2001: A Space Odyssey is a masterpiece of hard science fiction. This is the second time I’ve read the book and I’ve seen the move more times than I can count. The amazing thing, for me, about this book is the fact it was written before we even landed a man on the moon.
As a planet, we were still very early in the space race. We didn’t yet have communications satellites and computers filled entire rooms. In spite of all of this, we get an accurate account of what it would be like to discover humanity wasn’t alone in the universe and what it would take for a manned interplanetary voyage.
What struck me most during this reading was the concept of machine learning. Artificial intelligence. They taught computers like you would teach a human being. We are just now beginning to dabble in this kind of thing. Back in the early 2000s when I first read it, AI was still in the lab and really didn’t have any useful application.
If I had to pick one thing that makes the story interesting, I’d have to say it was analyzing why HAL had a psychotic break. Crazy computers are nothing new in the realm of sci-fi, but this one is entirely different. Clarke does a great job explaining the why at the end of the book, but his explanation just scratches the surface. I spent a bit of time mulling this over in my mind after I had finished reading.
I can’t wait to make it through the other three books in the series again.
