Clarke, Arthur C. -- “Man and Space,” Life Science Library (1964)

Dave — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 18:35:42 +0000

At the very least, comsats and personalized transceivers will banish forever the exasperation of waiting on a corner for a friend while he mistakenly waits for you on another.

Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008) British writer
“Man and Space,” Life Science Library (1964)

Orde-Lees, Thomas -- Diary, aboard HMS Endurance (1915-01-10)

Dave — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 23:12:01 +0000

I do so wish sometimes, that I could just pop home for an hour or two as easily in the flesh as in the spirit. No doubt the explorers of 2015, if there is anything left to explore, will not only carry their pocket wireless telephones fitted with wireless telescopes but will also receive their nourishment and warmth by wireless means & also their power to drive their motor sledges, but, of course, there will be an aerial daily excursion to both Poles then & it will be the bottom of the Atlantic, if not the centre of the earth, that will form the goal in those days.

Thomas Orde-Lees (1877-1948) British naval officer, arctic explorer, mountaineer, writer
Diary, aboard HMS Endurance (1915-01-10)

Written while the ship was trapped in the ice during Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Some versions of the quotation refer to "2012," rather than 2015.

While the reference to "pocket wireless telephones" makes this quotation suspect, Orde-Lees has extensive diary material published, and this appears to be genuine.

WIST Quotations

Clarke, Arthur C. -- “Man and Space,” Life Science Library (1964)

Orde-Lees, Thomas -- Diary, aboard HMS Endurance (1915-01-10)