2001: A Space Odyssey

In the Foreword, the author says "There are approximately a hundred billion stars in our local universe, the Milky Way. So for every man who has ever lived, in this Universe, there shines a star. But every one of those stars is a Sun". This comparison was very gripping and increased my curiosity.

The name Moon-Watcher sounded very much different. At the end of the first chapter, it's mentioned that of all the creatures who had yet walked on earth, the man-apes were the first to look steadfastly at the Moon and hence he has been christened as Moon-Watcher. He disposes off his dead father's body by leaving to the hyenas. I had never read about such things. Now, I could visualize how our ancestors would have lived.

After reading the lines,

"Yet the thousands of tons of succulent meat roaming over the savannah and through the bush was not only beyond their reach; it was beyond their imagination. In the midst of plenty they were slowly starving to death.

On the planet Earth the first crude knot had been tied. Moon-Watcher felt the first faint twinges of a new and potent emotion. Discontent had come into his soul, and he had taken one small step towards humanity."

makes us wonder how the author had gone into so much details. 

"From time to time his hands clenched unconsciously in the patterns that would determine his new way of life." Without using our hands properly, we wouldn't have reached this level of intelligence. Now, I realize why the aliens instructed Moon-Watcher to pick a stone and hit the bull's eye. With this, hunting started and they weren't hungry again.

I seriously doubt why the ape-men didn't get the hunting instincts by seeing other wild animals. 

I thought Moon-Watcher was the Protagonist. Only after reading the Section T.M.A - 1, I understood Moon-Watcher was just an introduction. 

When I read articles about the dangers of AI, I couldn't understand the impact it would result in. The way HAL killed Poole and opened the airlock and killed the 3 Hibernators, one will definitely know why many feel AI might become a danger to humanity.

After reading the post 1 & post 2, I understood better.

3 million years back, when the New Rock (metal) made Moon-Watcher to think about something other than basic survival, another Monolith was implanted in Moon. And this large 1:4:9 Monolith is the Protagonist.

I was wondering why the year 2001 is mentioned in the book title. In the Chapter X, Dr. Floyd is welcomed by a large sign which read:

WELCOME TO CLAVIUS BASE
U.S. Astronautical Engineering Corps
1994

In Chapter XV: "If all went well, they would be back on Earth within seven years". So, I guessed, the travel time from Earth to Saturn is 7 years. They started from Earth in 1994 and will reach Saturn in 2001.

This book was written in 1968. On October 15, 1997, the spacecraft Cassini was sent to study the planet Saturn and its system, including its rings and natural satellites. It took 7 years to reach Saturn. Its mission ended on September 15, 2017. 

Now, you will be very curious to read the below sequels:

2010: Odyssey Two
2061: Odyssey Three
3001: The Final Odyssey