“Five thousand light years from Birdland; but I'm still preaching the rhythm.”
– The Manhattan Transfer
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The belief in something bigger than oneself is one of the most important aspects of being human. A corollary to that theorem is the need to have someone to look up to.
These three individuals did more to inspire me to write this dissertation than anyone else.
The blame for all of this is entirely theirs.
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Sir Arthur C. Clarke
16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008
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| The person who invented the Geosynchronous Earth Orbit. Oh, and he wrote some books. |
I devoured the book 2001: A Space Odyssey. Along with many other science fiction fans who yearned for what would later be termed "Hard Science Fiction," we reveled in the idea that fictional stories can be firmly rooted in science, or that the speculative stuff was at least rooted in good old fashioned science.
I've lost count of the number of realistic worlds that I got to visit because of this guy, all just by picking up a book.
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David S. F. Portree
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| The best Space History dude this side of the Belt (Link to Twitter) |
It is impossible to image this website existing had it not been for David and his tireless work in documenting space history that never happened LOL. All the different kinds of spacecraft that NASA could have had in the past is both sad and, yes, inspiring.
David allowed me to see what NASA wanted to do in the past, allowing me to take their ideas and update everything to today's science and technology.
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Winchell Chung
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| Rocket Science Genius |
Winchell has a website that has taught me a lot about rocket science. His approach is unique, in that his intended audience for his site is science fiction authors who wish to write books that adhere to the concept of "Hard Science Fiction."
The best lesson I have learned from Winchell is the concept of the McGuffinite, It turned out to be the single most important motivator for this paper (wait; does that make this paper a … MacGuffin?)
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