In this Skeptics Distinguished Lecture Series talk at Caltech from 1999, three science biographers take an illuminating look back over the life and legacy of one of the 20th Century’s most celebrated astronomers. First, Michael Shermer analyzes Carl Sagans career to test common claims (such as the idea that Sagans popularizing interfered with his scientific research). Shermer reveals the true nature of the so-called Sagan Effect. Then, William Poundstone (author of Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos) provides an entertaining look at Sagans lesser known interests — especially his marijuana use (and the media fascination with that revelation). Keay Davidson (author of Carl Sagan: A Life) rounds out the event with a discussion of Sagans ideas about exobiology and nuclear proliferation. Order the DVD: www.skeptic.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5
i love to get high and listen to carl for hours.
viewing from a 2nd, new perspective.
Fuck yeah. R.I.P Carl Sagan
36:20 “I qualify as a nerd.” you don’t qualify you are king of the nerds.
Yes, the tune at the beginning got me so pumped that I trashed my whole house and then struck my wife.
Yes, Sagan was hardcore atheist… If you have not seen “Cosmos” or read the book where he openly states and demonstrates there are no Gods. You can just search some YouTube videos of him talking about it.
The world before powerpoint. How quaint!
Was Sagan an atheist?
Yes he was.
Thanks for putting this up Michael.
This video is currently unavailable.
ALTHOUGH I’M A CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIAN (Baptist), I no longer believe that the Bible teaches eternal torment or suffering. The Bible teaches eternal punishment, but it’s not eternal torment. In my popular Internet article, TRADITIONAL DOCTRINE OF HELL EVOLVED FROM GREEK ROOTS, I explain how and why teaching of eternal torment entered early into Christianity and how Scriptures have been misinterpreted and taken out of context to support that teaching. ~Babu G. Ranganathan (B.A. theology/biology)
THE SCIENCE SUPPORTING CREATION. Just google the title to access this site of mine ~Babu G. Ranganathan (B.A. theology/biology). I’ve been privileged to be recognized in the 24th edition of Marquis “Who’s Who In The East” for my writings on religion and science. I explain from science, for example, why the universe cannot be eternal, couldn’t have arisen from nothing by natural processes, why only limited evolution is possible in nature, and why mindless nature cannot overcome those limits, etc.
Considering the age of the earth and the cosmos, 40 years isn’t even a blip on the radar. I think we can carry on searching for alien messages a bit longer.
I admit =)
pretty Sagan was NOT an athiest…
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Admit it. You got a kick out of that tune at the beginning.
Thanks for uploading this, Carl was an inspiring man .
0:21:45 Was Carl strong about his atheism? Because I recall reading that he thought atheism means gnostic atheism and regarded himself as agnostic (instead of agnostic atheist, which is what he was)
No big deal. PowerPoint started as a program to easily make slides and transparencies. Then it became common to skip the hard-copy step, and project the slides directly from the computer.
I’m not young, I guess I never thought much abt powerpoint! I’d just assumed since he’s using the ol’ overhead projector (which i prefer, anyway). Cheers.
You think 1997 was before PowerPoint? How young are you?
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Correlation is not evidence. Nothing can be said of it without more study.
Happy (77th) Birthday, Dr. Sagan. With thanks.