I don't exactly remember when, but recently I discovered a brilliant astrophysicist named Carl Sagan. Despite the fact he died in 1996, I've found this amazing man's messages to be pertinent to life even today. The moment I became hooked on his works was the day I heard his "Pale Blue Dot" speech. Watch now, thank me later. I began to read up on him as much as I could, and I viewed countless interviews and other videos involving him.
Standing out to me the most was his Magnum opus: "Cosmos". First broadcast in 1980, it remains an incredible source of knowledge about the universe. Even the graphics aren't bad, and Dr. Sagan's voice is soothing, transfixing, and even mesmerizing. His ability to explain everything with such intrinsic detail is reason enough to view the series.
After I found the series, I also discovered that they turned it into a bestselling book. Without hesitation, I bought it. Each chapter goes with an episode from the series, and despite having to imagine Dr. Sagan's voice, the book goes into more detail of the cosmos. One might ask why they should care about outer space, and this book is the best argument I could think to give. By definition, cosmos means "harmony in the universe" (the opposite of chaos). It encompasses everything that ever was, is, and ever will be. It's truly a beautiful concept that humans are one with the universe. I really can't reccomomend the book more to anyone who has an interest in life. I thoroughly enjoy the new perspective that Cosmos gave to me.
It doesn't matter what prior knowledge you have before reading, you'll learn as you go. What you get out of it is an awesome understanding of the world around you. I feel it's a must read. For those who are less inclined to reading, check the series itself out, here's Episode one. Give it a watch, hopefully it will ignite an interest in the cosmos as it did to me.
"The cosmos is also within us...we're made of star stuff, we're a way for the cosmos to know itself"-Carl Sagan
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Coincidentally, Sagan is featured on the documentary that I'm watching as I type this comment. I've always admired his ability to use language (and voice) to spread science and inspire fascination.
ReplyDeleteThe cosmos etymology is an interesting tidbit.
Great closing quote.
I hope one of your classmates checks out Sagan as a result of your post. I'll revisit the "Pale Blue Dot" speech myself -Thanks.
Avoid "danglers" like the one in your second sentence which makes you a dead man.
The last couple of hours, along with looking up some Calculus proofs we've failed to learn, I've thought about the universe and the debate on it's finite or infinite structure. I've struggled with this concept before and haven't reached a conclusion myself. Listening to Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot" again did make my night however. I love Sagan's mixture of breathtaking factual or theoretical concepts of the universe along with his opinions on the true worldly meaning of these concepts. Couple this with his memorizing voice and you could listen to him for hours.
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