William Olaf Stapledon (10 May 1886 - 6 September 1950) - known as Olaf Stapledon - was a British philosopher and author of several influential works of science fiction.Stapledon's writings directly influenced Arthur C. Clarke, Brian Aldiss, Stanisław Lem, John Gloag, Naomi Mitchison, C. S. Lewis, Vernor Vinge, John Maynard Smith, and indirectly influenced many others, contributing many ideas to the world of science fiction. The "supermind" composed of many individual consciousnesses forms a recurring theme in his work. Star Maker contains the first known description of what are now called Dyson spheres. Last and First Men features early descriptions of genetic engineering and terraforming. Sirius describes a dog whose intelligence is increased to the level of a human being's.