Impossible Technologies: The Clarketech Compendium
Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur
Isaac Arthur
4.8 • 739 Ratings
🗓️ 16 February 2025
⏱️ 92 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What if the "magic" of tomorrow is just science we don’t yet understand? In this episode, we explore the wildest speculative technologies—faster-than-light travel, Dyson Spheres, teleportation, wormholes, and more. Could these breakthroughs redefine our future or explain the Fermi Paradox? Find out as we dive into the impossible!
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Credits:
Impossible Technologies: The Clarketech Compendium
Episode 486a; February 16, 2025
Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur
Editors: Ludwig Luska, Thomas Owen, Lukas Konecny
Graphics: Jeremy Jozwik, Ken York YD Visual, Mihail Yordanov, Sergio Botero
Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images
Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator
Phase Shift, "Forest Night"
Chris Zabriskie, "Unfoldment, Revealment", "A New Day in a New Sector", "Oxygen Garden"
Stellardrone, "Red Giant", "Billions and Billions"
Lombus, "Hydrogen Sonata", "Cosmic Soup"
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, SFIA audio listeners. In this month's Nebula exclusive, big alien theory, |
| 0:05.2 | we're asking the reason alien civilizations might be rare is because most aliens are huge. |
| 0:10.5 | To hear it and every episode early and ad-free, plus hours of bonus content, |
| 0:15.1 | check out go.nebola.tv slash Isaac Arthur and use my code, Isaac Arthur. |
| 0:20.8 | Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable for magic, but what if that |
| 0:26.1 | magic is already hiding in the universe, just waiting for us to uncover its secrets? |
| 0:36.7 | Today's topic is Clark Tech, a term we use on this channel to refer to technologies |
| 0:41.8 | that operate outside the bounds of known physics. |
| 0:45.2 | We've got a lot of ground to cover so you might want to grab a drink, a snack, or even |
| 0:49.2 | a slice of pie to enjoy while we dive in. |
| 0:52.9 | The concept of Clark Tech comes from Arthur C. Clark's |
| 0:55.8 | three laws, particularly the third. These laws are, 1. When distinguished but elderly |
| 1:02.6 | scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states |
| 1:08.0 | that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong. |
| 1:12.6 | 2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past |
| 1:17.6 | them into the impossible. |
| 1:19.6 | 3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. |
| 1:25.6 | The third law is the most famous, but all three emphasize why it's wise to avoid dismissing |
| 1:30.9 | possibilities outright. |
| 1:33.0 | However, this idea shouldn't be stretched too far. |
| 1:37.0 | Constantly claiming anything is possible risks intellectual laziness. |
| 1:41.9 | Science rarely overthrows its fundamental principles, but instead builds |
... |
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