All Entries Tagged With: "excerpt"
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.
To read the whole post, please visit Sophie Ward’s website at Paper Castle Press.
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Remembering Carl Sagan
Alex Michael Bonnici at The Discovery Enterprise writes:
Today on Discovery Enterprise we commemorate the memory of Carl Sagan who died an untimely death thirteen years ago today. Carl Sagan, was an astronomer, astrochemist, author, and highly successful popularizer of astronomy, astrophysics and other natural sciences. He pioneered exobiology and promoted the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI). For me personally he will always be remembered and revered as a great teacher who communicated the joys and transcendence of scientific discovery. Carl Sagan’s enduring legacy will always be linked to his ability to convey the wonders of science to the general public and his skill in inspiring the next generation of scientists. Carl Sagan’s name will also be forever linked to the greatest science television series in history – Cosmos.
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Happy Birthday Carl
All that we have seen is something of a vast and intricate and lovely universe. There is no particular theological conclusion that comes out of an exercise such as the one we have just gone through. What is more, when we understand something of the astronomical dynamics, the evolution of worlds, we recognize that worlds are born and worlds die, they have lifetimes just as humans do, and therefore that there is a great deal of suffering and death in the cosmos is a great deal of life.
– Dr. Carl Sagan. ‘The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God.’ Edited by Ann Druyan from the 1985 Gifford Lectures. Published in 2006.
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Sagan and Reagan
Over at the ScienceBlog Framing Science, Matthew Nisbet wrote about two men that he considers to be the top communicators of the 1980s, President Reagan and Dr. Sagan:
In the years before cable television fragmented Americans into ever smaller viewership groups, both men took advantage of the broadcast television networks to communicate directly to a mass audience. Reagan would make speeches during prime time from the Oval Office such as his 1983 call to scientists to develop the Strategic Defense Initiative. “I call upon the scientific community in our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace, to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete,” declared Reagan.
And before The Daily Show or The Colbert Report turned late night comedy into platforms for scientists such as Neil deGrasse Tyson, Sagan would appear as a regular on Johnny Carson reaching tens of millions of viewers. The astronomer was so familiar to American audiences that Carson would even affectionately impersonate Sagan in skits.
Follow through to the original post for video.
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Planetary Imagery: 30 Years From Voyager Spacecraft
Wired has a gallery of Voyager photos up today that includes some Sagan material. There are some truly wonderful shots that I had never seen before.
Here’s two that include mention of Dr. Sagan:
Voyager project manager John Casani displays the “Sounds of Earth” recording shortly before launch in 1977. The 12-inch gold-plated copper phonograph record was intended to serve as a time capsule that could communicate the story of Earth to extraterrestrials.A NASA committee, chaired by renowned physicist Carl Sagan, assembled 115 images and a variety of natural sounds made by surf, wind, thunder, birds, whales and other animals. They also embedded musical selections from different cultures and eras, and spoken greetings in 55 languages. Encased in protective aluminum jackets, each record had its own cartridge and a needle. Instructions written in symbols explained the origin of the spacecraft and indicate how the record was to be played
Famed astronomer Carl Sagan served as a spokesman for the Voyager spacecraft. Here, Sagan discusses the Voyager 2 in the Jet Propulsion Labs in Pasadena, California on January 18th, 1986.
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Carl Sagan Gathering article in this week’s Ithaca Times
Larry Klaes wrote an article about the Sagan Gathering for the Ithaca Times this week. Check it out here or just read on below.
A Organizational Voyage
By Larry Klaes
Cornell University professor and world-renowned astronomer and scientist Carl Sagan unquestionably is one of Ithaca’s most well-known former residents, having lived in this town from his arrival to teach at the university in 1968 until his death from myelodysplasia in late 1996.
As a scientist and educator, Sagan brought the wonders of the universe to millions of people through his writings and other works for decades. He also worked tirelessly with his wife, Ann Druyan, the CEO of Cosmos Studios, to support, promote, and debate the most pressing social issues of his time, many of which are still with us today.
When Patrick Fish was in the eighth grade, he watched Sagan’s landmark Cosmos television series on PBS when it premiered in 1980. Fish found Sagan to be an “island of sanity” in his world.
Fish’s sense of wonder and admiration for Sagan only grew during the years, even as his life took him in several different directions. Last January, Fish learned about the blog-a-thon that took place across the Internet, honoring Sagan on Dec. 20, the 10th anniversary of his death. The online celebration inspired the Utica resident to become familiar with his boyhood hero again.
“I read a lot about and by Carl that was online,” said Fish. “I became reacquainted with Sagan and his ideas, such as his studies of the greenhouse effect that makes the planet Venus so hot and its relationship to our understanding of global warming on Earth. I also admired how Sagan used his research into the concept of nuclear winter to play a role in pressuring the United States and Soviet Union to give up on the idea that a thermonuclear attack could be winnable for either side during the Cold War. Sagan was a scientist who did not lose his humane ethic.”
A recent visit to Sagan’s resting place at Lakeview Cemetery, where Fish was struck by the “humbleness” of the late astronomer’s grave marker and several articles about the man resting at the site, led him to begin solidifying the idea of a permanent tribute to Sagan in his longtime residence.
