Tribute to Asimov

Isaac Asimov (whose birthday is today) was the most prolific 'connector' of all times. Once he explained how he came to write 'Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare'

It began, he said, with a book called 'Words of Science.' ' 'Science' led to 'Words on the Map,' ' he remarked, 'which took me to 'The Greeks,' which led me to 'The Roman Republic,' 'The Roman Empire,' 'The Egyptians,' 'The Near East,' 'The Dark Ages,' 'The Shaping of England' and then 'Words From History.' It was an easy jump to 'Words in Genesis,' which brought on 'Words From the Exodus.' That led me to 'Asimov's Guide to the Old Testament,' and then 'The New Testament.' So what was left except Shakespeare?'

Nothing could capture the spirit this blog better.

Asimov and Arthur Clark both used to be asked by a lot of journalists to name the best science or science fiction writer of all times. One day when they were sharing a cab in Manhattan they decided to settle the issue once for an all, in what was called the Treaty of Park Avenue
Asimov was required to insist that Arthur C. Clarke was the best science fiction writer in the world (reserving second best for himself), while Clarke was required to insist that Isaac Asimov was the best science writer in the world (reserving second best for himself).

Arthur Clark, whose story Sentinel became the inspiration for the 2001: A Space Oddessy, has been a resident of Sri Lanka since 1956 where he used to run a diving school in Hikkaduwa. He lost his school during the tragic 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami (whose first anniversary was last week). Even more tragic was the fact that so many Sri Lankan's lost their lives due to lack of tsunami education in the country who were not aware that the during a tsunami water recedes a great distance, like an enormous low tide, and then the wave comes in like a colossal high tide.

1,500 people were killed on the train at Hikkaduwa. One factor in so many deaths was that adults and small children ran to the train for safety, rather than ascending to upper floors and roofs of homes.

The American Society of Civil Engineers's study mentions that The Colombo Daily News ran an article, about the importance of educating young readers about tsunamis. The article focused on a 1972 Isaac Asimov short story. Asimov's book, 'More Science Words', which included a short essay on tsunamis which described the tsunami phenomenon very eloquently to the layman. According to the article, if the Sri Lankans had read or been educated about the tsunami phenomemon in such clear and consice terms, much of the casualties could have been avoided.

Arthur Clark will testify to it.