Over his career, who wrote seventeen books and countless scientific papers, but it was his television series, Cosmos, that cemented his place in the pop-cultural science universe. Airing over thirteen weeks from September to December of 1980, it became the highest-rated show in the history of public television. For its time, the show's production values were remarkable, giving Sagan the seeming ability to walk through a giant solar system (actually, the planets were quite small models), and featuring appropriately "spacey" music from Vangelis.
One might say that his timing was also perfect; just a decade after the Moon landing and at a time before the space shuttle program experienced its first failures, it was a time of increasing optimism about space and space travel; the kids who had drunk their Tang and eaten their Space Food Sticks in the 1960's were now young adults, primed for a curious, celebratory, and slightly speculative journey into the outer reaches of the universe.
There was a tie-in book, which of course became a best-seller; Sagan followed it with others. In one curious twist, his fictional narrative, Contact -- originally a screenplay, which Sagan decided to turn into a novel when he wasn't able to get it made into a movie -- did get made into a movie a few years later, starring Jodie Foster (Sagan, alas, didn't live to see it.) Pale Blue Dot is, to my mind, the best of the later books; it's the most philosophical, and connects best with our overall theme of exploration. Sagan was closely involved in the two Voyager space probes, and lamented that Nasa decided to set aside plans for further exploration of space after the Apollo program ended. At the same time, he knew -- and emphasizes in the book -- the practical truth that there's no home away from home for us earthlings -- at least "not yet."
NB: Be sure to check out the "Planetary Update" I've just added!
The most interesting part of the first half of this novel for me was chapter seven’s discussion of Titan, the moon of Saturn. This is because I never knew that there was a world that might be able to inhabit life, which we only assume because it has some aspects like those that allowed life to happen on Earth. It is kind of intriguing that there is “…a world in which the organic building blocks of life are being massively generated in our own time, a world we can go to to seek our own beginning” (Sagan 85). I knew we have always been in a search for one, but I never knew that there was one discovered that could have that possibility of new life. Why do not more people know about this? It is a shame that it is too far away for us to inspect, and because of the orange clouds we can’t see the surface either. However, the idea that there might be people or life on the surface, but the orange haze is preventing them from seeing us and us from seeing them is intriguing. It is the circumstances around why we can’t know if there is life on Titan that is suspect to me. It’s the mystery of it all and the coincidences of how it’s not possible that is questionable to me. There must be some way for us to solve this mystery with all of our technology, right?
ReplyDeleteWhile reading “Pale Blue Dot” It really opened my eyes to many things I didn’t know before or maybe could just be things I have forgotten as I got older. For example, when they started to talk about how humans positioned themselves as the center of the universe but then it was revealed that there are other worlds like ours around the sun? Like what?! I had no idea about this. Also, how it was once said the sun was the center of the galaxy but they were wrong about that and talk about the Milky Way that they were also wrong about. It seems like there is just so many unknowns about the world, the earth, the sun, etc. Which there is no surprise because I feel like there is just so much research to be done about the world we live in. The more popular technology gets the more I am sure will surface more about things like this. Which is scary to think about but fascinating at the same time.
ReplyDeleteSo far, I have found the first half of Pale Blue Dot to be very interesting. It is crazy to think about how far we have come with technology and what we know now. One thing I found fascinating was how when Galileo was making predictions and theories, he had to stop because of the Catholic Church. I also like how he talks about other universes and how we do not know what exists out there. “We do not know how many other winning hands there are in the cosmic deck, how many other kinds of universes, laws of Nature, and physical constants that could also lead to life and intelligence and perhaps even delusions of self-importance” (Sagan 31). It is very fascinating and somewhat scary to think about how there could be other intelligent life forms out there in other Universes. As technology continues to improve it will be very interesting to see what is found.
ReplyDeleteMadeleine Frost
ReplyDeleteAs we’ve talked about time and time again, the unknown is super fascinating. This is probably why we have turned towards the sky for our next area of exploration. Sagan describes the reason why we continue to explore space in general and specifically planets: “But we continue to search for inhabitants. We can’t help it. Life looks for life” (Sagan xx). When people think of space, they tend to associate it with the unknown and, for some, aliens. We don’t know for sure if aliens exist or not — so, perhaps this is what drives us to continue to explore space. Perhaps we will find living creatures that are alien to us and we will have confirmation that we are not the only living things in the universe. Sagan also does a lovely job capturing how humans seem to have a superiority complex of some sort; hence why most of the planet has been taken over by humans and crafted to serve the needs of humans. As Sagan puts it, “We seem to crave privilege, merited not by our works but by our birth, by the mere fact that, say, we are humans and born on Earth” (Sagan 18). Simply because humans are humans, we seem to think we are privy to colonizing and disturbing the areas around us. At the same time, we are driven to explore not only because of this selfish sense of wanting to have privilege, but also because of curiosity. Humans “lack consensus about our place in the Universe” (Sagan 51). Perhaps by exploring space around us, we will be able to understand our place in the Universe. After all, how can we try to attempt to understand and analyze the whole if we are not even aware of all of its parts?
I find Sagan’s “Pale Blue Dot” to be a very unusual book. For starters, the book itself is more reminiscent of a textbook than a novel. The high-quality photo paper print makes the pictures included really pop out at the reader and grab their attention. I liked this approach and found it interesting that I have not seen many other books printed quite like this in the 30-or-so years since publication.
