the argument that humans have some monopoly on ethical behavior, and all these other animals are just beasts and beneath contempt, is clearly a human conceit. it's wrong... and how many other of the purported distinctions of humans are also wrong, when we take a close look at how animals behave? - carl sagan
thanks to the sagan appreciation society.
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Showing posts with label ann druyan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ann druyan. Show all posts
a pale blue valentine
like it? click it!
part 1:
carl sagan championed it but not everyone wanted to risk it. the sun might have burned the sensitive instruments on voyager 1. to get into a better position, it was delayed for five years. but finally, voyager's camera turned from its position ahead, back to take a picture of us.
one of the most important pictures humanity has taken: the pale blue dot, shot twenty years ago today, on february 14, 1990.
a valentine, from us, to us.
where are we? look at it carefully:
click pic to source on NASA
see it? a few pale blue pixels... over there -- to the right?
there we are!
'suspended in a sunbeam.'
well, not quite... that is an accident on voyager's optics.
'look again at that dot. that's here, that's home, that's us. on it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. the aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
the earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. in our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
the earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. there is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. visit, yes. settle, not yet. like it or not, for the moment the earth is where we make our stand.
it has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. there is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. to me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.' - the eloquence of carl sagan
part 2:
in november of last year, i linked to an interview of ann druyan on radiolab.
on friday, NPR published not one -- but two -- articles on the pale blue dot, voyager and a cosmic love story -- the one in how ann druyan and carl sagan fell in love while they were working on 'the ultimate mix tape', the sounds of earth to be carried by the voyagers on a golden record.
both articles contain an excerpt of the interview... with a transcript.
here's an excerpt of the excerpt:
'so i called carl, who was traveling. and we had been alone many times during the making of the record, and as friends for three years. and we'd had these wonderful, soaring conversations, but we had been both been completely just professional about everything and as friends. and he wasnt there. left a message. hour later, the phone rings, pick up the phone, and i hear this wonderful voice. and he said, i get back to my hotel room and i find this message, and it says annie called. and i say to myself - why didnt you leave me this message 10 years ago.
and my heart completely skipped a beat. i can still remember it so perfectly. and i said, for keeps? and he said you mean get married? and i said yes. and we had never kissed. wed never, you know, had any kind of personal discussions before. we both hung up the phone and i just screamed out loud. i remember it so well, because there was this great eureka moment. and then the phone rang and i was thinking oh, you know, i - and the phone rang, and it was carl, and he's like, just want to make sure that really happened. were getting married, right?' - annie druyan
what a story.
this wasn't fate... and i don't believe in soulmates. both ideas devalue an extaordinary experience.
no... this was two highly perceptive people who found themselves by chance at the same point in space and time, who recognized extraordinary qualities in each other, had the courage to express their thoughts and the strength to hold onto their love.
more images of us:where are we? look at it carefully:
click pic to source on NASA
see it? a few pale blue pixels... over there -- to the right?
there we are!
'suspended in a sunbeam.'
well, not quite... that is an accident on voyager's optics.
'look again at that dot. that's here, that's home, that's us. on it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. the aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
the earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. in our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
the earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. there is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. visit, yes. settle, not yet. like it or not, for the moment the earth is where we make our stand.
it has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. there is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. to me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.' - the eloquence of carl sagan
in november of last year, i linked to an interview of ann druyan on radiolab.
on friday, NPR published not one -- but two -- articles on the pale blue dot, voyager and a cosmic love story -- the one in how ann druyan and carl sagan fell in love while they were working on 'the ultimate mix tape', the sounds of earth to be carried by the voyagers on a golden record.
both articles contain an excerpt of the interview... with a transcript.
here's an excerpt of the excerpt:
'so i called carl, who was traveling. and we had been alone many times during the making of the record, and as friends for three years. and we'd had these wonderful, soaring conversations, but we had been both been completely just professional about everything and as friends. and he wasnt there. left a message. hour later, the phone rings, pick up the phone, and i hear this wonderful voice. and he said, i get back to my hotel room and i find this message, and it says annie called. and i say to myself - why didnt you leave me this message 10 years ago.
and my heart completely skipped a beat. i can still remember it so perfectly. and i said, for keeps? and he said you mean get married? and i said yes. and we had never kissed. wed never, you know, had any kind of personal discussions before. we both hung up the phone and i just screamed out loud. i remember it so well, because there was this great eureka moment. and then the phone rang and i was thinking oh, you know, i - and the phone rang, and it was carl, and he's like, just want to make sure that really happened. were getting married, right?' - annie druyan
what a story.
