Posted by: Dan | December 20, 2006

Remembering Carl Sagan

sagancarl

I confess I’m not as knowledgeable on the works of Carl Sagan as I’d like to be, but it is the 10th anniversary of his passing, and there is a blog-a-thon going on.

Carl Sagan (1934-1996) was a Cornell astronomy professor from right here in Ithaca. His thoughts are some of the most revolutionary of the 20th century, including the books Cosmos and Pale Blue Dot (both of which I know by reputation, but will only finally read in the coming month). Most significantly, in my mind, is his use of the image of Earth from the edge of the solar system, which is partially attributed to starting the modern environmental movement.

Simply put, he helped us as humans rethink our place in the Universe.

palebluedot

Added contribution, courtesy of Ivy Privy (a more recent image):

sagansgrave

Posted in Philosophy

«
»

Responses

  1. That grass looks pretty green for December – that’s not a fresh photo, is it?

    By: ivy privy on December 20, 2006
    at 7:17 pm

  2. No, I confess, I didn’t take that picture. I found it on findagrave.com (linked above).

    Also, I found this collection of Sagan quotes that seems pretty thorough.

    By: Dan on December 20, 2006
    at 7:27 pm

  3. Here’s a confused person who thinks Sagan is buried in Seattle

    Brandon and Bruce Lee lie buried next to each other in Lake View Cemetary, Capitol Hill, in Seattle. (This is also the last resting place of astronomer Carl Sagan.) According to the site, their graves are visited by a veritable pilgrimage of fans and admirers coming to pay their last respects: “Only the grave of rock legend Jimi Hendrix, in Greenwood Cemetery in suburban Renton, prompts the same sort of devoted pilgrimages to Seattle”.

    By: ivy privy on December 21, 2006
    at 11:36 am

  4. I have a couple Sagan books I could give you. Copies are plentiful at the local Library used book sale. I bought several copies of some with the intent of gifting them to nieces and nephews, but I read them first. Sadly, some of his books have not held up well.

    By: ivy privy on December 21, 2006
    at 11:39 am

  5. That’s funny on the Seattle business – of course he died there, but that’s not the same as buried.

    I think I might take you up on the books offer – I probably would have ordered them brand new from Amazon or Borders, but why not save a couple bucks, right? I’ll try and make the January 16th atheist meetup, if I don’t run into you before then.

    By: Dan on December 21, 2006
    at 12:24 pm

  6. On the Seattle thing – I think the similar name of the cemetary threw them.

    By: ivy privy on December 22, 2006
    at 1:09 pm

  7. Carl Sagan believes in God now. The only test he ever failed was the one that mattered.

    By: Johnny on January 18, 2008
    at 12:37 pm

  8. Oh does he now?

    By: Dan on January 18, 2008
    at 12:45 pm

  9. @Johnny
    What a despicable, desperate desecration of the defenseless and deceased. Such deplorable behavior clearly demonstrates a devout dedication to a delusion.

    By: Riley on April 6, 2009
    at 4:57 am


Categories