CelticBear’s Musings

The latest Skepticality podcast has an interview with widow of the late Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan.

She helped co-write some of his books, and has a new book out: The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God.

The interview on the Skepticality podcast is bad audio quality, but it is SO worth the listen! She talks, heartbreakingly, about Dr. Sagan, and his LOVE for science, and the mysteries of reality. She talks about the spirituality of the universe, how there’s so much wonder and spiritual fulfillment found in the universe itself, discovered through science, that religion is simply a false and contrived and pale comparison. She discusses the absurdity of the claims that this outlook is some sort of religion of science.

She discusses also the necessity to always be honest with our kids. Don’t lie to them. That should be a no-brainer, but the entire culture of arrogant hubris comes from being raised to not accept “I don’t know” as an answer. Not being able to admit, “I don’t know” to some questions. She discusses how we humans have such a twisted sense of cosmic importance, and if we paused and considered out place in the universe for a second and realize how both insignificant we are cosmically, and yet how important and precious we are individually and as the only known life in the known cosmos so far, we could end hate and war and work toward ending human suffering.

She mentions the book “Pale Blue Dot” which dealt with this. She mentions a recent photograph from the Cassini  space probe that showed the Earth as a tiny bright dot through Saturn’s rings, and it should help us realize how truly minuscule we are–that picture can be found here: http://bbsnews.net/article.php/2006110320324537

It’s really truly awesome and thought-provoking. (By the way, in that picture, that inset in the top-left is a zoom of the actual dot that’s Earth seen in the larger version of the picture you have to click the link to. We’re just a tiny but bright speck near the right side of the photo.)

The way she talks about Carl Sagan really puts a hitch in my throat. He was such an incredible, kind, passionate man who really believed there was no more incredible, emotional, spiritual power than can be found in the both the awesomeness and mysteriousness of the reality of the cosmos. And I agree. A story from the Bronze Age about a deity that poofs the universe into existence by thought is silly, childish, boring. The truth of the incredible, mind-boggling, complex yet beautiful way the universe actually came into existence and expanded and coalesced into the galaxies and dark matter we can see–it’s just, amazing. Reality is so much more awesome and inspiring than imagined myth. It really makes my eyes a little wet thinking about how lucky and so VERY small we are, on this little speck of rock, in the infinite expanse of the universe. Why do people cling to fantasy when there’s so much more to be stunned by in reality? I don’t get it.

I wish Sagan were still alive today. As Ann expresses, he would probably be saddened by the way science has come under attack by ignorance and ideology the last few years. We could use his wisdom right now.

Listen to this interview. It’s emotional, rational, inspiring, wonderful.