[Ads-l] Quote: Sometimes I think we=?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=99re_alone=2C_and_sometimes_I_think_we=E2=80=99re_?=not. In either case, the idea is quite staggering

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Off-list Andy Bach told me about an intriguing precursor which
appeared in Walt Kelly’s popular comic strip “Pogo” in 1959. The strip
discussed the presence or absence of advanced intelligent life
elsewhere in the universe. I had researched the "Pogo" quotation
previously, but I had not recognized its relevance.

The punchline was: Either way, it's a mighty soberin' thought
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/02/18/space/

The QI article has now been updated, and Bach has been acknowledged.
(Updates take time to propagate.)

On another mailing list Dennis Lien mentioned that Fred Hoyle was an
English SF author and a prominent astronomer. Thus, he fits into the
two categories mentioned by Kubrick. Perhaps someone will find a match
for the quotation in his works.

Garson O'Toole

On Fri, Oct 23, 2020 at 5:25 PM ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Researcher Gary Westfahl published "Science Fiction Quotations: From
> the Inner Mind to the Outer Limits". Afterwards he posted an article
> to his website “World of Westfahl” listing quotations that were
> difficult to trace including a version of the saying in the subject
> line attributed to Arthur C. Clarke.
>
> Now the Quote Investigator website has an entry on this topic:
> https://quoteinvestigator.com/2020/10/22/alone/

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