Friday, April 19, 2024 Text is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 licence.

Larry Niven

« All quotes from this author
 

Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
--
Anonymous saying, this is an inversion of the third of Arthur C. Clarke's three laws : "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." It has been attributed to Niven, and even called "Niven's Law" by some, and to Terry Pratchett by others, but without any citation of an original source in either case, and the earliest occurrence yet located is in Keystone Folklore (1984) by the Pennsylvania Folklore Society.

 
Larry Niven

» Larry Niven - all quotes »



Tags: Larry Niven Quotes, Technology Quotes, Authors starting by N


Similar quotes

 

Clarke's Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

 
Arthur C. Clarke
 

Clarke's Third Law doesn't work in reverse. Given that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," it does not follow that "any magical claim that anybody may make at any time is indistinguishable from a technological advance that will come some time in the future." ... There have admittedly been occasions when authoritative, pontificating skeptics have come away with egg on their faces, even within their own lifetimes. But there have been a far greater number of occasions when magical claims have never been vindicated. An apparent magical claim might eventually turn out to be true. In any age there are so many magical claims that are, or could be, made. They can't all be true; many are mutually contradictory; and we have no reason to suppose that, simply by the act of sitting down and dreaming up a magical claim, we shall make it come true in some future technology. Some things that would surprise us today will come true in the future. But lots and lots of things that would surprise us today will not come true ever.

 
Arthur C. Clarke
 

Sufficiently advanced political correctness is indistinguishable from sarcasm.

 
Erik Naggum
 

Any sufficiently advanced form of magick will appear indistinguishable from science.

 
Peter J. Carroll
© 2009–2013Quotes Privacy Policy | Contact