Religions > Atheism > Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a "Butt Head"?
| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Donald E. Flood" |
| Date: |
14 Mar 2006 05:57:11 PM |
| Object: |
Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a "Butt Head"? |
Everyone,
Another poster (who, shall remain anonymous, unless, of course, he/she wants
to reveal himself/herself) has made the above claims about the late
Professor Carl Sagan. I would like the thoughts of the list about this.
Was Carl Sagan an insignificant scientist? Was he a "great scientist"? Was
he a "Butt Head"? Did he simply "add his name" to others' scientific work?
Was he "arrogant beyond belief"?
Your thoughts?
Don
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| User: "Llanzlan Klazmon" |
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| Title: Re: Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a "Butt Head"? |
14 Mar 2006 06:28:43 PM |
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"Donald E. Flood" <Jehanne@mchsi.com> wrote in
news:rLIRf.822597$x96.59732@attbi_s72:
Everyone,
Another poster (who, shall remain anonymous, unless, of course, he/she
wants to reveal himself/herself) has made the above claims about the
late Professor Carl Sagan. I would like the thoughts of the list about
this. Was Carl Sagan an insignificant scientist? Was he a "great
scientist"? Was he a "Butt Head"? Did he simply "add his name" to
others' scientific work? Was he "arrogant beyond belief"?
Your thoughts?
Don
Or none of the above. See this Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan
Klazmon
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| User: "Douglas Berry" |
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| Title: Re: Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a "Butt Head"? |
14 Mar 2006 06:05:45 PM |
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What's so funny about peace, love and "Donald E. Flood"
<Jehanne@mchsi.com> posting the following on Tue, 14 Mar 2006 23:57:11
GMT iin alt.atheism?
Everyone,
Another poster (who, shall remain anonymous, unless, of course, he/she wants
to reveal himself/herself) has made the above claims about the late
Professor Carl Sagan. I would like the thoughts of the list about this.
Was Carl Sagan an insignificant scientist? Was he a "great scientist"? Was
he a "Butt Head"? Did he simply "add his name" to others' scientific work?
Was he "arrogant beyond belief"?
Your thoughts?
Damn, but you're pathetic.
--
Douglas E. Berry Do the OBVIOUS thing to send e-mail
Atheist #2147, Atheist Vet #5
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as
when they do it from religious conviction."
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pense'es, #894.
.
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| User: "Donald E. Flood" |
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| Title: Re: Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a "Butt Head"? |
14 Mar 2006 06:20:20 PM |
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"Douglas Berry" <penguin_boy@mindOBVIOUSspring.com> wrote in message
news:shme12d2eflvreab0tnm7c22vgaa54cd74@4ax.com...
What's so funny about peace, love and "Donald E. Flood"
<Jehanne@mchsi.com> posting the following on Tue, 14 Mar 2006 23:57:11
GMT iin alt.atheism?
Everyone,
Another poster (who, shall remain anonymous, unless, of course, he/she
wants
to reveal himself/herself) has made the above claims about the late
Professor Carl Sagan. I would like the thoughts of the list about this.
Was Carl Sagan an insignificant scientist? Was he a "great scientist"?
Was
he a "Butt Head"? Did he simply "add his name" to others' scientific
work?
Was he "arrogant beyond belief"?
Your thoughts?
Damn, but you're pathetic.
And, the poster has "revealed" himself!
--
Douglas E. Berry Do the OBVIOUS thing to send e-mail
Atheist #2147, Atheist Vet #5
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as
when they do it from religious conviction."
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pense'es, #894.
.
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| User: "John Baker" |
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| Title: Re: Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a "Butt Head"? |
14 Mar 2006 08:34:05 PM |
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On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 00:20:20 GMT, "Donald E. Flood"
<Jehanne@mchsi.com> wrote:
"Douglas Berry" <penguin_boy@mindOBVIOUSspring.com> wrote in message
news:shme12d2eflvreab0tnm7c22vgaa54cd74@4ax.com...
What's so funny about peace, love and "Donald E. Flood"
<Jehanne@mchsi.com> posting the following on Tue, 14 Mar 2006 23:57:11
GMT iin alt.atheism?
