Saganism

“Science and democracy have very consonant values and approaches, and I don't think you can have one without the other.”

— Carl Sagan

“As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.”

— Albert Einstein

“The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology. And it is terrifically dangerous, and it is now approaching a point of crisis overall.”

— Edward O. Wilson

“The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean. On this shore, we've learned most of what we know. Recently, we've waded a little way out, maybe ankle-deep, and the water seems inviting.”

— Carl Sagan

🎥 @wonderofscience.bsky.social

“Any book worth banning is a book worth reading.”

— Isaac Asimov

“The total amount of energy from outside the solar system ever received by all the radio telescopes on the planet Earth is less than the energy of a single snowflake hitting the ground.”

— Carl Sagan

“When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, 'This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know,' the end result is tyranny and oppression, no matter how holy the motives.”

— Robert A. Heinlein

“What experience and history teach is this — that nations and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted upon any lessons they might have drawn from it.”

— G.W.F. Hegel

“Abundance of knowledge does not teach men to be wise.”

— Heraclitus

“Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.”

— Albert Einstein

“The universe is a pretty big place. If it's just us, seems like an awful waste of space.”

- Carl Sagan

A studio portrait of astronomer Carl Sagan standing with his arms crossed, smiling warmly at the camera. He is wearing a red turtleneck sweater. Behind him is a stylized cosmic backdrop featuring a spiral galaxy and scattered stars, giving the impression that he is positioned in front of a vast, luminous universe.

“Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.”

— Carl Sagan

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.”

— Galileo Galilei, born on this day in 1564

Roses are Red

The Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237) features bright young stars, some burning millions of times brighter than the Sun. Their powerful stellar winds sculpt its iconic rose shape, illuminating glowing hydrogen gas red and ionized oxygen blue.

Credit: Keighley Rockcliffe

“We are now at the beginning of an age where we will have more information than we can possibly process. But let me remind you: Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. And wisdom is not foresight. Each grows out of the other, and we need them all. Before you become too entranced with gorgeous gadgets, remember that the goal is not to have more information, but to have more understanding.” — Arthur C. Clarke

Carl Sagan’s prediction about America, made 31 years ago.

13th and final episode of his 1980 television series Cosmos, titled "Who Speaks for Earth?".

Carl Sagan's message to the world!

“Lies are often much more plausible, more appealing to reason, than reality, since the liar has the great advantage of knowing beforehand what the audience wishes or expects to hear.”

— Hannah Arendt

“Knowing a great deal is not the same as being smart; intelligence is not information alone but also judgement, the manner in which information is coordinated and used.”

― Carl Sagan

“The size and age of the Cosmos are beyond ordinary human understanding. Lost somewhere between immensity and eternity is our tiny planetary home.”

— Carl Sagan

"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

— Albert Einstein

Nothing disturbs me more than the glorification of stupidity.

— Carl Sagan

Which modern-day popular science communicator do you prefer?

An intellectual who won’t challenge authority when it is wrong has already chosen a side.

“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.

Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.

Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?

Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”

— The Epicurean Paradox

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“The beauty of a living thing is not the atoms that go into it, but the way those atoms are put together.”

— Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan sitting on a wooden bench outdoors, smiling softly, with a stone wall and greenery in the background.

"We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever."

— Carl Sagan