Kidnykid's Full Review: Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick - 2001 A Spac...
This was my rather naive reaction after reading this book. Knowing that I was going to be hospitalized for two weeks or so for diagnostic testing (this was the mid-1970's before there was such a thing as an HMO or managed care to put pressure on hospitals to avoid such unnecessary expenses), I stashed this book in my suitcase to read while I waited for the techs to get done with their testing.
Of course, I was only 19 at the time I read 2001, so one could say that I was slightly naive about philosophy and religion and how to see if an idea measured up to the standards I had always known to be correct. (Besides, Constance Cumbey's HIDDEN DANGERS OF THE RAINBOW had yet to be written, so I had no yardstick against which to measure the ideas in this book. Not that I was that well-versed about my faith, you'll understand.)
Knowing what I know now, however, I have to say that I have a different reaction. The Bible would say that the astronaut had fallen for the ultimate lie of the serpent at the end of the movie - "thou shalt be as gods." That's what he turns into, you know - a god of sorts. He doesn't go to heaven, but turns into a supernatural being of his own who believes he is omnipotent. And that is a dangerous lie to feed young adults first exposed to some of the ideas in here through 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.
Yes, this is a science-fiction classic. Yes, it should be read by anyone interested in philosophy and ethics. But read it critically, as one reads any science fact. Don't check your brains out at the metaphorical door when you pick this book up.
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