Everyone,
Another poster (who, shall remain anonymous, unless, of course, he/she
wants
to reveal himself/herself) has made the above claims about the late
Professor Carl Sagan. I would like the thoughts of the list about this.
Was Carl Sagan an insignificant scientist? Was he a "great scientist"?
Was
he a "Butt Head"? Did he simply "add his name" to others' scientific
work?
Was he "arrogant beyond belief"?
Your thoughts?
Damn, but you're pathetic.
And, the poster has "revealed" himself!
Oh, hardly. If you were at all familiar with things scientific, you'd
already know the answers.
But, here goes anyway.
No, Carl Sagan was not a great scientist, but neither was he
insignificant. He did much to popularize science with the general
public.
Yes, Sagan was somewhat arrogant, but must take a back seat in that
department to just about any prominent theologian.
No, he did not "simply add his name" to others' work. He made
significant contributions of his own. You don't become a full
professor at Cornell University unless you have something to offer.
Whether or not Sagan was a "butt head" is a subjective evaluation. I
say no. Those whose cherished beliefs he demolished might have a
different opinion.
--
Douglas E. Berry Do the OBVIOUS thing to send e-mail
Atheist #2147, Atheist Vet #5
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as
when they do it from religious conviction."
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pense'es, #894.
.
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| User: "Donald E. Flood" |
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| Title: Re: Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a "Butt Head"? |
14 Mar 2006 08:54:31 PM |
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"John Baker" <nunya@bizniz.net> wrote in message
news:emue12pgsnsghos2u23tn6ap7geb2u7n16@4ax.com...
On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 00:20:20 GMT, "Donald E. Flood"
<Jehanne@mchsi.com> wrote:
"Douglas Berry" <penguin_boy@mindOBVIOUSspring.com> wrote in message
news:shme12d2eflvreab0tnm7c22vgaa54cd74@4ax.com...
What's so funny about peace, love and "Donald E. Flood"
<Jehanne@mchsi.com> posting the following on Tue, 14 Mar 2006 23:57:11
GMT iin alt.atheism?
Everyone,
Another poster (who, shall remain anonymous, unless, of course, he/she
wants
to reveal himself/herself) has made the above claims about the late
Professor Carl Sagan. I would like the thoughts of the list about this.
Was Carl Sagan an insignificant scientist? Was he a "great scientist"?
Was
he a "Butt Head"? Did he simply "add his name" to others' scientific
work?
Was he "arrogant beyond belief"?
Your thoughts?
Damn, but you're pathetic.
And, the poster has "revealed" himself!
Oh, hardly. If you were at all familiar with things scientific, you'd
already know the answers.
My question was somewhat rhetorical, and I would have answered "No" to the
list of questions that I asked in the subject line. But, I am truly
interested in others' opinions, which is why I posted the message. (This
is, after all, a MESSAGE BOARD!)
But, here goes anyway.
No, Carl Sagan was not a great scientist, but neither was he
insignificant. He did much to popularize science with the general
public.
I suppose the question of "greatness" has to do with how one's defines
"great." Certainly, Sagan was no Galileo, Newton, Darwin, or Einstein, but
gaining a tenured professorship at Cornell University is someting that most
scientists CANNOT do!
Yes, Sagan was somewhat arrogant, but must take a back seat in that
department to just about any prominent theologian.
I would really be interested in any examples of Sagan's arrogance that you
(or others) can provide. Sagan admitted his mistakes, something that
arrogant people typically do not do!
No, he did not "simply add his name" to others' work. He made
significant contributions of his own. You don't become a full
professor at Cornell University unless you have something to offer.
Agreed.
Whether or not Sagan was a "butt head" is a subjective evaluation. I
say no. Those whose cherished beliefs he demolished might have a
different opinion.
I do not believe that Carl was a "butt head"! No one who knew him
personally thought that, either!
--
Douglas E. Berry Do the OBVIOUS thing to send e-mail
Atheist #2147, Atheist Vet #5
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as
when they do it from religious conviction."
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pense'es, #894.
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| User: "Ichimusai" |
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| Title: Re: Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a"Butt Head"? |
15 Mar 2006 03:53:20 PM |
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"Donald E. Flood" <Jehanne@mchsi.com> writes:
Oh, hardly. If you were at all familiar with things scientific, you'd
already know the answers.
