Carl Sagan Blogathon

By Aaron on December 20, 2006 at 11:50 pm | In Blog Posts |

Today is the 10th anniversary of Carl Sagan’s death. As ordered by the Carl Sagan Memorial Blogathon, we should be writing something about his death. Unfortunately, a very bad cold virus has me in a Benadryl Haze, so it’s hard to write coherently. I should say, harder to write coherently, but we try anyway…

I never had the fortune of meeting Dr. Sagan since my astronomy career took off after he died. In fact, his death marks an end to my astronomy-exile that runs roughly from adolescence to the mid-twenties. I remember watching him on Larry King just months before he died. He looked thin and frail due to his cancer fight, but at the time was recovering and optimistic.

A close friend of mine attended Cornell, where Dr. Sagan worked. He said he felt bad for guest lecturers who would visit. Carl would introduce them, listen to the talk, then thank them for coming - as any good MC would do. But afterward the students would swarm Carl with questions and requests, leaving the featured speaker in the offing.

I’ve run into more than one person in the industry who has told me that they want to be the next Carl Sagan. At one astro conference in 2003, an entire panel discussion was dedicated to “finding the next Carl Sagan”. Just as his loss is immeasurable, it is impossible to replace him and foolhardy to try.

Carl wasn’t popular because he was smart. He wasn’t popular because he was good looking. He wasn’t popular because he was funny. He wasn’t popular because he was rich and successful.

He was popular because he made it look easy.

Like Michael Jordan and Johnnie Cochran, the greats in their profession make it look easy. Carl Sagan made science seem like it was understandable. There was no reason everyone couldn’t get it. He also made it seem fun, without being geeky.

That is where lots of science popularizers fail. They try cool stunts and stuff and do a good job preaching to the choir. (I’m calling you out, Bill Nye and Mr. Wizard!) This is important stuff, don’t get me wrong. But it’s not going to reach POTS (person-on-the-street = an actual term used in education journals, btw!).

Carl Sagan was cool. He hung out with Rolling Stone editors. He exchanged coded messages with Soviet spies. He smoked dope and wrote about it. He became a feminist. He worked in Hollywood. We can’t recreate that.

Instead, every astronomer (scientist, even) needs to take the personal responsibility to explain what they do in exciting terms to everyone they know. If it takes time, fine. And don’t dumb it down: respect the intelligence of those to whom we are speaking. If every scientist in the world did that - we’d be in a much more enlightened place now. That’s what we need now. Grass roots responsibility. Scientists need to stand up and be counted

The Benadryl Haze is wearing off. Time to sleep and take the fight to the enemy.

Check out the Slackerpedia Galactica Carl Sagan page.
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