One of Carl Sagan's most important messages for humanity

Originally posted by ProspectPhilosopher
He sure was a brilliant man

"The idea that God is an oversized white male with a flowing beard who sits in the sky and tallies the fall of every sparrow is ludicrous. But if by God one means the set of physical laws that govern the universe, then clearly there is such a God. This God is emotionally unsatisfying... it does not make much sense to pray to the law of gravity."
Carl Sagan R.I.P

edit on 22-9-2012 by ProspectPhilosopher because: (no reason given)

He was a good teacher of thinking outside of the box and higher understanding of reality and maybe even spirituality.

His explanation of 4th Dimension is nice.

Humanity needs a world like in Star Trek if we are going to evolve. That means no money, and a society where people can pick what they want to do, and not be forced to work to survive.

It requires technology to do the jobs people dont want to, and technology to produce what we need with almost no manual labour.

And it requires a shift in concioussness so that nobody wants to kill each other. It also requires that we start to live as part of nature again, appriciating her beauty and not destroying her.

reply to post by jonnywhite


No, he didn't.
I cannot speak for his statement other than I agree fully with him that we are a way for the universe to know itself.
I take it one step in the spiritual direction as I have been saying all along that we are inside and a part of something that is living and aware of itself through the lifeforms it experiences in the universe. Much like a scientist, it also wants to know what it is on all levels of reality and existence.

To me, all science is doing is verifying what soul searchers have been discovering for eons, that we are all connected in multiple ways. Science leaves out much because it has not found it yet, but what it has found continues to back up my own personal belief.

I was not meaning to put words in his mouth just agreeing and adding my own spin.

Originally posted by Darkblade71
"We are a way for the cosmos to know itself" -Carl Sagan

There is more truth in this statement than most people realize, but I believe he knew!

edit on 23-9-2012 by Darkblade71 because: Added video

I think so to and I belive Einstein also figured it out or was very close. Einstein and Carl seem to have lost the small mind/ego even if they did not have the moment of clarity or the other physical symptoms/reactions.

Old Carl. Another thing he proved is you can still have a brilliant mind when you smoke dope all the time.

I really, really miss this man. If I am ever asked again who a true hero is to me, his name I will speak.

I've literally watched everything by Carl Sagan, more than 4-5 times. A true genius, an inspiration. It's a shame we can't have a man like him, with his ideals, running this country or even the world.

reply to post by Darkblade71


Despite the message in the video, putting the words of these men to "auto tune" is an insult. What a despicable video.

Originally posted by Still Naive?
reply to post by Darkblade71

 

Despite the message in the video, putting the words of these men to "auto tune" is an insult. What a despicable video.

Symphony of science was created by someone who wants to share their love of science. Millions of people are watching these songs and discovering for the first time their love of science. I am an avid fan of Sagan, Tyson and the many other worthy names presented in these videos and I can say shamelessly that these songs bring me to tears.

The man was eons ahead of the rest of the world, probably born way before his time.

reply to post by Still Naive?


I fail to see your point.

2nd line.

Originally posted by CaticusMaximus
reply to post by ninjas4321

 

A wise AND intelligent person, a very rare combination of traits. Dead too early, I say, as seems typical of those with high intellect coupled with a strong wisdom.

Uh-oh, really? I better start watching television news to bring myself into the safe zone!

Ok, that was my silly quip. As for Carl Sagan, I love reading his stuff, and about him. Honestly, to me, the face of the Space Age - moreso than Armstrong or Neil Anderson.

reply to post by Darkblade71


You failed to see a point because there was no exertion to make one. I was simply stating my opinion.

reply to post by Dystopiaphiliac


I'm slipping on the idea of auto-tune bringing you to tears, but to each their own.

Carl Sagan is a hero to me and will always be one of my heroes. I've never met the man in person, however, I do miss him greatly. I wish there was more of him to watch...

S+F'd I liked this quote so much I made a picture for our group:



Really, thanks so much for sharing this.

You may also like the couple of video I have on my account there, which I consider his most important final sentiments till he left us:

Carl Sagan on Science Education

Carl Sagan died fighting for better science education that does not just preach science to children. It's a problem with education and lack of scientists willing to engage the general population in terms they understand about the wonder of science and how amazingly powerful it is. We need skepticism and the sense of wonder of the unknown. Not ever one at the expense of the other. Never the arrogant position of "we know this, accept it or you are a religious idiot" type approach; it puts people off. People need to be interdisciplinary, we need general practitioners of science in a world that often only deals with specialists.

Carl Sagan - We Humans Are Capable Of Greatness

He is sorely missed.

Neil De Grasse Tyson is following in his footsteps, but is never going to resonate quite as profoundly as Sagan did.

reply to post by ninjas4321


reply to post by ninjas4321


I love this post. S+F

Another great quote everyone should read:

“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 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. 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.

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.”

― Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space