My question was somewhat rhetorical, and I would have answered "No" to the
list of questions that I asked in the subject line. But, I am truly
interested in others' opinions, which is why I posted the message. (This
is, after all, a MESSAGE BOARD!)
No, this is posted to the newsgroup alt.atheism in Usenet. This is not
a message board. Neither is it the web or "the net". There are some
interesting similarities between Usenet and message boards, but the
differences are even more interesting.
Usenet is a discussion group system based on the NNTP protocol used to
transfer messages through a vast system of interconnected servers.
These days they are connected over the Internet, but in the beginning
several different networks were involved and a lot of UUCP setups over
modems and phone lines.
--
http://ichimusai.org/
21:58:00 up 14 days, 8:13, 1 user, load average: 0.04, 0.09, 0.09
Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never
stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and
neither do we.
-George Bush 2004/08/20040805
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| User: "Donald E. Flood" |
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| Title: Re: Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a "Butt Head"? |
15 Mar 2006 04:41:07 PM |
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"Ichimusai" <ichi@ichimusai.org> wrote in message
news:m3lkvbgysv.fsf@ichimusai.dyndns.org...
"Donald E. Flood" <Jehanne@mchsi.com> writes:
Oh, hardly. If you were at all familiar with things scientific, you'd
already know the answers.
My question was somewhat rhetorical, and I would have answered "No" to
the
list of questions that I asked in the subject line. But, I am truly
interested in others' opinions, which is why I posted the message. (This
is, after all, a MESSAGE BOARD!)
No, this is posted to the newsgroup alt.atheism in Usenet. This is not
a message board. Neither is it the web or "the net". There are some
interesting similarities between Usenet and message boards, but the
differences are even more interesting.
Usenet is a discussion group system based on the NNTP protocol used to
transfer messages through a vast system of interconnected servers.
These days they are connected over the Internet, but in the beginning
several different networks were involved and a lot of UUCP setups over
modems and phone lines.
Technically, you are correct; although, as I stated in another reply, I
doubt that the experts at Webster would agree with you, entirely. Most
words/phrases in the English language have multiple meanings, so I do not
believe that I have erred in my usage, in the broad sense. But, does it
really matter? Thanks for your technical overview, however! It was new to
me!!
--
http://ichimusai.org/
21:58:00 up 14 days, 8:13, 1 user, load average: 0.04, 0.09, 0.09
Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never
stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and
neither do we.
-George Bush 2004/08/20040805
.
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| User: "Robibnikoff" |
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| Title: Re: Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a "Butt Head"? |
15 Mar 2006 09:32:01 AM |
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"Donald E. Flood" <Jehanne@mchsi.com> wrote in message
news:HlLRf.822848$x96.386640@attbi_s72...
"John Baker" <nunya@bizniz.net> wrote in message
news:emue12pgsnsghos2u23tn6ap7geb2u7n16@4ax.com...
On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 00:20:20 GMT, "Donald E. Flood"
<Jehanne@mchsi.com> wrote:
"Douglas Berry" <penguin_boy@mindOBVIOUSspring.com> wrote in message
news:shme12d2eflvreab0tnm7c22vgaa54cd74@4ax.com...
What's so funny about peace, love and "Donald E. Flood"
<Jehanne@mchsi.com> posting the following on Tue, 14 Mar 2006 23:57:11
GMT iin alt.atheism?
Everyone,
Another poster (who, shall remain anonymous, unless, of course, he/she
wants
to reveal himself/herself) has made the above claims about the late
Professor Carl Sagan. I would like the thoughts of the list about
this.
Was Carl Sagan an insignificant scientist? Was he a "great scientist"?
Was
he a "Butt Head"? Did he simply "add his name" to others' scientific
work?
Was he "arrogant beyond belief"?
Your thoughts?
Damn, but you're pathetic.
And, the poster has "revealed" himself!
Oh, hardly. If you were at all familiar with things scientific, you'd
already know the answers.
My question was somewhat rhetorical, and I would have answered "No" to the
list of questions that I asked in the subject line. But, I am truly
interested in others' opinions, which is why I posted the message. (This
is, after all, a MESSAGE BOARD!)
