Articles
Carl Sagan
Summary: The article focuses on the story of astronomer Carl Sagan and dedicated his life to two astonishing projects that includes teaching millions of regular Folks about the power and beauty of science and searching for evidence of extraterrestrial life. It further discusses Sagan's documentary television series Cosmos.
Carl Sagan, Cosmos, and Abortion Rights
“Carl Sagan, Cosmos, and Abortion Rights.” Free Inquiry Vol 34 Issue 4. (June/July 2014): p 56 – 56. 1 p. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
Summary: The article focuses on Astronomist, Carl Sagan, a member of the National Advisory Board of Americans for Religious Liberty (ARL) who played a significant role in abortion rights. Topics discussed by the author include the premiere on the continuation of Sagan's classic 1980 television series "Cosmos: A Space time Odyssey" on March 9, 2014 and his article "Abortion: Is It Possible to Be Both 'Pro-Life' and 'Pro-Choice?" co-authored with his wife Ann Druyan in "Parade" magazine on April 22, 1990. |
Long-range Consequences of Interplanetary Collisions
“Long-range consequences of interplanetary collisions.” Issues in Science and Technology Vol. 10 Issue 4 (Summer 1994): p 67. 6p. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
Aliens, the Cosmos, and the Foundation of Political Life
“Aliens, the Cosmos, and the Foundations of Political Life.” Perspectives on Political Science. Vol. 28 Issue 3 (Summer 1999): p 131. 5p. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
Summary: Discusses the ideas of three scientists on extraterrestrial beings, the universe and the meaning of political life. Examination on the claim of Carl Sagan that humans are wanderers by nature; Implications of Sagan's idea about the political nature of man; Analysis on the ideas of Paul Davies, a physicist, that contradicts the claims of Sagan; Discussion on the views of Walker Percy, a scientist-novelist, on the topic.
|
Scientists as Celebrities: Bad for Science or Good for Society?
Krauss, Lawrence M. "Scientists As Celebrities: Bad For Science Or Good For Society?." Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists 71.1 (2015): 26-32. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
Summary: The author explores the reasons why scientists such as Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, and Neil deGrasse Tyson became celebrities, as well as sharing his own experience. He describes how public acclaim is often uncorrelated to scientific accomplishment and depends more on communication skills and personality traits. Nevertheless, he argues that the entire scientific community benefits when credible scientists gain a wider audience, and that celebrity is an opportunity that should not be squandered. Scientists who become recognizable have a chance and perhaps even a responsibility, which they have often exploited, to promote science literacy, combat scientific nonsense, motivate young people, and steer public policy discussions toward sound decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
Ann Druyan Talks about Science, Religion, Wonder, Awe...and Carl Sagan
Druyan, Ann. "Ann Druyan Talks About Science, Religion, Wonder, Awe … And Carl Sagan." ETC: A Review Of General Semantics 63.1 (2006): 25-35. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
Summary: The article presents views on the relationship and conflict between science and religion. It raised the argument of why people separate the scientific methodology as a way of searching for truth. It also addresses the tragedy that science ceded the spiritual uplift of its central revelations: the vastness of the universe, the immensity of time, and the relatedness of all life.
The God Hypothesis
Sagan, Carl. "The God Hypothesis." Skeptic 13.1 (2007): 39-45. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
Summary: An excerpt from the book "The God Hypothesis," by Carl Sagan is presented. The following excerpt is from Chapter 6, "'the God Hypothesis,” from The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God, by Carl Sagan, edited by Ann Druyan. Each (of the chapters represents a lightly-edited transcription of the original lectures written and present by Cari Sagan at the University of Glasgoiv for the 1985 Gifford Lectures on Natuml Theology.
This series has hosted some of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century including Arthur Eddington, Werner Heisenherg, Niels Bohr, Alfred North Whitehead, and Albert Schweitzer In her introduction to the volume. Sagan's long time collaborator and wife Ann Druyan iirites:
"Carl saw these lectures as a chance to set down in detail his understanding of the relationship between religion and science also something of his own search to understand the nature of the sacred."
Druyan attended every lecture, "and more than twenty years later what remains with me was his extraordinary' combination of principled, crystal clear advocacy coupled with reflect and tenderness towards those who did not share his men's. "Those who recall the inimitable voice of Sagan with his punched syllables and dramatic pauses will hear it again in these chapters. "There was plenty of laughter during these lectures,"Druyan recalls, "but also the kind of pin drop silence that comes when the audience and the speaker are united in the thrall of an idea." There is, arguably no more enthralling idea than that of God, which Sagan characteristically addressed in a rigorously logical and scientific manner. I thank Penguin Press and Ann Druyan for the opportunity to publish this excerpt, but more importantly for making this treasure of thought available to the world.
This series has hosted some of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century including Arthur Eddington, Werner Heisenherg, Niels Bohr, Alfred North Whitehead, and Albert Schweitzer In her introduction to the volume. Sagan's long time collaborator and wife Ann Druyan iirites:
"Carl saw these lectures as a chance to set down in detail his understanding of the relationship between religion and science also something of his own search to understand the nature of the sacred."
Druyan attended every lecture, "and more than twenty years later what remains with me was his extraordinary' combination of principled, crystal clear advocacy coupled with reflect and tenderness towards those who did not share his men's. "Those who recall the inimitable voice of Sagan with his punched syllables and dramatic pauses will hear it again in these chapters. "There was plenty of laughter during these lectures,"Druyan recalls, "but also the kind of pin drop silence that comes when the audience and the speaker are united in the thrall of an idea." There is, arguably no more enthralling idea than that of God, which Sagan characteristically addressed in a rigorously logical and scientific manner. I thank Penguin Press and Ann Druyan for the opportunity to publish this excerpt, but more importantly for making this treasure of thought available to the world.
Why Send Humans To Mars?
Sagan, Carl. "Why Send Humans To Mars? (Cover Story)." Issues In Science & Technology 7.3 (1991): 80. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
Summary: Discusses the issue of manned missions to Mars as advocated by Carl Sagan, the David Duncan professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences at Cornell University. President George Bush's announcement of a long-term direction for the U.S. Space Exploration Initiative (SEI). Key to getting to Mars is to save money; Alternative technologies; International cooperation; Standard justifications; Steps for the here-and-now.