up:: People MOC tags::#on/people dates:: 1934 - 1996
Notes on this note
This is a sanitized version of my actual note.
- Some content and links have been removed.
Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan has earned my highest praise out of basically anyone I know.
When I think of Carl Sagan, I think of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (kit). What Carl Sagan did for my love of the cosmos, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (kit) did for my love of Flow. Both have enriched my life.
- That reminds me…
- It’s similar because…
- It’s different because…
- It’s important because…
The 1980 show “Cosmos” was an internal inflection point for me.
Extra
Pale Blue Dot: Chapter 3, The Great Demotions
Sagan calls the “Great Demotions” moments in scientific history that downgraded humanity’s place in the universe. Galileo helped to show that the Earth was not the only “world” along with it not being the center of the universe, bringing about another great demotion. Other great demotions have occurred, however, such as our discovery that we do not live in the only galaxy, or that our galaxy is not at the center of the universe or that no other star has planets. Today we have even discovered planets orbiting other stars.
Cosmos Quotes
The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean. On this shore, we’ve learned most of what we know. Recently, we’ve waded a little way out, maybe ankle-deep, and the water seems inviting. Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return, and we can, because the cosmos is also within us. We’re made of star stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.