No it's not - It's a newsgroup.
--
Robyn
Resident Witchypoo
Atheist ***** Extraordinaire
#1557
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| User: "Donald E. Flood" |
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| Title: Re: Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a "Butt Head"? |
15 Mar 2006 11:47:04 AM |
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"Robibnikoff" <witchypoo@broomstick.com> wrote in message
news:47qq7jFg6kjrU1@individual.net...
"Donald E. Flood" <Jehanne@mchsi.com> wrote in message
news:HlLRf.822848$x96.386640@attbi_s72...
"John Baker" <nunya@bizniz.net> wrote in message
news:emue12pgsnsghos2u23tn6ap7geb2u7n16@4ax.com...
On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 00:20:20 GMT, "Donald E. Flood"
<Jehanne@mchsi.com> wrote:
"Douglas Berry" <penguin_boy@mindOBVIOUSspring.com> wrote in message
news:shme12d2eflvreab0tnm7c22vgaa54cd74@4ax.com...
What's so funny about peace, love and "Donald E. Flood"
<Jehanne@mchsi.com> posting the following on Tue, 14 Mar 2006 23:57:11
GMT iin alt.atheism?
Everyone,
Another poster (who, shall remain anonymous, unless, of course, he/she
wants
to reveal himself/herself) has made the above claims about the late
Professor Carl Sagan. I would like the thoughts of the list about
this.
Was Carl Sagan an insignificant scientist? Was he a "great
scientist"?
Was
he a "Butt Head"? Did he simply "add his name" to others' scientific
work?
Was he "arrogant beyond belief"?
Your thoughts?
Damn, but you're pathetic.
And, the poster has "revealed" himself!
Oh, hardly. If you were at all familiar with things scientific, you'd
already know the answers.
My question was somewhat rhetorical, and I would have answered "No" to
the list of questions that I asked in the subject line. But, I am truly
interested in others' opinions, which is why I posted the message. (This
is, after all, a MESSAGE BOARD!)
No it's not - It's a newsgroup.
Okay, fine, it's a newsgroup. But, like the IIDB, it's a place to post
messages. (In that sense, it would be a "message board," but the folks at
Webster would need to determine if my "usage" is correct or not.)
--
Robyn
Resident Witchypoo
Atheist ***** Extraordinaire
#1557
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| User: "Douglas Berry" |
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| Title: Re: Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a "Butt Head"? |
15 Mar 2006 10:05:19 AM |
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What's so funny about peace, love and "Donald E. Flood"
<Jehanne@mchsi.com> posting the following on Wed, 15 Mar 2006 02:54:31
GMT iin alt.atheism?
Whether or not Sagan was a "butt head" is a subjective evaluation. I
say no. Those whose cherished beliefs he demolished might have a
different opinion.
I do not believe that Carl was a "butt head"! No one who knew him
personally thought that, either!
You've interviewed everyone who ever worked with him? One of my profs
was on the Viking team and had horror stories about Sagan.
--
Douglas E. Berry Do the OBVIOUS thing to send e-mail
Atheist #2147, Atheist Vet #5
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as
when they do it from religious conviction."
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pense'es, #894.
.
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| User: "Donald E. Flood" |
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| Title: Re: Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a "Butt Head"? |
15 Mar 2006 11:55:36 AM |
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"Douglas Berry" <penguin_boy@mindOBVIOUSspring.com> wrote in message
news:aneg1217slmolbcn5tep9rranqggv7rlph@4ax.com...
What's so funny about peace, love and "Donald E. Flood"
<Jehanne@mchsi.com> posting the following on Wed, 15 Mar 2006 02:54:31
GMT iin alt.atheism?
Whether or not Sagan was a "butt head" is a subjective evaluation. I
say no. Those whose cherished beliefs he demolished might have a
different opinion.
I do not believe that Carl was a "butt head"! No one who knew him
personally thought that, either!
You've interviewed everyone who ever worked with him? One of my profs
was on the Viking team and had horror stories about Sagan.
