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There are some very clever tributes out there to D&D pioneer Gary Gygax:
First, an article, "Geek Love" in the New York Times, featuring this flow chart of geek life...
Second, an MIT Prank Tribute:
Third, Stephen Colbert, who grew up playing D&D and wrote an article for "Thirty Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons"
David+
I just heard on the news this morning that Science Fiction Writer Arthur C. Clarke has died. Asimov and Adams died several years ago, Gary Gygax died a couple of weeks ago, and now Clarke? Most of the writers who helped form my imagination during my teenage years now appear to be gone from this world, barring a Night of the Living Dead. I think Bradbury is left as the sole representative of the authors of the "Golden Age" of Science Fiction.
Clarke has a lasting influence on me, particularly in his "Three Laws of Technology:"
1. "When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong."
2. "The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible."
3. "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
One is very useful when talking about the humility that both scientists and theologians need to practice within their disciplines. Heresy in both disciplines sets in when an "expert" practices certitude.
Three is especially useful when talking about why we don't want to use a "God is in the Gaps" philosophy in the dialogue between religion and science. What was attributable only to divine intervention yesterday is basic science today.
David+
A sad note. Gary Gaygax (Shown in Futurama form with MIchelle Nichols and Stephen Hawking), the co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons died on the 4th at the age of 69. Fans dispute how positive his input was on later development of D&D, but there is no doubt that much of the genesis of the phenomenon was in his hands. Everything from card games like Munchkin to MMORPGs like World of Warcraft owe a lot to the man. If Tolkien can be likened to Jesus as a founder of a movement (Yes, I know that's stretching it a lot) then Gygax was Paul, who took fantasy and made it something you could participate in. As a lifelong gamer, I mourn his loss and am thankful for the gifts he shared during his life.
David+
Link to NPR story on his death here.
