Carl Sagan (1934–1996)
Author of Contact
About the Author
A respected planetary scientist best known outside the field for his popularizations of astronomy, Carl Sagan was born in New York City on November 9, 1934. He attended the University of Chicago, where he received a B.A. in 1954, a B.S. in 1955, and a M.S. in 1956 in physics as well as a Ph.D. in show more 1960 in astronomy and astrophysics. He has several early scholarly achievements including the experimental demonstration of the synthesis of the energy-carrying molecule ATP (adenosine triphosphate) in primitive-earth experiments. Another was the proposal that the greenhouse effect explained the high temperature of the surface of Venus. He was also one of the driving forces behind the mission of the U.S. satellite Viking to the surface of Mars. He was part of a team that investigated the effects of nuclear war on the earth's climate - the "nuclear winter" scenario. Sagan's role in developing the "Cosmos" series, one of the most successful series of any kind to be broadcast on the Public Broadcasting System, and his book The Dragons of Eden (1977) won the Pulitzer Prize in 1978. He also wrote the novel Contact, which was made into a movie starring Jodie Foster. He died from pneumonia on December 20, 1996. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Carl Sagan, on 07/22/1986 in Washington
Series
Works by Carl Sagan
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (1995) — Author — 8,117 copies, 119 reviews
The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence (1977) — Author — 4,049 copies, 41 reviews
Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium (1997) 2,625 copies, 19 reviews
The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God (1985) 1,746 copies, 31 reviews
Origins of Life 3 copies
Space Age Dreamer 3 copies
To Preserve a World Graced by Life 3 copies
Cosmos, Episodes 3 & 4 2 copies
Works by Carl Sagan (Study Guide): Cosmos: a Personal Voyage, Pale Blue Dot, Contact, the Demon-Haunted World, the Dragons of Eden (2010) 2 copies
Cosmos, Episodes 10 & 11 2 copies
Cosmos, Episodes 8 & 9 2 copies
Cosmos, Episodes 5 & 6 2 copies
Cosmos, Episodes 4 & 5 2 copies
Cosmos, Episodes 2 & 3 2 copies
Cosmos, Episodes 1 & 2 2 copies
Cosmos, Episodes 12 & 13 2 copies
Untitled on Mars 2 copies
sagan 2 copies
I Draghi Dell'eden 1 copy
Reflections on the Universe 1 copy
Experiments in Utopias 1 copy
Cosmos, Episodes 9 & 10 1 copy
Cosmos, Episodes 11 & 12 — Author — 1 copy
Cosmos, Episodes 6 & 7 1 copy
A Glorious Dawn 1 copy
Cosmos, Episodes 7 & 8 1 copy
Associated Works
The Space-Gods Revealed: A Close Look at the Theories of Erich Von Daniken (1976) — Foreword — 71 copies
Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact: Vol. XCVI, No. 8 (August 1976) (1976) — Contributor — 29 copies, 2 reviews
The Making of a Soviet Scientist: My Adventures in Nuclear Fusion and Space From Stalin to Star Wars (1994) — Foreword, some editions — 25 copies, 1 review
Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact: Vol. XCII, No. 2 (October 1973) (1973) — Contributor — 24 copies
Life in the Universe: Scientific American : A Special Issue (Scientific American, a Special Issue) (1995) — Contributor — 20 copies
NOVA: The Case of the Ancient Astronauts [1978 TV episode] — Narrator — 4 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Sagan, Carl
- Legal name
- Sagan, Carl Edward
- Other names
- Сейгън, Карл
كارل ساجان
세이건, 칼
セーガン, カール
萨根, 卡尔
Карл Сейгън (show all 8)
Саган, Карл
Саган, Карл - Birthdate
- 1934-11-09
- Date of death
- 1996-12-20
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of Chicago (BA ∙ 1954 ∙ BS ∙ Physics ∙ 1955)
University of Chicago (MS ∙ Physics ∙ 1956)
University of Chicago (Ph.D ∙ Astronomy and Astrophysics ∙ 1960) - Occupations
- astronomer
science writer
scientist
professor
television presenter
physicist - Organizations
- Cornell University
Harvard University
American Astronautical Society
American Astronomical Society
American Geophysical Union
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (show all 15)
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Children's Health Fund Advisory Board
Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CISCOP)
Council for a Livable World
Council on Foreign Relations
Federation of American Scientists
Guggenheim Foundation
International Academy of Humanism
Planetary Society - Awards and honors
- American Physical Society (Fellow, 1989)
American Philosophical Society (1995)
International Space Hall of Fame (2004)
Pulitzer Prize (1978)
John F. Kennedy Astronautics Award (1982)
Joseph Priestley Award (1976) (show all 30)
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Medal (Awarded by the Soviet Cosmonauts Federation, 1987)
Harold Masursky Award for Meritorious Service to Planetary Science (1991)
Explorers Club, Lowell Thomas Award (1980)
Oersted Medal (1990, American Association of Physics Teachers)
Public Welfare Medal (1994)
NASA Distinguished Service Medal (1977)