ReplyDeleteThe second thing that I found unusual was the tone and content of the Sagan’s book. Initially, Sagan seems to weave in and out between talking about other worlds and short autobiographical blips from his personal life. This seems to dissipate as the book goes on and that’s sad because I wanted to see more off it (I’m only about half-way through so there is still hope).
Before reading this, I was unaware of the link between religion and astronomy that runs deep in history. Because of conflicts between the Catholic church and astronomers like Galileo, Sagan seems to hold organized religion in contempt. Often associating religion with concepts like “human chauvinism” and the idea that humanity is special in some way or another. During the beginning portions of this book, Sagan constantly hammers the point of humanity being insignificant space dust. At some point that mantra stops the reader from feeling awe-inspired at the enormity of the universe and instead feels disheartening.
This is one of my favorite things that we’ve read this semester. I’ve always been fascinated by and interested in space, and I’ve read Carl Sagan’s stuff before. What struck me in the first half of Pale Blue Dot was Sagan’s conversation about geocentric language that we use in everyday life without even thinking. Particularly, he talks about words like “sunrise” and “sunset” where “we don’t talk about the Earth turning, but about the Sun rising and setting” (39). The phrases that we use aren’t technically correct, but the language is oriented toward our perception. It seems like a nitpicky thing for Sagan to point out, but at the same time, it ties into perceptions of humans being something exceptional and central. Through using this language that inadvertently falls into geocentric ways of thinking, it shows how humans and humanity are associated with the middle of things, if that makes sense. Because we’re the only intelligent life that we know, I suppose that gives us a pass to some extent, but I like that Sagan tries very hard to highlight that science suggests that humans are ordinary. The sheer vastness of the universe and the volume of unknowns that are out there doesn’t allow for us to sit comfortably with the idea of human centrality. Reading that back sounds somewhat bleak and sad, but it’s fine! The vastness of space and the unknown of it is scary, certainly, but it’s also really cool to think about!
ReplyDeleteIn regards to Pale Blue Dot, the thing that really stood out to me was just how often Sagan made claims of Earth's, and as an extent, humanity's insignificance in the grand, vast void that is space. I often look up at the sky and find that my problems can be miniscule in the grand scheme of things, as there are so many people living here on earth with their issues. However, Sagan takes this issue and applies on the largest scale he can: space. Here, everything that we as a species is utterly and completely insignificant.
ReplyDeleteWhile sounding very bleak and downright defeatist, it does hold in perspective just how much we don't know about the things that surround our planet and as our technology grows, the more things we have to look forward to knowing or at least discovering. While it does out things in perspective, it also gives me the feeling it could be taken as a strange challenge in a way, that with time, things could be explored and known, even if that time isn't now.
Something about Sagan's book that I found to be very refreshing was the voice he uses. Although this book is very informational, and uses scientific language, it read very much like a conversation. I enjoyed how when there was a phrase or term that needed further explanation, at the bottom of the page we get that explanation. A specific example I found entertaining was the explanation of a "Copernican veneer". It was explained to be "an astronomical truth intended to bring fledgling narcissists down to Earth"(Sagan 39). I find this book and his writing to be a very realistic view on space and everything we think we know about it.
ReplyDeleteSpace as we know is a mystery to us Earthlings that have not experienced its beauty. I think that Sagan does a really awesome job throughout his book to help us experience space the way he did IRL to the fullest we can through the pages of his piece. His wonderful use of imagery helps us visualize the intenseness of space and all it has to offer. On page 149, Sagan describes Earth to sometimes be, "filled with a more amazing liquid: You tiptoe to the edge, and see vast, glowing lakes of yellow-red liquid and fountains of fire". To think about the realness of these images and how there are images extremely more beautiful in the universe we have still yet to discover is absolutely fascinating. Sagan's piece allows the human mind to think beyond what we know about the planet we live on and what we have seen in the space outside of it, knowing there is much more left to explore.
I seem to always run into the same big question every time I hear about space exploration: Why not just explore the world we live in? Our oceans are practically untouched, why not explore the ocean? After reading Carl Sagan, I have started to truly understand the thirst for space exploration. Sagan puts into words the worry we should feel when thinking about the destruction humans are creating on earth. Sagan proposes that we and our planet are not special in the way we thought we were so many years ago. Instead, we are but one small example of life that could be reality on many other planets outside of our own solar system and galaxy. He proposes that we explore space in search of the possibility of life elsewhere in case we fail our own planet. That is not to say that he thinks we should give up trying to save our planet, but space exploration opens up endless possibilities.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed "Pale Blue Dot" for its somewhat nihilistic perspective. Our planet is tiny and insignificant compared to the universe, and so are we. That said, just because we are a pale blue dot does not mean that Earth, the Milky Way, and the universe cannot hold importance to humanity either. It is our home.
ReplyDeleteI found the idea of looking for other planets to inhabit very intriguing, especially in the time of Elon Musk and his race to go to Mars. Learing about Titan was awesome, yet humbling because of our technological limitations. I've often thought about the potential existence of life on other worlds because yes, if we came to be then why not others?
While I find a great deal of entertainment in the idea of searching for a 'plan b' planet should we ruin Earth, I find that questions of ethics pop up. For example, if we can't keep our planet in living condition, then do we deserve another? Or if we were to try expanding our reach, would our habitation of other planets throw off or destroy ecosystems that would have eventually been, etc.? Naturally the concept of colonialism comes to mind and the ethical issues that couple with it. I enjoyed this book because it has the gears in my brain whirring abouth these factors again.