this wasn't fate... and i don't believe in soulmates. both ideas devalue an extaordinary experience.
no... this was two highly perceptive people who found themselves by chance at the same point in space and time, who recognized extraordinary qualities in each other, had the courage to express their thoughts and the strength to hold onto their love.
clickable
ann druyan on radiolab
i've posted this before but a friend urged me to link to this podcast on radiolab with an interview of annie druyan, carl sagan's partner in life and vision.
it's a wonderful interview.
it's a wonderful interview.
a biography of carl sagan
the world suffered a great loss on december 20th, 1996, when carl sagan died. i've expressed my admiration for sagan, repeatedly, on this blog... but right now i just feel very, very sad.
this is in three parts:
if you want to learn more about this great man today, you'll find lots of material at the newly redesigned celebrating sagan.
this is in three parts:
if you want to learn more about this great man today, you'll find lots of material at the newly redesigned celebrating sagan.
at home in the cosmos with annie druyan: a trailer
more information at podjockey!
video description:
'this amazing set of original podcasts features ann druyan's intimate accounts of her life with carl sagan, including their colorful histories growing up in brooklyn and queens. she takes you on a tour of their amazing home in ithaca, and shares some of her most treasured memories and possessions. she talks about their collaborative projects including the interstellar voyager message, motion picture contact, groundbreaking documentary COSMOS, and best selling books - as well as their family life and the story book love affair that they shared. she takes you on a tour of the never before seen sagan archives and sits at his graveside while talking about her own philosophy of life and death.'
thanks to the sagan appreciation society for the information!
remember carl.
he would have been 75 years old.
a couple of days ago, james randi spoke about how, after we'd lost carl sagan, he'd pick up the phone to call him. and then realize he couldn't.
i'm feeling that now, as i lost my mother three weeks ago. i want to pick up the phone too.
i often reflect about how lucky we are to be alive and how wondrous our cosmos is. but lately i haven't been feeling it.
then i found this podcast... an interview with ann druyan and nick sagan via nick's blog.
and it hit me more intensely than usual.
'it is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.'
the interview starts at around 00:22.
a couple of days ago, james randi spoke about how, after we'd lost carl sagan, he'd pick up the phone to call him. and then realize he couldn't.
i'm feeling that now, as i lost my mother three weeks ago. i want to pick up the phone too.
i often reflect about how lucky we are to be alive and how wondrous our cosmos is. but lately i haven't been feeling it.
then i found this podcast... an interview with ann druyan and nick sagan via nick's blog.
and it hit me more intensely than usual.
'it is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.'
the interview starts at around 00:22.
dawkins, tyson, druyan, stenger, grothe
video description:
'this panel discussion took place at a center for inquiry - new york city conference titled "secular society and its enemies." the panel discusses a wide variety of topics, including, science, science education, the nature of science, the correct political methodology and much more.
richard dawkins, neil degrasse tyson, ann druyan and victor stenger. moderated by d.j. grothe.
recorded by bluewater media llc.'
i'm really looking forward to seeing this -- it's going to be a treat.
'this panel discussion took place at a center for inquiry - new york city conference titled "secular society and its enemies." the panel discusses a wide variety of topics, including, science, science education, the nature of science, the correct political methodology and much more.
richard dawkins, neil degrasse tyson, ann druyan and victor stenger. moderated by d.j. grothe.
recorded by bluewater media llc.'
i'm really looking forward to seeing this -- it's going to be a treat.
brian cox on carl sagan
on BBC4 radio:
click pic to listen to the source of the program
'physicist and broadcaster brian cox presents a tribute to his science hero, the american astronomer carl sagan, the man who many people describe as the greatest populariser of science of all time. his landmark television series cosmos was seen by more than 600 million people worldwide and inspired a generation of young scientists to regard the universe with wonder and awe.'
thanks to the bad astronomer
click pic to listen to the source of the program
'physicist and broadcaster brian cox presents a tribute to his science hero, the american astronomer carl sagan, the man who many people describe as the greatest populariser of science of all time. his landmark television series cosmos was seen by more than 600 million people worldwide and inspired a generation of young scientists to regard the universe with wonder and awe.'
thanks to the bad astronomer
watch cosmos
this is not new.. but a carl sagan group posted it on facebook and i got goosebumps seeing it again -- so here it is:
if you haven't seen cosmos -- you just must. for the u.s., it's available on hulu. for the rest of us, there's google video.
by the way, this is an interesting review:
if you haven't seen cosmos -- you just must. for the u.s., it's available on hulu. for the rest of us, there's google video.
by the way, this is an interesting review:
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