Emmy (Outstanding Individual Achievement, 1981)
Emmy (Outstanding Informational Series, 1981)
Humanist of the Year (1981)
Isaac Asimov Award (1994)
Peabody Award (1980)
Klumpke-Roberts Award (1974)
Golden Plate Award (1975)
Order of Saint James of the Sword (Grand-Cross, 1998)
Pantheon of Skeptics (2011)
NASA Apollo Achievement Award (1970)
Prix Galabert (1973)
Peter Lavan Award (1984)
New Priorities Award (1984)
Sidney Hillman Foundation Prize Award (1984)
SANE National Peace Award (1984)
Olive Branch Award (1984, 1986, 1989)
Leo Szilard Award for Physics in the Public Interest (1985)
Nahum Goldmann Medal (1986) - Agent
- Morton Janklow
- Relationships
- Margulis, Lynn (first wife)
Druyan, Ann (third wife)
Sagan, Dorion (son)
Sagan, Nick (son)
Salzman, Linda (second wife) - Short biography
- Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, author, and highly successful popularizer of astronomy, astrophysics and other natural sciences. He pioneered exobiology and promoted the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI).
He is world-famous for writing popular science books and for co-writing and presenting the award-winning 1980 television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which has been seen by more than 500 million people in over 60 countries.[2] A book to accompany the program was also published. He also wrote the novel Contact, the basis for the 1997 film of the same name. During his lifetime, Sagan published more than 600 scientific papers and popular articles and was author, co-author, or editor of more than 20 books. In his works, he frequently advocated skeptical inquiry, secular humanism, and the scientific method. - Cause of death
- pneumonia
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Brooklyn, New York, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- Ithaca, New York, USA
Rahway, New Jersey, USA - Place of death
- Seattle, Washington, USA
- Burial location
- Lakeview Cemetery, Ithaca, New York, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- New York, USA
Members
Discussions
Group Read, April 2016: Contact in 1001 Books to read before you die (April 2016)
Reviews
“All science asks is to employ the same levels of skepticism we use in buying a used car or in judging the quality of analgesics or beer from their television commercials.”
Carl Sagan in The Demon-Haunted World
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark will turn 20 years old next year, but it’s just as relevant as when Carl Sagan first wrote it.
Actually, more relevant. While Sagan had to deal with cigarette manufacturers pooh-poohing the tobacco-cancer connection, the show more war on science had not yet been fully launched. For example, the Kyoto Treaty on global climate change still had bipartisan support. As recently as 2000, then presidential candidate George W. Bush could openly say that he believed in global climate change without imperiling his chances in a Republican primary. While occasional retrograde school boards in the hinterlands would attempt to inject creationism into their science classes, anti-evolutionary fervor had not yet become one of the planks of the Republican Party Platform. Nor had a quarter of the United States become so gullible that they would swallow without a murmur or any evidence the nonsense that a duly elected president of the United States had been born on another continent, that a different president had foreknowledge of the 9/11 terrorist attack (or perhaps even conspired in the plot), that biology takes a vacation in the case of “legitimate rape” — whatever that is — and that tens of thousands of scientists are lying about geology, biology, paleontology, physics, biomedicine, and other fields in order to obtain grants. (Who the shadowy figure who is bestowing said grants and what that person could possibly gain from this vast conspiracy somehow never gets elucidated. Go figure.)
Sagan first explains the scientific method and then gets busy refuting the hokum of his day: evidence of intelligent life on Mars, alien visitation, precognition based on dreams or hallucinations, ghosts, “recovered” memories, Marian apparitions, levitation, the notion that critical thinking and science are some form of Western imperialism or atheistic assault. He also explores the horrifying conspiracy theories of the past, primarily the witchcraft and heresy trials in Europe. I did not realize that inquisitors charged the cost of the investigation, incarceration, trial and execution of witches to the victims and their families and then their worldly goods were divided between Church and State. No incentive to prosecute the innocent, is there?
One quotation on the witch hysteria shows how little changes across the centuries: “Those responsible for prosecuting, torturing, judging, burning, and justifying [the witch burnings] were selfless. Just ask them.” Remember that the next time a smug anti-science politician bloviates on your television.