“At first I thought getting this idea rolling would be difficult,” explained Fish. “However, I found only goodwill towards Sagan and his memory in Ithaca.”
Fish’s initial plan involves the upcoming Ithaca Festival Parade on May 31. He plans to have a car-float in the parade that reflects on some of the major themes and events of Sagan’s life.
“My plan is to have a model of the twin Voyager space probes that explored the outer Solar System in the 1970s and 1980s. I would like to have the hubcaps on each of my car’s tires covered with a replica of the golden Interstellar Record placed aboard each Voyager probe,” said Fish. The golden records contain images, messages, and music from humanity to anyone who finds those robot craft drifting through space in the distant future.
Other items for the Sagan parade float include a rendition of the plaque placed aboard two other earlier space probes named Pioneer 10 and 11 and a model of the Cosmos 1 solar sail craft, which did not achieve Earth orbit when its launch rocket failed in 2005.
Fish also hopes to use his parade float for the promotion and growth of the Sagan Appreciation Society (SAS), which he describes as “an ad hoc group of science-minded folk, skeptics, humanists, environmentalists, peaceniks, Sagan fanboys and girls, etc.”
“The participation in the parade will be the first public act of the SAS,” stated Fish. “The warm reaction to the idea of a Sagan parade-float lead to expanding the concept beyond just a parade entry and into a Sagan Gathering that will overlap and hopefully cross-pollinate with the Ithaca Festival. Up until this point, we’ve had no media exposure and no outreach campaign yet, and already we have commitments from as far away as Indiana. But what we need are more Ithaca-area people to get involved in the planning process.”
Fish is also looking for people who knew Carl Sagan who would like to talk and share their stories about Sagan, perhaps as part of a series of panel discussions. “Men like Sagan motivate people. Those who knew him can really energize the public to deal with issues Sagan brought up that still go on today.” Fish, who would ultimately like to see a Carl Sagan statue standing in Ithaca Commons, mirrored one of his mentor’s concerns that have only compounded with time.
“Our culture has become more reliant on science and technology than ever before, but we are understanding it less and less, such as genetically modified foods. Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan brought an artful way for a passionate expression of science. They were definitely in love with science, which not everyone appreciates or understands, but it is critical to the survival of our species and every other species on Earth.”
To participate in the Sagan Appreciation Society and the Ithaca Festival parade float, contact Patrick Fish at this e-mail address: SaganGathering@yahoo.com.
- Larry Klaes
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Sagan Brigade at Ithaca Festival
Pat recently wrote to us to ask for help in putting together a Sagan Brigade for the Ithaca Festival Parade which takes place in early June. The parade form deadline is March 17th, so if your interested in participating please email Pat ASAP at SaganGathering@yahoo.com, or help spread the word. Here’s a bit of what Pat has in mind:
It would be an opportunity for an uninhibited Sagan fellowship, a celebration of the man in the small city he called home. It would be a good opportunity to remind people of Sagan’s continuing impact as well as a lighthearted way to put a public face on secularism, humanism, evolution, freethought, critical thinking, ethical science, skepticism, and yes, non-theism.
Again, email Pat ASAP at SaganGathering@yahoo.com if you’re interested in celebrating Sagan at this summer’s Ithaca Festival.
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Cosmic Calendar
In response to the Cosmic Clock post, Larry Klaes wrote to remind of us of Carl’s Cosmic Calendar:
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Beyond Belief
Before my long holiday train ride, I took the time to download the recent Beyond Belief sessions to watch during the trip. (One of the few bonuses of riding Amtrak is outlets.) This is hardy stuff that would’ve made Carl Sagan proud – the meat and potatoes of existence. If you haven’t already, you simply must check it out. I recommend session 2.
If you’re unfamiliar with the project, here’s their website‘s description:
Just 40 years after a famous TIME magazine cover asked “Is God Dead?” the answer appears to be a resounding “No!” According to a survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life in a recent issue of Foreign Policy magazine, “God is Winning”. Religions are increasingly a geopolitical force to be reckoned with. Fundamentalist movements – some violent in the extreme – are growing. Science and religion are at odds in the classrooms and courtrooms. And a return to religious values is widely touted as an antidote to the alleged decline in public morality. After two centuries, could this be twilight for the Enlightenment project and the beginning of a new age of unreason? Will faith and dogma trump rational inquiry, or will it be possible to reconcile religious and scientific worldviews? Can evolutionary biology, anthropology and neuroscience help us to better understand how we construct beliefs, and experience empathy, fear and awe? Can science help us create a new rational narrative as poetic and powerful as those that have traditionally sustained societies? Can we treat religion as a natural phenomenon? Can we be good without God? And if not God, then what?
This is a critical moment in the human situation, and The Science Network in association with the Crick-Jacobs Center brought together an extraordinary group of scientists and philosophers to explore answers to these questions. The conversation took place at the Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA from November 5-7, 2006.
Ann Druyan gave a particularly moving presentation. Here it is in three parts:
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