Superiority (short story)

"Superiority"
Author	Arthur C. Clarke
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	Science fiction
Published in	The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
Publisher	Fantasy House
Publication date	August 1951

"Superiority" is a science fiction short story by Arthur C. Clarke, first published in 1951. It depicts an arms race, and shows how the side which is more technologically advanced can be defeated, despite its apparent superiority, because of its own organizational flaws and its willingness to discard old technology without having fully perfected the new. The story was at one point required reading for an industrial design course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Publication

"Superiority" was included in Clarke's anthology Expedition to Earth, published in 1953.

See also

• The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke
• Illusory superiority
• Opportunity cost
• Unintended consequence
• Wonder weapons