You’ll also be appalled by Sagan’s selection of letters he received in response to a piece he penned for Parade magazine, the weekly full-color newspaper supplement. How so many supposedly literate people could (1) so misunderstand the obvious point of the article and (2) believe so many utterly crackpot ideas actually shocked me — even after my exposure to today’s science deniers.
This is not a volume to check out of your library; you want your own copy to highlight and annotate. Yes, at times Sagan, for decades a renowned astrophysicist at Cornell University, can descend into scientific discussions too advanced — and tedious — for a lay audience (which explains the four, rather than five stars), discussions that stretch for pages and pages. Even so, The Demon-Haunted World serves as a ready reference book for any discussion about the necessity for scientific research and science education. It’s also chockfull of pithy quotations you’ll find yourself tapping again and again. For so many reasons, Sagan’s last great work is indispensable. show less
Carl Sagan in The Demon-Haunted World
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark will turn 20 years old next year, but it’s just as relevant as when Carl Sagan first wrote it.
Actually, more relevant. While Sagan had to deal with cigarette manufacturers pooh-poohing the tobacco-cancer connection, the show more war on science had not yet been fully launched. For example, the Kyoto Treaty on global climate change still had bipartisan support. As recently as 2000, then presidential candidate George W. Bush could openly say that he believed in global climate change without imperiling his chances in a Republican primary. While occasional retrograde school boards in the hinterlands would attempt to inject creationism into their science classes, anti-evolutionary fervor had not yet become one of the planks of the Republican Party Platform. Nor had a quarter of the United States become so gullible that they would swallow without a murmur or any evidence the nonsense that a duly elected president of the United States had been born on another continent, that a different president had foreknowledge of the 9/11 terrorist attack (or perhaps even conspired in the plot), that biology takes a vacation in the case of “legitimate rape” — whatever that is — and that tens of thousands of scientists are lying about geology, biology, paleontology, physics, biomedicine, and other fields in order to obtain grants. (Who the shadowy figure who is bestowing said grants and what that person could possibly gain from this vast conspiracy somehow never gets elucidated. Go figure.)
Sagan first explains the scientific method and then gets busy refuting the hokum of his day: evidence of intelligent life on Mars, alien visitation, precognition based on dreams or hallucinations, ghosts, “recovered” memories, Marian apparitions, levitation, the notion that critical thinking and science are some form of Western imperialism or atheistic assault. He also explores the horrifying conspiracy theories of the past, primarily the witchcraft and heresy trials in Europe. I did not realize that inquisitors charged the cost of the investigation, incarceration, trial and execution of witches to the victims and their families and then their worldly goods were divided between Church and State. No incentive to prosecute the innocent, is there?
One quotation on the witch hysteria shows how little changes across the centuries: “Those responsible for prosecuting, torturing, judging, burning, and justifying [the witch burnings] were selfless. Just ask them.” Remember that the next time a smug anti-science politician bloviates on your television.
You’ll also be appalled by Sagan’s selection of letters he received in response to a piece he penned for Parade magazine, the weekly full-color newspaper supplement. How so many supposedly literate people could (1) so misunderstand the obvious point of the article and (2) believe so many utterly crackpot ideas actually shocked me — even after my exposure to today’s science deniers.
This is not a volume to check out of your library; you want your own copy to highlight and annotate. Yes, at times Sagan, for decades a renowned astrophysicist at Cornell University, can descend into scientific discussions too advanced — and tedious — for a lay audience (which explains the four, rather than five stars), discussions that stretch for pages and pages. Even so, The Demon-Haunted World serves as a ready reference book for any discussion about the necessity for scientific research and science education. It’s also chockfull of pithy quotations you’ll find yourself tapping again and again. For so many reasons, Sagan’s last great work is indispensable. show less
I love the story behind the pale blue dot. More than that, I love how Carl Sagan uses a fuzzy little picture to highlight the human condition: small and insignificant yet brash and arrogant. With one image, he puts us in our place in the vast cosmos. Yet, he doesn’t belittle us. Instead, he uses this image to elevate us to new heights and achieve things we haven’t even dreamed of yet.
And that is what this book does to a greater degree. It’s a sobering reminder of what we are, where we show more are, and when we are. It’s also a glimpse into our future of reaching into space, conquering the final frontier and ushering in an era of peace and progress. While the last bit seemed far fetched in the 80s and 90s - and even more so now - the message is clear: we need to forget our differences - be they political, religious, or economical - and forge our future together.
