What are Clarke's Three Laws?

*Originally published on 3/5/12


When science fiction fans hear the words "three laws" there is a pretty good chance that they will bring up the name of Isaac Asimov. After all he did create the infamous three robot laws. As it turns out, Asimov is not the only writer to come up with his own set of laws. Fellow writer Arthur C. Clarke also came up with a trio of laws. Whereas Asimov's three laws pertained to behavior by nigh-sentient robots, Clarke's laws discuss more wide spread concepts present in science fiction.

Clarke's first law states that "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." While this might be a subtle dig at that sort of character archetype, the more prominent aspect of this law is that it basically says that anything is possible.

Considering that idea is more or less the background of the science fiction genre as a whole, it is surprising that this law is not brought up more frequently. A verbatim recitation isn't necessary, but the general concept should be acknowledged more frequently.

Clarke's second law states that "The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible." This is an interesting one as there are many works of science fiction and horror that center around the idea that science went too far, resulting in some sort of catastrophe that the characters have to deal with. I do get the idea to a certain extent. After all, it is by constantly pushing the envelope that we discover new things and expand our realm of knowledge. Even so, it's an interesting addition to the list.

It's also interesting as a follow up to the previous law. If anything that's impossible is, in reality, possible, than how exactly is this law supposed to be executed? Very curious.

Clarke's third law is the most well known and the one that is referenced most frequently. It states that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". This is another one where I understand the concept and acknowledge it to a certain extent, but there are some science fiction writers who push it. It just seems like they try too hard to tap dance around the issue with semantics instead of just saying "it's magic".

So, there you have it, Arthur C. Clarke's three laws. Again, these are not to be confused with Asimov's three laws as they cover completely different ideas and concepts. While Asimov's may be more well known, Clarke's make for far more interesting conversation.