Billions and Billions... of Blog Posts

December 20, 2006 3:27 AM

Carl Sagan has a posse. Today marks the ten year anniversary of the passing of Carl Sagan, scientist and popularizer of science, and bloggers are planning to mark the day with posts about the man and how he's affected their lives. The initiative has the blessing of at least one member of the Sagan clan, and has already spawned a site where those without blogs of their own can post their thoughts online. Yes, Sagan could be prickly at times, and there might have been things he could have been more open about in his lifetime. But few scientists have done more to bring science to the public. These days, we could use another of him. Maybe two.
posted by jscalzi (43 comments total)

Wasn't he the butt of the joke, "No, no. MARS is the red one. Uranus is gassy."?
posted by crispynubbins at 3:41 AM on December 20, 2006

I just can't slag off on Carl Sagan, though lordy, there were times where he was a BHA.

When I was but a little eriko, I saw Cosmos. That's why I'm a geek.
posted by eriko at 4:08 AM on December 20, 2006

Same as eriko, Cosmos had a big effect on me. It's a shame that he died so young.
posted by octothorpe at 4:17 AM on December 20, 2006

Loving The Android's Dream. Thanks for the post John!
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 4:46 AM on December 20, 2006

I was a johnny-come-lately to Sagan and mostly knew him more from the "billions and billions" parodies than from his own work. But in reruns Cosmos has become a favorite of mine. And I had never heard the Apple/BHA story. Thanks.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 4:57 AM on December 20, 2006

I bet there will be billions and billions of posts about Sagan today. [hey, someone had to say it!]
posted by nofundy at 4:58 AM on December 20, 2006

D'oh! Would help if I read titles first, eh?

Anyway, I loved Sagan.
posted by nofundy at 5:00 AM on December 20, 2006

<pedant>He never said "billions and billions"</pedant> KTHXBAI
posted by sidereal at 5:20 AM on December 20, 2006

That "prickly" link doesn't give the whole story about Sagan's lawsuit against Apple for using his name internally. It leaves out why Sagan felt he was being demeaned:

In 1994, Apple code-named the Power Macintosh 7100 "Carl Sagan" after the astronomer and science popularizer. Though his name was only used internally as an homage to his work, the code-name might not have caused any problems if Apple hadn't also released models codenamed "Cold Fusion" and "Piltdown Man" at the same time — implying that Carl Sagan was a hoaxer. The astronomer was upset at being compared to what he considered pseudoscience and sued.

Still a dumb thing to sue over, but a bit more understandable.
posted by mediareport at 5:23 AM on December 20, 2006

Bloggers? They should have sent poets.
posted by Optamystic at 5:26 AM on December 20, 2006 [2 favorites]

"He never said 'billions and billions'"

He did, however, write a book with that as its title.
posted by jscalzi at 5:45 AM on December 20, 2006

Puff Puff, mr. Sagan.

*cough*
posted by CautionToTheWind at 5:46 AM on December 20, 2006

The "openness" link is blocked for me. What does that refer to?
posted by Morrigan at 6:21 AM on December 20, 2006

Cosmos was the bridge from poetry to science when I was but a little melissa may.

I like that he could be prickly, I like that he had his little moments of hubris. Sagan was a preacher for humanity and the universe as they really are, not some cold and upright heaven. His imperfections were not toxic because he never denied he was human, with all the error and glory that entails.

All the most beloved modern popularizers of science -- Sacks, Gould, Sagan leap immediately to mind -- share an essential optimism about the human condition. They see more cynicism, false and destructive thinking, positive inquiry shut down by fear or greed or simple ignorance than most of us, but they do not despair, they do not relent. They keep believing in our ability to transcend the meaner parts of our condition, to apprehend our true place in the universe. I love Sagan, I love that he thought a little girl growing up as I was in poverty and confusion had a mind that was worth cultivating -- that science had something to offer me, personally -- and that if I were willing to learn, I had something to offer it.

I always loved the epigraph from Contact Marvin Mercer, who wrote it when he was in 5th grade at PS 153:

My heart trembles like a poor leaf.
The planets whirl in my dreams.
The stars press against my window.
I rotate in my sleep.
My bed is a warm planet.