Sagan uses the book to argue space travel in the 90s. Yes, we have come a long way since then, and some of the information is extremely outdated in 2015, but the warrant remains the same. His thesis is clear and the writing is sharp, which results in a highly persuasive read that will convert even the most hardcore anti-spacers out there.
I believe I’ve said more than enough about the book. Stop reading and go grab the book right now and immerse yourself in Sagan’s beautiful prose. You’ll lose yourself among the vastness of space, yet you won’t be alone. show less
And that is what this book does to a greater degree. It’s a sobering reminder of what we are, where we show more are, and when we are. It’s also a glimpse into our future of reaching into space, conquering the final frontier and ushering in an era of peace and progress. While the last bit seemed far fetched in the 80s and 90s - and even more so now - the message is clear: we need to forget our differences - be they political, religious, or economical - and forge our future together.
Sagan uses the book to argue space travel in the 90s. Yes, we have come a long way since then, and some of the information is extremely outdated in 2015, but the warrant remains the same. His thesis is clear and the writing is sharp, which results in a highly persuasive read that will convert even the most hardcore anti-spacers out there.
I believe I’ve said more than enough about the book. Stop reading and go grab the book right now and immerse yourself in Sagan’s beautiful prose. You’ll lose yourself among the vastness of space, yet you won’t be alone. show less
"In the scant few decades in which humans have pursued radio astronomy, there has never been a real signal from the depths of space, something manufactured, something artificial, something contrived by an alien mind.
...
And yet the origin of life now seemed to be so easy — and there were so many billions of years available for biological evolution — that it was hard to believe the Galaxy was not teeming with life and intelligence."
– from Contact by Carl Sagan
So many alien contact show more stories, especially those presented in movies, show a hostile force invading the Earth, forcing the human race to rally together in order to fight back. This is perspective is often driven by humanity's history of violence and colonization, as well as human paranoia, such as with 1950s alien invasion movies as a metaphor for Cold War fears.
While I've enjoyed many an alien invasion stories (most recently, Falling Skies), I find myself drawn to and prefer first contact stories that are more positive or, at least, more ambiguous.
I think that is part of what made me love the movie Contact so much, when it was released in 1997, that story of ambiguous first contact with alien life based in scientific plausibility. It was a story not wholly built on paranoia and allowed for interesting perspectives to come through — How would people and government and religious groups react if an alien signal arrived from space? Plus it featured a complicated woman, heading the scientific investigation, played by the amazing Jodie Foster. I still get chills just rewatching the movie trailer.
"I'll tell you one thing about the universe, though. The universe is a pretty big place. It's bigger than anything anyone has ever dreamed of before. So if it's just us... seems like an awful waste of space."
— from Contact (movie version)
It's taken me a long time to get around to reading the novel, but it's been on my to-read list ever since I've seen the movie. I'm so glad I did.
Both the novel and the movie generally follow the same storyline: a team of scientists, lead by Ellie Arroway, discovers a radio signal in space, from the star Vega, and begin to decode a message that ultimately leads to an astounding adventure. But whereas the movie, due to it's limited time frame to unfold the story, is extremely American-centric, the book allows for space and scope to expand into a look at how other nations handle the situation, as well as presenting a more thorough understanding the science. It's the science and the knowledge that the Earth rotates that makes the international scope necessary — a single array of telescopes can only capture the signal from Vega for a short part of the day or night before the Earth rotates away and looses contact with the signal, requiring a global network of radio telescopes along every longitude.
Another thing the book expands upon wonderfully is the character of Ellie, who we see from her birth up through her team's first discovery of the signal and onward. It shows a determined and intelligent woman, who find through science and discovery a sense of wonder in the world and how it works. And, since the story is primarily told from Ellie's point of view, that sense of wonder is settled into the necessary scientific explanations throughout the book, making me want to look at the world with new eyes.
In the face of proof of intelligent extraterrestrial life, the book posits, the world began to grasp a feeling of greater perspective and unified perspective that we are all human. As a result, the Earth's most powerful nations, the U.S., Russia, and China, began to dismantle their nuclear stockpiles as a part of renewed negations. Reading this, I couldn't help but cry and long for some signal to reach us. Our world, in which the world news seems to present announcements of new, bloody conflict everyday, could use a shift in its universal perspective.
"My fondest hope for this book is that it will be made obsolete by the pace of real scientific discovery," writes Sagan in his Author's Note. We're not quite there yet, I don't think, but I hope we will get there. show less
I'm a skeptic by nature, and one who objects to anyone's claiming that I must have a 'spiritual side'. A Myers-Briggs test identifies me as INTJ, meaning that I prefer people (and everything else) to make plain sense. Thus, in my perfect world everyone would simply nod their heads in agreement all the way through this book. That, of course, is a completely unrealistic wish. Sagan's introduction does not do a strong job of setting up his conclusion and consequently creates some vagueness show more around who his target audience is. A few chapters in, you may think it was only aimed at people who need reassurance that the aliens aren't going to get them. Or more generally, at people like the cab driver from his introduction who have the will to think critically but lack the tools. What are those tools, and how should they be applied?
