"Stars of diamond - atoms as massive as stars." An allusion to some ofthe exotic forms of matter found in stars. The other aspect of Sagan that comes across clearly is that he was not afraid to stepon toes, an attribute that often earned him the label "arrogant." He was especiallysympathetic toward the numinous aspect of religions: awe at the power and scope ofthe Universe. Sagan personally was a thoroughgoing materialist, but in his writings he displayed adeeper respect for religion than most people give him credit for. The statement is a tautology: "everything there is is everythingthere is." Sagan probably means "the material universe is all that ever was, is,or will be", a statement that many people, of course, reject. That is, it's true, but so what? We don't learn anything wedidn't already know. What does this statement mean?If "the cosmos" includes every imaginable entity, for example, God, then thestatement is trivially true. "The Cosmos is all that ever is, was or will be." Cosmos hashardly begun before Sagan reveals some of his personality. Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences, Universityof Wisconsin - Green BayĬosmos is Carl Sagan's personal guided tour of the Universe as he envisions it.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |