All Entries in the "Editorial" Category
A Theory of the Universe
Sophie writes: I wrote this in 2008 with my little brother after we had read “An Index of Possibilities,” a large softcover tome which is not related to Carl in any way other than it is a map of life from cosmos to quantum. I found Carl Sagan shortly afterwards, echoing the sentiments of our thoughts.
To end, I want to suggest that the old adage taken from John Donne’s Mediation XVII, ‘No man is an island’ could be modernised to express the idea that ‘Every man is a planet’, and that every man and woman has his or her own gravitation, orbit, weather system and sun. No man or woman exists as a section apart from the world. All is necessarily connected and responsive, interrelated and communicative. We exchange information to that which surrounds us, and that which we surround. To go further than that, it is not only true that men are planets, but according to me, Sophie Ward, I believe that ‘Every man is a universe’ and that in light of the parallels of man and universe that make up my theory, get ready for it: The multiverse is a man.
Carl Sagan’s Barsoomian blurb
I recently discovered that the back cover of the 2007 Penguin Classics edition of A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs has a prominent blurb by Carl Sagan: “Might it really be possible—in fact and not fancy—to venture with John Carter to the Kingdom of Helium on the planet Mars?” Although the cover [...]
"Atheist" video by Zachary Kroger
This five-minute video in “defense of atheists” has been a hit on YouTube since its debut in mid-2006 (with more than 800,000 views and 80,000 comments, and praise from the likes of James Randi, Michael Shermer, and Penn & Teller), but has gotten extra attention from a mention in the article “God and Man on [...]
the 20th.
I wake up reluctantly today, exhausted. It has been a busy few weeks and today will be no exception. Wednesday December 20th will be a day of deadlines, and developments, and manically checking the email, and posting comments, and dinners and more deadlines.
This last week my life has been consumed by Carl Sagan. Falling asleep [...]
T’is the Season!
The Planetary Society was not only started by Dr. Sagan, but it is also a great resource of information on him and the World’s largest Space-interest group.
Also, as it is the holiday season, why not make a donation to SETI in commemoration of Dr. Sagan in a loved one’s name? They are always desperate [...]
The Dot Quote.
Take a moment and search the Internet for the phrase ‘Pale Blue Dot.’ The vast majority of the returns will feature a grainy image of light beams that highlight a tiny dot.
Invariably these images of sunlight and earth will be accompanied by a Sagan quote — perhaps the most quoted statement by Carl Sagan on [...]
A Thought
This coming December 20th marks the tenth anniversary of the passing of Carl Sagan, and upon reflection the importance of the event is less a memorial to the life of the man himself but to the memorial of what he has come to represent, if only to a few. Sagan was a theorist, a [...]