I will only summarize briefly what I think are his most telling points in the main body: that science demonstrably works, evolves in response to new information, is self-policing for being testable and verifiable, and presents no authority figures. He contrasts this with the warning sings of pseudoscience that evades testing, demands belief, claims authority and suppresses dissent. I thought his most wonderful and least offensive comparison was with used car shopping. You would be a fool to take everything the salesperson tells you at face value. You have to apply some basic logic and skepticism to the situation or you're going to buy a lemon. Nobody likes being scammed. The same principle applies when assessing others' claims about how the world and the universe works. Sagan then concludes with a strong argument that the better these principles are preserved by the general population, the stronger a democracy. He should have also led with that.
It's too easy to like a book when I already share virtually all of its opinions at the start. None of this content challenged me, so I tried to be wary of flaws or drawbacks for other readers. Most of these I found in Sagan's adamant atheist stance, with which he acknowledges he's sometimes prone to taking things too far. Suggesting that prayer subjects religion to scientific analysis, where we could run a study on how often it is successful and rate its efficacy, is an example. I'm no believer, but even I know gods wouldn't oblige themselves to meet our service standards. He cannot summon a better word for established religions that have been with us for centuries than 'respectable', but I feel he demonstrates little respect for them even while arguing that science and belief in a god are compatible. I agree fully when he says it would be cruelty to assault the beliefs of people who depend upon those beliefs to see them through the day. I would not agree that he takes measures here to avoid doing so. His straight-ahead approach is not well designed to win new converts to his side.
That, unfortunately, is what I was half hoping for. Some kind of guide to help me to help others. That's silly, wishful thinking that I shouldn't have expected to find by looking in this direction, so I'm satisfied to say I was disappointed in that regard. Of course I'm still going to say it's a fantastically well-argued book by a fantastic author, aged statistics notwithstanding. Opening chapters on the essence of science's importance and the closing chapters on the ties between science and democracy are especially noteworthy and quotable, they just ought to have been paired up a little better. show less
I will only summarize briefly what I think are his most telling points in the main body: that science demonstrably works, evolves in response to new information, is self-policing for being testable and verifiable, and presents no authority figures. He contrasts this with the warning sings of pseudoscience that evades testing, demands belief, claims authority and suppresses dissent. I thought his most wonderful and least offensive comparison was with used car shopping. You would be a fool to take everything the salesperson tells you at face value. You have to apply some basic logic and skepticism to the situation or you're going to buy a lemon. Nobody likes being scammed. The same principle applies when assessing others' claims about how the world and the universe works. Sagan then concludes with a strong argument that the better these principles are preserved by the general population, the stronger a democracy. He should have also led with that.
It's too easy to like a book when I already share virtually all of its opinions at the start. None of this content challenged me, so I tried to be wary of flaws or drawbacks for other readers. Most of these I found in Sagan's adamant atheist stance, with which he acknowledges he's sometimes prone to taking things too far. Suggesting that prayer subjects religion to scientific analysis, where we could run a study on how often it is successful and rate its efficacy, is an example. I'm no believer, but even I know gods wouldn't oblige themselves to meet our service standards. He cannot summon a better word for established religions that have been with us for centuries than 'respectable', but I feel he demonstrates little respect for them even while arguing that science and belief in a god are compatible. I agree fully when he says it would be cruelty to assault the beliefs of people who depend upon those beliefs to see them through the day. I would not agree that he takes measures here to avoid doing so. His straight-ahead approach is not well designed to win new converts to his side.
That, unfortunately, is what I was half hoping for. Some kind of guide to help me to help others. That's silly, wishful thinking that I shouldn't have expected to find by looking in this direction, so I'm satisfied to say I was disappointed in that regard. Of course I'm still going to say it's a fantastically well-argued book by a fantastic author, aged statistics notwithstanding. Opening chapters on the essence of science's importance and the closing chapters on the ties between science and democracy are especially noteworthy and quotable, they just ought to have been paired up a little better. show less
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Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 88
- Also by
- 19
- Members
- 48,260
- Popularity
- #326
- Rating
- 4.2
- Reviews
- 574
- ISBNs
- 577
- Languages
- 31
- Favorited
- 268