I miss Carl Sagan. Two or three? We could use an army of him.
posted by melissa may at 6:30 AM on December 20, 2006 [7 favorites]

The Science Channel has been rerunning Cosmos for some time now on Tuesdays at 9 ET/PT in honor of the show's 25th anniversary.

I remember being entranced by the originals on PBS. Today, I find their slower pace and Sagan's voice to be very soothing.
posted by CMichaelCook at 6:39 AM on December 20, 2006

Morrigan: in that link he describes his occasional use of marijuana.
posted by muddgirl at 6:45 AM on December 20, 2006

Everyone loves Carl for his science geekery, but when I was a girl, I loved him for his good looks, and later, as a young woman, for his excellent appreciation for pot.
posted by DenOfSizer at 6:56 AM on December 20, 2006

(doh, there's the link in the FPP. sorry!)
posted by DenOfSizer at 6:56 AM on December 20, 2006

Ah, thanks mg.
posted by Morrigan at 7:02 AM on December 20, 2006

The "openness" link is blocked for me. What does that refer to?

The question is what does that reefer to?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 7:20 AM on December 20, 2006

Great post. I remember seeing Cosmos as a teen. Hell, I even enjoyed Contact. I never knew that Sagan was a ganja connoisseur, very interesting.


Man, I just finished reading Old Man's War and The Ghost Brigades (I'm on the libraries wait list for The Androids Dream). I've just gotta tell you how much I enjoyed them. Thanks for writing some good scifi!
posted by anansi at 7:28 AM on December 20, 2006

About 8 years ago I was reading "A Demon-Haunted World," and a roommate of mine, a physics major, told me a story about Sagan. Now, second, third-hand source at least, grain of salt, etc, etc.

It seems some students at Cornell (either a fraternity or off-campus building,) discovered that they lived just a little ways away from Carl Sagan. While planning a barbeque, they decided to send an invitation over to him, in the interest of neighborliness and "Hey! Carl Sagan! Neat!" What they got back was not an acceptance or rejection of the invitation, but a letter with his appearence fees.

I like Sagan and all, and Cosmos was good stuff, but man, that was pretty cold.
posted by Snyder at 8:07 AM on December 20, 2006 [1 favorite]

Thanks for this post, jscalzi. What a beautiful, passionate comment melissa may. I loved Carl Sagan, really enjoyed his Cosmos series and Contact.
posted by nickyskye at 9:38 AM on December 20, 2006

Sagan has written the best defense of cannabis-smoking I've ever read in the "openess" post above. (Although I can't imagine being so enamoured of the drug for more than five or ten years.) He did explain the tendency to see cartoonish images while high, something I'd wondered about. (See Juxtapoz magazine) .Very perceptive man.
posted by kozad at 9:45 AM on December 20, 2006

I Heart Carl Sagan.

1970's Highschool education was a wasteland. If it were not for PBS and Cosmos I would have zero science education. Cosmos lead to Nova. Nova lead to Connections. Connections lead to The Day The Universe Changed.

Plus the story of how he proposed to his wife, Ann Druyan, always gets me a bit weepy. Damn it. I, uh, got something in my. I gotta go.
posted by tkchrist at 10:41 AM on December 20, 2006 [3 favorites]

I just picked up a First Ed. of Contact from my local used book store. Looking forward to re-reading it.
posted by jeffamaphone at 10:55 AM on December 20, 2006

I think it's appropriate that my first contribution to Metafilter is in a thread about Carl Sagan--brilliant, sexy, and the man who provided the books I read during class in junior high. Despite what my teachers thought, that wasn't even a little bit counter-productive.
posted by 1UP at 11:01 AM on December 20, 2006

That was one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever heard, tkchrist. I always noticed how much Sagan loved his wife -- so much of his work is dedicated to her -- but I never knew this. This post has been a source of so many happy memories and fresh inspiration -- thanks, jscalzi. (Thanks too, nickyskye. I can't say enough how glad I am that your kind and graceful presence has returned.)
posted by melissa may at 11:10 AM on December 20, 2006

Snyder writes "While planning a barbeque, they decided to send an invitation over to him, in the interest of neighborliness and 'Hey! Carl Sagan! Neat!' What they got back was not an acceptance or rejection of the invitation, but a letter with his appearence fees. "

Sagan probably never even saw the invitation, his people (I'm assuming he had people even if it was just a blue hair sorting his mail) most likely sent the schedule out.
posted by Mitheral at 11:13 AM on December 20, 2006

That was one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever heard, tkchrist.

