Episode of Carl Sagan's Cosmos series

[Evo]

episode of Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" series

An episode of Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" series "One Voice In the Cosmic Fugue" will be on tonight at 9pm CST on the Discovery Channel. I see other episodes are on the Science Channel.

I haven't seen this in years, I bought the entire collection on VHS 20 years ago, but they were destroyed in the great basement flood.

Anyone else a fan of this series? It was awesome when it first came out, I'm curious to see how it's held up over the last 20+ years.

 

[Astronuc]

Yeah, I watched the original - ~26 years ago.

Now's your chance to get it on DVD - http://www.cosmicvoyage.org/cv_cosmos.htm

 

[Igor_S]

I'm a big fan , watched the entire series last time few months ago when a friend brought it on DVDs (VHS quality). Well, the whole series really makes you go "wow"... at least made me do. I am still fascinated with everything he was.

The music is really good, although it can be a little bit annoying hearing "that" sound every once in a while. If you watch the series you will definitely know what sound I'm talking about. But overall this series is for me still one of the best.

I also have a book, but never got a chance to read it entirely.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Great stuff. I saw part of one episode recently - the very end of the last episode. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[moose]

Thanks for the heads up! I'll watch it when I take a break from my homework, woot!

 

[Chi Meson]

I had the book. I read it billions and billions of times.

 

[Integral]

Discovery science showed the whole series last winter. I caught a couple of episodes, including my favorite, his presentation of the Drake equation.

I recall that my TV died during the original showing. I had to rush out to buy a new TV before the next episode aired.

 

[Igor_S]

I had the book. I read it billions and billions of times.

Yes, he really says that too often.

 

[moose]

Holy crap that was a boring one... Anyone with 4th grade biology would know everything he covered...

Hmm... I guess I was hoping it would be about stuff not many people know...

 

[zoobyshoe]

I cought about half an hour of this and was struck by his speech patterns; he had a pronounciation fetish and was shamelessly into savoring the sounds of certain words.

Anyone read a biography of him? Was he eccentric in other ways as well?

 

[moose]

He spoke like Agent Smith in the Matrix spoke...

 

[Astronuc]

Holy **** that was a boring one... Anyone with 4th grade biology would know everything he covered...

Which is the majority of the population.

 

[moose]

Which is the majority of the population.

I think it would be interesting to watch if you didn't know the information... I guess it's what I get for making an assumption about what it was for...

 

[zoobyshoe]

I think it would be interesting to watch if you didn't know the information... I guess it's what I get for making an assumption about what it was for...

What I found interesting was that he was making a directly anti-Intelligent Design argument way before that movement existed as such. It was as if written specifically to counter ID.

 

[hypatia]

Yes when you watch it, we must keep in mind..MOST people didnt know anything about space, and it was worded in such a way, that the common person would grasp it.

 

[Evo]

What I found interesting was that he was making a directly anti-Intelligent Design argument way before that movement existed as such. It was as if written specifically to counter ID.

I noticed that too. Having not listened to him in quite awhile, I had forgotten just how quirky his speech could be, but I always found it endearing.

 

[Astronuc]

I think it would be interesting to watch if you didn't know the information... I guess it's what I get for making an assumption about what it was for...

Bear in mind that TV was the popular communication medium at the time.

PCs were relatively new - just introduced by IBM and they cost thousand of dollars, and had about 64 k RAM (expandable to 640k) and a floppy drive or two, each with 360K capacity. Or one made one's own.

And we certainly didn't have the internet with access to many sites where one find information on cosmology, astrobiology, biology, evolution, etc . . .

And we didn't have a PhysicsForum!

And the first Space Shuttle mission STS-1 didn't happen until April 12, 1981.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I noticed that too. Having not listened to him in quite awhile, I had forgotten just how quirky his speech could be, but I always found it endearing.

It's not obnoxious or anything, just draws attention to itself. I was wondering if he was eccentric in lots of other ways too. I know very little about him.

 

[Astronuc]

It's not obnoxious or anything, just draws attention to itself. I was wondering if he was eccentric in lots of other ways too. I know very little about him.

Sagan was a bit 'quirky' IIRC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan#Personality

Anyway, he expressed some interesting ideas - http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/sagan.htm

Here is a tribute to him - http://home.austarnet.com.au/stear/sagan.htm

Sagan was a significant figure, and his supporters credit his importance to his popularization of the natural sciences, opposing both restraints on science and reactionary applications of science, defending democratic traditions, resisting nationalism, defending humanism, and arguing against geocentric and anthropocentric views.

Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan#Legacy

Mr. "Star Stuff" captured the imagination of many young folk in his time.

I also think of him a Mr. "Billions and Billions" (reference to stars in the Cosmos).

 

[Chi Meson]

He was the butt of many Johnny Carson jokes, but I can't remember any. Johnny liked to use the "billions and billions" line a lot (once referring to his alimony payments).

He was pals with Kip Thorne wasn't he? From when he was writing "Contact"?

 

[ek]

I have the book but have never seen the series. The book is one of the main reasons I take what I take at university. I have read it numerous times and never really get sick of it. I would love to see the show(s) some time.

Carl Sagan is one of the people who I pattern myself after. Not really a role model per se, but a man with similar thoughts and values who is (was) in a position I would like to be in some day.

"For thousands of years humans were oppressed - as some of us still are - by the notion that the universe is a marionette whose strings are pulled by a god or gods, unseen and inscrutable."

 

[Integral]

So it looks like Cosmos is on Science Tuesday nights. It then repeats Wednesday morning several times. I watched the last half of it this morning before (or as I was) falling asleep.

Eratosthenes' measurement of the Earth's radius and the Library at Alexandria followed by a bit trying to give a feel for the breadth of time and the age of the universe. Good stuff. Next week I will try to get home a bit earlier to catch the start of it.

 

[saltydog]

By far in my opinion, his best work was "The Demon-Haunted World". And I don't agree with him sending out Voyager telling everybody where we're at but I digress.

 

[Phobos]

Loved Cosmos (one of my childhood inspirations into the world of science). I've also read pretty much all his books (skipped the early one he co-authored: "Intelligent Life in the Universe")

Yes, he really says that too often.

Of course Sagan didn't say "billions and billions" during Cosmos (that was from Carson's impersonation of Sagan). But Sagan gave into the joke with his last book entitled "Billions and Billions".