiles Of The Future: An Inquiry into the Limits of the Possible
 
 
Profiles Of The Future: An Inquiry into the Limits of the Possible (Paperback)
by Arthur C. Clarke (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars  (1 customer review)

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Product details
  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Phoenix; New Ed edition (14 Dec 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0575402776
  • ISBN-13: 978-0575402775
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 453,495 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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  • Other Editions: Hardcover (2Rev Ed) |  Paperback (Reprint) |  All Editions


Product Description
Product Description
This book originally appeared in 1962, and was based on essays written during the period 1959 - 1961. Since it was concerned with ultimate possibilities, and not with achievements to be expected in the near future, even the remarkable events of the last decade have dated it very little. But Arthur Clarke has gone over the book making corrections and comments where necessary in order to bring it right up-to-date. The author, amongst many fascinating excursions into what the future may hold, discusses the fourth dimension and the obsolescence of the law of gravity, the exploration of the entire solar system and the colonisation of some of it; seas will mined for energy and minerals, and asteroids will be pulled to Earth to supply needed materials; men, already bigger than they need be, may be bred smaller to be more efficient on less food.

Synopsis
This book originally appeared in 1962, and was based on essays written during the period 1959 - 1961. Since it was concerned with ultimate possibilities, and not with achievements to be expected in the near future, even the remarkable events of the last decade have dated it very little. But Arthur Clarke has gone over the book making corrections and comments where necessary in order to bring it right up-to-date. The author, amongst many fascinating excursions into what the future may hold, discusses the fourth dimension and the obsolescence of the law of gravity, the exploration of the entire solar system and the colonisation of some of it; seas will mined for energy and minerals, and asteroids will be pulled to Earth to supply needed materials; men, already bigger than they need be, may be bred smaller to be more efficient on less food.

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A thought provoking look at the future of technology., 13 Aug 2001
By A Customer
In this book Arthur C. Clarke considers the future development of human technology, focusing on the ultimate limits of what is possible rather than on what the near future is likely to bring. Originally published in 1962, Clarke has added comments where developments have substantially modified his earlier views. He addresses a wide range of questions: transport, colonising space, novel sources of energy, artificial intelligence, a universal machine that can produce any specified artefact, as well as more fanciful possibilities such as time-travel, teleportation, and invisibility. He suggests we should be slow to pronounce anything "impossible" as the technology of the future may be as hard for us to imagine as ours would have been for people of earlier ages. (He also quotes a number of "authorities" who denied the possibility of heavier than air flight or the rocket shortly before they became realities!) Sadly, my enjoyment of this book was somewhat spoiled by Clarke's style which is inclined to be rather laboured and pompous. A pity, as this is otherwise a first rate read.
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