I will neither confirm nor deny that I wept like a little girl and immediately wrote a sickeningly sweet poem for wife when I first heard this story. For in my veins pumps ice. And in my heart is a core or molten steel and I... ooooh! Little House on The Prairie is on, YAY... gotta go.
posted by tkchrist at 11:45 AM on December 20, 2006

I guess I was introduced to Sagan's brilliance via a backwards path.

I highly recommend The Dragons of Eden.
posted by jaronson at 12:28 PM on December 20, 2006

tkchrist beat me to it, but the story is so good that it's worth pointing out that there is a downloadable mp3 link to the Sagan Voyager story.
posted by Manjusri at 1:49 PM on December 20, 2006

.
posted by troybob at 1:54 PM on December 20, 2006

Sup scalz! I should have guessed you're a Sagan fan... you and I are about the same age and into a lot of the same geekery. :)

I went to Cornell, took some astronomy (great liberal arts science elective!), met him. He was friendly if cordial, and was kind enough to take time from his busy schedule to sign my copy of Broca's Brain that I dropped by his office with his permission. He was definitely a positive force in this world and we do indeed need an army of people like him. Sometimes I try to be in that army.

I bought Cosmos on DVD a few years ago, because when I watched it while in high school I only had a black & white TV, with slightly snowy reception. I finally got to see it in color, and it looks wonderful... I should watch the whole thing again on my new HDTV...
posted by zoogleplex at 4:43 PM on December 20, 2006

You are sorely missed, Carl Sagan.

(melissa may said everything I wanted to say, beautifully.)
posted by luminous phenomena at 5:09 PM on December 20, 2006

I went to grade school with Nick Sagan (1st-3rd, Cayuga Heights, Ithaca), and we were friends. Met his dad when he came to our class to give us a talk about one of his books, "The Dragons of Eden".
Nick had stars on his ceiling that glowed in the dark and a bathtub so deep it was sort of a mini swimming pool. He was a cool guy and a proto-geek. He had a computer and we talked about science. Doubt he remembers me. I've almost sent him an email a few times but haven't as it would probably come of groupyish.
posted by signal at 7:32 PM on December 20, 2006

And I have the yearbook pictures to prove it, too.
posted by signal at 7:38 PM on December 20, 2006

My dad had no idea what to do with a young child in the house and was, as a consequence, a fairly distant man. Carl Sagan, via Nova and Cosmos, was one of my father-figure stand-ins. All of my young geekings were pretty much a result of late-night PBS.
posted by lekvar at 7:56 PM on December 20, 2006

About 30 years ago there was a B.C. strip in which one of the guys asks why athletes get paid so much more than scientists. The reply is: "Would you buy a ticket to see a scientist?".

My answer: Yes. I would and I have. Most memorably, I went to a lecture by Joseph Taylor. That was about 10 years ago and I still relish the memory..
posted by neuron at 10:43 PM on December 20, 2006

Carl Sagan is one of a small host of writers that I'm irrationally angry at for dying before I got a chance to meet them.

Also one of those writers whose books I collect, ever since I got The Demon-Haunted World in high school.

He had some pretty... out-there ideas when it came to things not in his field of expertise, though.
posted by Target Practice at 1:34 AM on December 21, 2006

I'm grateful to Dr. Sagan for all the usual reasons and for one that surprised me: His rationality helped to make me examine what role religious faith has in my life. I'd read his writing and start wondering how such a firmly grounded thinker would approach the question of the existence of the human soul, and in that way I found my own and began listening to it and nurturing it as best I can. So -- thanks for everything and then some, Carl.
posted by pax digita at 4:19 AM on December 21, 2006

Signal:

"I've almost sent him an email a few times but haven't as it would probably come of groupyish."

I know Nick now and I think he'd be happy to get the e-mail, Signal. Nick's a pretty approachable guy.
posted by jscalzi at 5:17 AM on December 21, 2006

Yeah Signal, write Nick! I've contacted friends I knew in early grade school and we had/have lots of fun memories to share. Bet he'd really enjoy hearing from you.
posted by nickyskye at 8:25 AM on December 21, 2006