On Carl Sagan

[Valiant Champion]

I am just curious. I was doing some research and learned that Carl Sagan basically did nothing outstanding but political achievements. I couldnt believe what I saw. I couldnt find anything actually contributing aside from some good guesses about the atmospheres of Venus and Titan. He got an award for public welfare by the Academy of Sciences.

We all know what Einstein, Newton and Edison did for mankind but I cant really see any breakthrough or revelation ever coming from him.

Actually he was wrong on many occasions more than he was right.

He encouraged the wastefullness of untold of amounts of taxpayers money to begin and sustain SETI which is a worthless expenditure that has yielded no results whatsoever. He also predicted the oil fires in Kuwait would devestate the croplands of South Asia which again he was totally wrong.

He tried to force the hand of companies and movie makers through empty demands to further his name. He attempted on numerous occasions to sue Apple computers for trivial nonsense and got his claim laughed out of court.

He is far from the legendary Icon everyone seems to believe he is.

When someone says Einstein theorized something take notice but I would hardly think based on Carl Sagans track record that I would take notice of his theories.

[RZZZA]

you cant compare sagan to the likes of einstein, newton and edison. Why would you want to? It's not a penis measuring contest. Sagan was simply a smart man and an adept teacher, he brought science to the masses and became known as americas science teacher.

i dont view SETI as a waste at all, you're also probably one of those people who thinks any money put into NASA is a waste.

from wiki, these are his accomplishments:

Carl Sagan was an American astronomer and astrochemist and a highly successful popularizer of astronomy, astrophysics, and other natural sciences. He pioneered exobiology and promoted the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI).

He is world-famous for writing popular science books and for co-writing and presenting the award-winning 1980 television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which has been seen by more than 600 million people in over 60 countries, making it the most widely watched PBS program in history.[1] A book to accompany the program was also published. He also wrote the novel Contact, the basis for the 1997 Robert Zemeckis film of the same name starring Jodie Foster. During his lifetime, Sagan published more than 600 scientific papers and popular articles and was author, co-author, or editor of more than 20 books. In his works, he frequently advocated skeptical inquiry, secular humanism, and the scientific method.

He may not have been as influential to our lives as edison or newton but Sagan made science interesting and relevant to a whole new generation.

[ThiudareiksGunthigg]

He may not have been as influential to our lives as edison or newton but Sagan made science interesting and relevant to a whole new generation.

I owe my love of science almost entirely to Carl Sagan's Cosmos TV series and book. It took the stultifying rote-learning that I had thought science was and replaced it with a genuine wonder at the universe and a curiosity about the world. And it taught me that reason was the way forward.

It also taught me some myths that I later had to unlearn (eg Christians burned down the Great Library of Alexanria and the Church taught that the Earth was flat), but on the whole Sagan's way of explaining science by showing how we've come to understand what we currently know appealed to the history buff in me and made me into a science buff.

And I know many, many other people who feel the same way about Sagan.

So if he wasn't the most perfect human ever and he wasn't a Nobel Prize winner big deal - most people aren't. But he taught a whole generation of kids that science is a thing of genuine wonder. He deserves his iconic status for that alone.

[neoptolemos]

I owe my love of science almost entirely to Carl Sagan's Cosmos TV series and book. It took the stultifying rote-learning that I had thought science was and replaced it with a genuine wonder at the universe and a curiosity about the world. And it taught me that reason was the way forward.

It also taught me some myths that I later had to unlearn (eg Christians burned down the Great Library of Alexanria and the Church taught that the Earth was flat), but on the whole Sagan's way of explaining science by showing how we've come to understand what we currently know appealed to the history buff in me and made me into a science buff.

And I know many, many other people who feel the same way about Sagan.

So if he wasn't the most perfect human ever and he wasn't a Nobel Prize winner big deal - most people aren't. But he taught a whole generation of kids that science is a thing of genuine wonder. He deserves his iconic status for that alone.

I share the same opinion about Carl Sagan

He was also a Hellenist and great enthusiast of Ancient greek scientists

[Simetrical]

Carl Sagan is not remarkable for his scientific achievements, he's notable for his popularization of science. He's not comparable to, say, Hawking, Feynman, etc., in terms of his contributions to his field.

[Gaidin]

*snip saga criticism*

Sorry to disappoint, but when only 100 people(plus or minus) in a field of thousands of scientists can win a Nobel Prize in any given century....not everybody can live up to the quality of Einstein. It's a harsh reality I know, but it's the one we live in.

[RZZZA]

he's a great wordsmith, he paints grand pictures of the universe, of life, of mankinds history and future with his words. So many awesome quotables from one guy, he was just a great and very interesting man imo, I wish i had one teacher like him throughout my years in school.

Cosmos is an excellent series, cerebral and thought provoking, the series is almost as awe inspiring as the subject matter itself.


"If you wish to bake an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe"

[Da Skinna]

The man is great because he has truth-force.

[Valiant Champion]

The bible never taught the Earth was flat.

In one passage the bible refers to your sins being forgotten by God as far as the East is from the West. Now we understand that he really means forgotten.

In another passage refering to Jesus talking about a catching away he tells about a singler event yet at three locations two are in bed (night) two are baking bread (morning) two are out in the field (afternoon).

Did the catholic church teach the Earth was flat? I wouldnt know because I am not a Catholic but the Bible certianly did not.

The bible also said there were worlds in plural. The bible never said the earth was the center of the universe.

Even on ants the bible got it right. It said the ant was a she. Wow!

Carl Sagan was a propagandist and he was good at it. Hitler was too.

[Da Skinna]

And so are you.

[RZZZA]

carl sagan is remarkable in EVERY way

[Miraj]

Yeah, since when was it ever claimed Carl Sagan was a famous for his scientific breakthroughs to begin with? He was a great teacher of science, he was a bridge between the masses and the elite scientific community and he inspired millions of people.

[Valiant Champion]

[he inspired millions of people.]

So did Hitler and Obama

[Denny Crane!]

[he inspired millions of people.]

So did Hitler and Obama

If you made up your mind before opening the thread then why open the thread?

Tell me what the difference between hitler inspiring people and Sagan inspiring people? Were the effects positive or negative in each case?

[Miraj]

[he inspired millions of people.]

So did Hitler and Obama

Pathetic.

[Valiant Champion]

The purpose of the thread originally was not to say Sagan was a postive or negative person but only point out he was only a publicity figure and never actually made any great discoveries or scientific breakthroughs.

Aside from that I give you the field Admin.

[Denny Crane!]

The purpose of the thread originally was not to say Sagan was a postive or negative person but only point out he was only a publicity figure and never actually made any great discoveries or scientific breakthroughs.

Aside from that I give you the field Admin.

Well okay so he wasn't equivocal to two or three people throughout history...that doesnt' erase his work which was overall positive.

(FYI you can argue with admins)

[zznɟ ǝɥʇ]

lol, only on TWC would you find someone compare Obama, Hitler, and Carl Sagan. :laughing:

It seems a bit odd to create this topic, then spend the time bring up the ol' Nazi remarks and argue with yourself. Like el miraje said,

Yeah, since when was it ever claimed Carl Sagan was a famous for his scientific breakthroughs to begin with? He was a great teacher of science, he was a bridge between the masses and the elite scientific community and he inspired millions of people.

[Marie Louise von Preussen]

Miraj, I'm beginning to suspect zznɟ ǝɥʇ is your alt. You go all so close together.

[Miraj]

What can I say, great minds think alike.

Besides, Fuzz is good looking.

But I agree, I thought I'd never see the day Sagan was compared to Hitler.. but there you have it!