Between one-quarter and one-half of all people in America believe that
President Bush is a "bad President." (And, in the interests of "full
disclosure," I would say that I am ONE of those people.) But, history will
decide, I suppose. I certainly do not claim to know everything about Carl's
life; although, he was the prinicple individual in my life who led me away
from Christian fundamentalism. In that sense, I hold him in very high
regard. The following episode of Science Friday has an interview with two
of his colleagues who thought highly of him:
http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/1996/Dec/hour2_122096.html
--
Douglas E. Berry Do the OBVIOUS thing to send e-mail
Atheist #2147, Atheist Vet #5
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as
when they do it from religious conviction."
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pense'es, #894.
.
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| User: "Douglas Berry" |
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| Title: Re: Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a "Butt Head"? |
15 Mar 2006 01:32:48 PM |
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What's so funny about peace, love and "Donald E. Flood"
<Jehanne@mchsi.com> posting the following on Wed, 15 Mar 2006 17:55:36
GMT iin alt.atheism?
I do not believe that Carl was a "butt head"! No one who knew him
personally thought that, either!
You've interviewed everyone who ever worked with him? One of my profs
was on the Viking team and had horror stories about Sagan.
Between one-quarter and one-half of all people in America believe that
President Bush is a "bad President." (And, in the interests of "full
disclosure," I would say that I am ONE of those people.) But, history will
decide, I suppose. I certainly do not claim to know everything about Carl's
life; although, he was the prinicple individual in my life who led me away
from Christian fundamentalism. In that sense, I hold him in very high
regard. The following episode of Science Friday has an interview with two
of his colleagues who thought highly of him:
http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/1996/Dec/hour2_122096.html
You know what's amazing? The fact that you are so obsessed over this.
Carl was a jerk, according to my professors and many of the stories
I've read about him. I know a scientist (currently working on
Cassini) who is so ***** over how Sagan treated him that he
cannot stand hearing the man's name and refused to atten the Worldcon
where "Contact" was up for a Hugo.
He did some good science early in his career. Then he got tenure and
became more of a PR guy.
Yes, he was open about his atheism. But I can tell you from
experience that in astronomy circles nobody really cares about
religion unless your faith interferes with you ability to objectively
interpet data. Hell, you're more likely to get an argument over
crustal models for Venus than you are about religion. (I'm a "young,
recycling" man myself.)
--
Douglas E. Berry Do the OBVIOUS thing to send e-mail
Atheist #2147, Atheist Vet #5
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as
when they do it from religious conviction."
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pense'es, #894.
.
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| User: "Donald E. Flood" |
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| Title: Re: Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a "Butt Head"? |
15 Mar 2006 02:17:15 PM |
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"Douglas Berry" <penguin_boy@mindOBVIOUSspring.com> wrote in message
news:nmqg1258mapb3co4snah3irohobo3fjcpq@4ax.com...
What's so funny about peace, love and "Donald E. Flood"
<Jehanne@mchsi.com> posting the following on Wed, 15 Mar 2006 17:55:36
GMT iin alt.atheism?
I do not believe that Carl was a "butt head"! No one who knew him
personally thought that, either!
You've interviewed everyone who ever worked with him? One of my profs
was on the Viking team and had horror stories about Sagan.
Between one-quarter and one-half of all people in America believe that
President Bush is a "bad President." (And, in the interests of "full
disclosure," I would say that I am ONE of those people.) But, history
will
decide, I suppose. I certainly do not claim to know everything about
Carl's
life; although, he was the prinicple individual in my life who led me away
from Christian fundamentalism. In that sense, I hold him in very high
regard. The following episode of Science Friday has an interview with two
of his colleagues who thought highly of him:
http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/1996/Dec/hour2_122096.html
You know what's amazing? The fact that you are so obsessed over this.
I'm not obsessed about it. Seriously, I'm not. It's just that your opinion
of Carl was the first I have ever encontered! By the way, did you ever
listen to that Science Friday episode? It's only 10 or 12 minutes long.
Carl was a jerk, according to my professors and many of the stories
I've read about him. I know a scientist (currently working on
Cassini) who is so ***** over how Sagan treated him that he
cannot stand hearing the man's name and refused to atten the Worldcon
where "Contact" was up for a Hugo.
Well, obviously, other people (including, Sagan's first ex-wife) attended
these types of events for him.
He did some good science early in his career. Then he got tenure and
became more of a PR guy.
That was true of Einstein, also!
