Dr. Carl Sagan ( 10 of 15 )
That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every read more
That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every 'superstar,' every 'supreme leader,' every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there - on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
Who are we? Where do we come from? Why are we this way and not some other? What does it read more
Who are we? Where do we come from? Why are we this way and not some other? What does it mean to be human? Are we capable, if need be, of fundamental change, or do the dead hands of forgotten ancestors impel us in some direction, indiscriminately for good or ill, and beyond our control? Can we alter our character? Can we improve our societies? Can we leave our children a world better than the one that was left to us? Can we free them from the demons that torment us and haunt our civilization? In the long run, are we wise enough to know what changes to make? Can we be trusted with our own future?
The Universe forces those who live in it to understand it. Those creatures who find everyday experience a muddled jumble read more
The Universe forces those who live in it to understand it. Those creatures who find everyday experience a muddled jumble of events with no predictability, no regularity, are in grave peril. The Universe belongs to those who, at least to some degree,
I also wish that the Pledge of Allegiance were directed at the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as it read more
I also wish that the Pledge of Allegiance were directed at the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as it is when the President takes his oath of office, rather than to the flag and the nation
You have to know the past to understand the present.
You have to know the past to understand the present.
Knowing a great deal is not the same as being smart; intelligence is not information alone but also judgment, the read more
Knowing a great deal is not the same as being smart; intelligence is not information alone but also judgment, the manner in which information is collected and used
Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.
Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.
Never utter these words: 'I do not know this, therefore it is false.' One must study to know; know to read more
Never utter these words: 'I do not know this, therefore it is false.' One must study to know; know to understand; understand to judge.
The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean. From it we have learned most of what read more
The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean. From it we have learned most of what we know. Recently, we have waded a little out to sea, enough to dampen our toes or, at most, wet our ankles. The water seems inviting. The ocean calls. So
It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and read more
It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
