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Neil deGrasse Tyson to host sequel to Carl Sagan's Cosmos

This should be pretty exciting news to any Carl Sagan fans and/or science nerds out there.  Astrophysicist (and non-believer) Neil deGrasse Tyson is signed on to host Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which will be developed by Ann Druyan and Steve Soter, both of whom worked on the original Cosmos, along with Family Guy creator (and fellow atheist) Seth McFarlane.  The new Cosmos will air in primetime on FOX, which is pretty much unprecedented for a science documentary series, with encore airings on the National Geographic Channel, which will help produce the series.

There’s only one downside to this story, though:  you’ll have to wait ‘til 2013 to see it.

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Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from deep nonsense.

Carl Sagan

(via)

Carl Sagan says:  We wish to pursue the truth, no matter where it leads…

Carl Sagan says:  We wish to pursue the truth, no matter where it leads…

ageofreason: “When my husband died, because he was so famous & known for not being a believer, many people would come up to me — it still sometimes happens — & ask me if Carl changed at the end & converted to a belief in an afterlife. They also frequently ask me if I think I will see him again. Carl faced his death with unflagging courage & never sought refuge in illusions. The tragedy was that we knew we would never see each other again. I don’t ever expect to be reunited with Carl. But, the great thing is that when we were together, for nearly twenty years, we lived with a vivid appreciation of how brief & precious life is. We never trivialized the meaning of death by pretending it was anything other than a final parting. Every single moment that we were alive & we were together was miraculous — not miraculous in the sense of inexplicable or supernatural. We knew we were beneficiaries of chance… That pure chance could be so generous & so kind… That we could find each other, as Carl wrote so beautifully in Cosmos, you know, in the vastness of space & the immensity of time… That we could be together for twenty years. That is something which sustains me & it’s much more meaningful… The way he treated me & the way I treated him, the way we took care of each other & our family, while he lived. That is so much more important than the idea I will see him someday. I don’t think I’ll ever see Carl again. But I saw him. We saw each other. We found each other in the cosmos, and that was wonderful.“ - Ann Druyan, talking about her husband, Carl Sagan Click for high-res photo

ageofreason:

“When my husband died, because he was so famous & known for not being a believer, many people would come up to me — it still sometimes happens — & ask me if Carl changed at the end & converted to a belief in an afterlife. They also frequently ask me if I think I will see him again. Carl faced his death with unflagging courage & never sought refuge in illusions. The tragedy was that we knew we would never see each other again. I don’t ever expect to be reunited with Carl. But, the great thing is that when we were together, for nearly twenty years, we lived with a vivid appreciation of how brief & precious life is. We never trivialized the meaning of death by pretending it was anything other than a final parting. Every single moment that we were alive & we were together was miraculous — not miraculous in the sense of inexplicable or supernatural. We knew we were beneficiaries of chance… That pure chance could be so generous & so kind… That we could find each other, as Carl wrote so beautifully in Cosmos, you know, in the vastness of space & the immensity of time… That we could be together for twenty years. That is something which sustains me & it’s much more meaningful…

The way he treated me & the way I treated him, the way we took care of each other & our family, while he lived. That is so much more important than the idea I will see him someday. I don’t think I’ll ever see Carl again. But I saw him. We saw each other. We found each other in the cosmos, and that was wonderful.“

- Ann Druyan, talking about her husband, Carl Sagan

(this post was reblogged from ageofreason)

Here’s a really interesting video from the BBC about persistence hunting — hunting that involves chasing your prey on foot for hours at a time.  Reminds me of the bit in Carl Sagan’s The Demon-Haunted World where he mentions that even early humans had the mental tools need for scientific inquiry, since it requires such careful observation to be a successful hunter.  Also, it’s just really incredible to be able to get a glimpse at what life may have been like for our ancestors.

(Warning:  an animal was most definitely harmed in the making of this video.)

thebibleisuseless:

Carl Sagan: A Universe Not Made For Us (via callumCGLP)

I <3 Carl Sagan so much…

I second that.  Awesome video.

“The reason evolution is not immediately obvious to everybody is because it moves so slowly and takes so long.  How can creatures who only live for 70 years detect events that take 70 million years to unfold?  Or four billion?”

— Carl Sagan