--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We cannot predict the new forces, powers…" description: "\"We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up new laboratories in s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/217/arthur-c-clarke-640_discovery_we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers_12674.jpg" --- # We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries… ![“We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up new laboratories in space. They are as much beyond our vision today as fire or electricity would be beyond the imagination of a fish.” quote by Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/217/arthur-c-clarke-640_discovery_we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers_12674.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/217/arthur-c-clarke-640_discovery_we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers_12674.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/217/arthur-c-clarke-640_discovery_we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers_12674.jpg) > “We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up new laboratories in space. They are as much beyond our vision today as fire or electricity would be beyond the imagination of a fish.” [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Future space exploration will reveal technologies and phenomena far beyond current imagination, comparable to how primitive life could not conceive fire or electricity. **In simple terms:** The unknown future of space science will surpass today’s expectations. Key Takeaway Space will bring unprecedented breakthroughs. Themes exploration technology future unknown imagination Mood wonder anticipation Type visionary inspirational When to use this quote - planning interplanetary missions - designing orbital labs - educating policy makers Key Concepts innovation scientific discovery human curiosity Practical Applications - strategic R&D roadmaps - public outreach on space potential Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions limit our current vision of space? - How can we prepare for technologies we cannot yet imagine? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discoveries Disclosed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discoveries-disclosed-372123/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Electricity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electricity/) [Electricity Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electricity-imagination-372124/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Fishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fishes/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Laboratories Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laboratories-space-372125/) [Laboratory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laboratory/) [Planets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planets/) [Reach Planets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reach-planets-372122/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Space travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space-travel/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [From my childhood it has been my conviction that men would reach the planets in my lifetime . . . this conviction . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/from-my-childhood-it-has-been-my-conviction-that-men-would-reach-the/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [Life without Electricity,It's beyond our imagination……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhant-bhilatia/life-without-electricity-it-s-beyond-our-imagination/) [Siddhant Bhilatia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhant-bhilatia/) > [“Imagination has brought mankind through the Dark Ages to its present state of civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover America. Imagination led Franklin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-frank-baum/imagination-has-brought-mankind-through-the-dark-ages-to-its-present/) [L. Frank Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-frank-baum/) > [Science fiction does not attempt to predict. It extrapolates. It just says, "What if?" not what will be? Because you can never predict what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-fiction-does-not-attempt-to-predict-it-extrapolates-it-just/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Space can be mapped and crossed and occupied without definable limit; but it can never be conquered. When our race has reached its ultimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/space-can-be-mapped-and-crossed-and-occupied-without-definable-limit-2/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/when-a-distinguished-but-elderly-scientist-states-that-something-is-2/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [I think that it's good for us to be able to travel in space and do research in space, and I emphasize the research,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-glenn/i-think-that-it-s-good-for-us-to-be-able-to-travel-in-space-and-do/) [John Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-glenn/) > [The Stone trembled and threw herself outward bound, toward Saturn. In her train followed hundreds and thousands and hundreds of thousands of thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/the-stone-trembled-and-threw-herself-outward-bound-toward-saturn-in/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Humanity had implemented space travel three hundred years ago, taking their place in the galactic government a mere hundred years later. They’d soon become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-grey/humanity-had-implemented-space-travel-three-hundred-years-ago-taking/) [Jamie Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-grey/) > [“Sci-Fi, Space-Travel, Space-Opera, Chance-Encounters, Adventure-Reads, Speculative-Fiction, Book-Quotes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-nowaz/sci-fi-space-travel-space-opera-chance-encounters-adventure-reads/) [Max Nowaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-nowaz/) > [“Cultural criticism always attacks the mass media. I don't think that makes sense. We should look more closely at the work of deformation that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sloterdijk/cultural-criticism-always-attacks-the-mass-media-i-don-t-think-that/) [Peter Sloterdijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sloterdijk/) > ['You spin in the sky, the world spins under you, and you step from land to land, while we . . .' She turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/you-spin-in-the-sky-the-world-spins-under-you-and-you-step-from-land/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“Most families have increased the speed of their lives and the number of their activities gradually--even unconsciously--over time. They realize that there are costs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-john-payne/most-families-have-increased-the-speed-of-their-lives-and-the-number/) [Kim John Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-john-payne/) > [“Quite a feeling, isn't it? I though I'd lost it forever." "Space travel?" "Hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-perlman/quite-a-feeling-isn-t-it-i-though-i-d-lost-it-forever-space-travel/) [Nicole Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-perlman/) > [“Mars looks like Vegas without the casinos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-neill/mars-looks-like-vegas-without-the-casinos/) [Sam Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-neill/) ## More by Arthur C. Clarke > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [I am unable to distinguish clearly between your religious ceremonies and apparently identical behavior at the sporting and cultural functions you have transmitted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-am-unable-to-distinguish-clearly-between-your-religious-ceremonies/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [I don't believe in astrology; I'm a Sagittarius and we're skeptical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-don-t-believe-in-astrology-i-m-a-sagittarius-and-we-re-skeptical/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [You can't have it both ways. You can't have both free will and a benevolent higher power who protects you from yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/you-can-t-have-it-both-ways-you-can-t-have-both-free-will-and-a/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Astronomy, as nothing else can do, teaches men humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/astronomy-as-nothing-else-can-do-teaches-men-humility/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Nowhere in space will we rest our eyes upon the familiar shapes of trees and plants, or any of the animals that share our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/nowhere-in-space-will-we-rest-our-eyes-upon-the-familiar-shapes-of/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“The universe is full of energy, but much of it is at equilibrium. At equilibrium no energy can flow, and therefore it cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/the-universe-is-full-of-energy-but-much-of-it-is-at-equilibrium-at/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“Here the trees surrounded them with an invisible, anechoic blanket, so that every word seemed sucked into silence the moment it was uttered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/here-the-trees-surrounded-them-with-an-invisible-anechoic-blanket-so/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“I’m a scientific expert; that means I know nothing about absolutely everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-m-a-scientific-expert-that-means-i-know-nothing-about-absolutely/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [There were some things that only time could cure. Evil men could be destroyed, but nothing could be done with good men who were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/there-were-some-things-that-only-time-could-cure-evil-men-could-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“Pure coincidence, of course, but a sensible man makes coincidences work for him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/pure-coincidence-of-course-but-a-sensible-man-makes-coincidences-work/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [They will have time enough, in those endless aeons, to attempt all things, and to gather all knowledge no Gods imagined by our minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/they-will-have-time-enough-in-those-endless-aeons-to-attempt-all/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“One thing seems certain. Our galaxy is now in the brief springtime of its life—a springtime made glorious by such brilliant blue-white stars as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/one-thing-seems-certain-our-galaxy-is-now-in-the-brief-springtime-of/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Now I understand,” said the last man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/now-i-understand-said-the-last-man/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [It is really quite amazing by what margins competent but conservative scientists and engineers can miss the mark, when they start with the preconceived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/it-is-really-quite-amazing-by-what-margins-competent-but-conservative/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) [Explore all 415 Arthur C. Clarke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) ## More Discovery quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Throughout my work, I have assumed that the standard model is correct, and hence, the Higgs boson should be found. Although this is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashoke-sen/throughout-my-work-i-have-assumed-that-the-standard-model-is-correct/) [Ashoke Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashoke-sen/) > [There is usually no dreamer so unworldly as the anthologist. He wanders in a vast garden, lost in wonder, unable to decide often between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-usually-no-dreamer-so-unworldly-as-the-anthologist-he/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [ That has been another interesting discovery: that basically a city \[Lagos\] could recover from a really deep, deep, deep pit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/that-has-been-another-interesting-discovery-that-basically-a-city/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Every fact of science was once Damned. 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Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) [Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/) > [The European talks of progress because by the aid of a few scientific discoveries he has established a society which has mistaken comfort for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-european-talks-of-progress-because-by-the-aid-of-a-few-scientific/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of-our-own-ignorance/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. 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