Yes, he was open about his atheism. But I can tell you from
experience that in astronomy circles nobody really cares about
religion unless your faith interferes with you ability to objectively
interpet data. Hell, you're more likely to get an argument over
crustal models for Venus than you are about religion. (I'm a "young,
recycling" man myself.)
Agreed. But, many scientists who are atheists like to remain "in the
closet."
--
Douglas E. Berry Do the OBVIOUS thing to send e-mail
Atheist #2147, Atheist Vet #5
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as
when they do it from religious conviction."
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pense'es, #894.
Thanks for your comments! I am NOT trying to "pick a fight" over this!
Don
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| User: "Bill" |
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| Title: Re: Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a "Butt Head"? |
14 Mar 2006 06:49:19 PM |
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Your comments on Saga are pureal.
Here is a summary of his life and accomplishments.
Dr Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 - December 20, 1996) was an American
astronomer, astrobiologist and highly successful science popularizer. He
pioneered exobiology and promoted the Search for Extra-Terrestrial
Intelligence (SETI). He is world-famous for his popular science books and
the award-winning television series Cosmos, which he co-wrote and presented
and eventually released as a book. .
Carl Sagan was born in Brooklyn, New York[1]. Sagan attended the University
of Chicago, where he received a bachelor's degree (1955) and a master's
degree (1956) in physics, before earning his doctorate (1960) in astronomy
and astrophysics. During his time as an undergraduate, Sagan spent some time
working in the laboratory of the geneticist H. J. Muller[1].
In the early 1960s, no one knew for certain even the basic conditions of the
surface of the planet Venus. He listed the contending possibilities in a
report (which were later depicted for popularization in a Time-Life book,
Planets). His own view was that the planet was dry and very hot. As a
visiting scientist to Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he contributed to
the first Mariner missions to the planet Venus in the design and management
of the project, which confirmed his views with the success of Mariner 2 in
1962.
Sagan taught at Harvard University until 1968, when he moved to Cornell
University. He became a full professor at Cornell in 1971 and directed a lab
there. He contributed to most of the unmanned space missions that explored
our solar system. He conceived the idea of adding an unalterable and
universal message on spacecraft, destined to leave the solar system, that
could be understood by any extraterrestrial intelligence that might find it.
The first message that was actually sent into space was a gold-anodized
plaque, attached to the space probe Pioneer 10. He continued to refine his
designs and the most elaborate such message he helped to develop was the
Voyager Golden Record that was sent out with the Voyager space probes.
Scientific achievements
Sagan was among the first to hypothesize that Saturn's moon Titan[2] and
Jupiter's moon Europa may possess oceans (a subsurface ocean, in the case of
Europa) or lakes, thus making the hypothesized water ocean on Europa
potentially habitable for life. Europa's subsurface ocean was later
indirectly confirmed by the spacecraft Galileo.
He furthered insights regarding the atmosphere of Jupiter, seasonal changes
on Mars, and Saturn's moon Titan. Sagan established that the atmosphere of
Venus is extremely hot and dense. He also perceived global warming as a
growing, man-made danger and likened it to the natural development of Venus
into a hot life-hostile planet through greenhouse gases. He suggested that
the seasonal changes on Mars were due to windblown dust, not to vegetation
changes, as others had proposed.
Late in his life, Sagan's books developed his skeptical, naturalistic view
of the world. In The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark,
he presented tools for testing arguments and detecting fallacious or
fraudulent ones, essentially advocating wide use of the scientific method.
The compilation, Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the
End of the Millennium, published after Sagan's death, contains essays
written by Sagan, such as his views on abortion, and Ann Druyan's account of
his death
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| User: "chibiabos" |
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| Title: Re: Was Carl Sagan arrognant, an insignficant scientist, and/or a "Butt Head"? |
14 Mar 2006 09:40:50 PM |
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In article <otJRf.13815$96.7829@bignews8.bellsouth.net>, Bill
<wmech@bellsouth.net> wrote:
Your comments on Saga are pureal.
What does "pureal" mean? I am unable to find it in a dictionary.
Do you mean "puerile?"
-chib
--
Member of S.M.A.S.H.
Sarcastic Middle-aged Atheists with a Sense of Humor
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