A few kind words about Michael Crichton

Because even I have a heart, let the record show that Discover lists The Top 5 “Crazy” Michael Crichton Ideas That Actually Came True.

  1. Talking gorillas (Congo)
  2. Self-replicating robots (Prey)
  3. Superbugs from space (The Andromeda Strain). OK, this sounds like a stretch, but: “…[W]e’ve also discovered that some [microorganism] strains become more virulent when sent into space. (Though fear not: They become far less deadly once they’ve made the journey home.)”
  4. Brain implants (The Terminal Man)
  5. Cloning dead (or even extinct) animals (that novel about dinos, the name of which escapes me):  Maybe overstating a bit, but: “[S]cientists have successfully cloned mice that have been dead and frozen for 16 years.”

Not all these ideas are exactly original to Crichton.  Still, take that, me.

[Tribute to the author by DML East Branch]