Science
Related: About this forumWhy Carl Sagan is Truly Irreplaceable
By Joel Achenbach
SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE
We live in Carl Sagans universeawesomely vast, deeply humbling. Its a universe that, as Sagan reminded us again and again, isnt about us. Were a granular element. Our presence may even be ephemerala flash of luminescence in a great dark ocean. Or perhaps we are here to stay, somehow finding a way to transcend our worst instincts and ancient hatreds, and eventually become a galactic species. We could even find others out there, the inhabitants of distant, highly advanced civilizationsthe Old Ones, as Sagan might put it.
No one has ever explained space, in all its bewildering glory, as well as Sagan did. Hes been gone now for nearly two decades, but people old enough to remember him will easily be able to summon his voice, his fondness for the word billions and his boyish enthusiasm for understanding the universe were so lucky to live in.
He led a feverish existence, with multiple careers tumbling over one another, as if he knew he wouldnt live to an old age. Among other things, he served as an astronomy professor at Cornell, wrote more than a dozen books, worked on NASA robotic missions, edited the scientific journal Icarus and somehow found time to park himself, repeatedly, arguably compulsively, in front of TV cameras. He was the house astronomer, basically, on Johnny Carsons Tonight Show. Then, in an astonishing burst of energy in his mid-40s, he co-created and hosted a 13-part PBS television series, Cosmos. It aired in the fall of 1980 and ultimately reached hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Sagan was the most famous scientist in Americathe face of science itself.
Now Cosmos is back, thanks largely to Seth MacFarlane, creator of TVs Family Guy and a space buff since he was a kid, and Ann Druyan, Sagans widow. Theyre collaborating on a new version premiering on the Fox Network on Sunday March 9. MacFarlane believes that much of what is on television, even on fact-based channels purporting to discuss science, is fluff. He says, That is a symptom of the bizarre fear of science thats taken hold. The astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson, of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, serves as narrator this time, giving him a chance to make the case that hes the Sagan of our generation. Cosmos is more than Carl Sagan, Tyson told me. Our capacity to decode and interpret the cosmos is a gift of the method and tools of science. And thats whats being handed down from generation to generation. If I tried to fill his shoes I would just fail. But I can fill my own shoes really well.
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-carl-sagan-truly-irreplaceable-180949818/
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)Sagan speak for crackpots
longship
(40,416 posts)Neil deGrasse Tyson should do very well in this Cosmos reboot.
I will watch every one of the episodes.
And Fox is promoting the Hell out of it.
Trailer:
I watch ThisTV on a local Fox sub channel (old movies). There are multiple Cosmos ads every hour throughout the day and night.
It looks like it's going to be great.
BTW, the article cited in the OP is very good. Highly recommended click through.
R&K
exboyfil
(17,863 posts)He is a great spokesman for science, but I found this panel discussion with Tyson and Dawkins to be interesting.
The reason I found it interesting is that each scientist is obviously struggling to understand and explain the science outside of their area of expertise (astronomy and biology). Sagan did not have that difficulty. It might be because he was once married to one of the greatest life scientists of our era (Lynn Margulis).
defacto7
(13,485 posts)like a guru or pater mentor. I do miss his insight.
Always to you and the universe Carl!
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)tridim
(45,358 posts)I definitely don't think the many physics series on Discovery and Science Channel have been anywhere close to "fluff". At least not any more than the original "Cosmos" series.
All science television has to be dumbed down slightly to be viewable and interesting for the non-physicist, but it's not fluff... It's cutting-edge theory without all the details. "Cosmos" will be similar.
LongTomH
(8,636 posts)......have you seen what they've both been doing lately?
mzteris
(16,232 posts)But I'll venture to say neil degrasse Tyson will be an amazing host.
It's time to get people excited about science again.