quote · Words worth keeping
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.
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.
Approximate historical placement: c. 1962 AD · modern
Meaning not yet available
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Browse entries with explanations and examples ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Arthur C. Clarke
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate historical placement: c. 1962 AD · modern
Approximate author-period anchor from life dates 1917 to 2008; Wikidata Q47087, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q47087 (accessed 2026-10-08). Not a quotation composition date.
An author lifetime or approximate period is not necessarily the date when these words were written or spoken. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided quotation collection
Supplied reference C; CSV row 61391; supplied attribution, independently unverified
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
