Remembering Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan died 10 years ago today. Suave, handsome, enthusiastic. What's not to like? He gave us all so much more than the "billions and billions" tagline (26 years later, if you say that with just the right level of sparkle, most people get the reference immediately)
I spent the summer between 5th and 6th grades reading everything I could get my hands on about the human brain, and wrote some long report that nobody else ever saw (fortunately, probably). I loved biology in high school. Unfortunately I didn't love physics, trigonometry, and chemistry, and in 1969 the high-school astronomy class was "off limits" to girls. So I devoted myself to history and art, and left my old love behind me.
In 1980, I got a television, after years without one. One of the first things I made time for was "Cosmos." Suddenly science wasn't nerdy; it was a thing of passion and beauty that anyone could appreciate. Watching Carl Sagan reawakened my interest in things scientific, and much of my non-fiction reading now revolves around it.
One of the most popular guests on WOSU's "Open Line" program is Dr. Tom Burns, director of the Perkins Observatory, perhaps our own local Carl Sagan. Last night when Saint H got home I kept him from taking off his coat; we ran outside in time to see the shuttle and International Space Station pass directly overhead, blazing bright in the clear twilight. I'm not a scientist, or an astronomer, just someone who loves to see hard facts made approachable. Science, like history, has been too long maligned for "dry" content. We need more Carl Sagans in our lives!
Report on Monday's trip to the James infusion center: Zometa as usual (followed Tuesday by the usual achiness and doldrums). Hemoglobin level: 13.8, better and better - higher than it's been in years. No Aranesp! Hooray!
I spent the summer between 5th and 6th grades reading everything I could get my hands on about the human brain, and wrote some long report that nobody else ever saw (fortunately, probably). I loved biology in high school. Unfortunately I didn't love physics, trigonometry, and chemistry, and in 1969 the high-school astronomy class was "off limits" to girls. So I devoted myself to history and art, and left my old love behind me.
In 1980, I got a television, after years without one. One of the first things I made time for was "Cosmos." Suddenly science wasn't nerdy; it was a thing of passion and beauty that anyone could appreciate. Watching Carl Sagan reawakened my interest in things scientific, and much of my non-fiction reading now revolves around it.
One of the most popular guests on WOSU's "Open Line" program is Dr. Tom Burns, director of the Perkins Observatory, perhaps our own local Carl Sagan. Last night when Saint H got home I kept him from taking off his coat; we ran outside in time to see the shuttle and International Space Station pass directly overhead, blazing bright in the clear twilight. I'm not a scientist, or an astronomer, just someone who loves to see hard facts made approachable. Science, like history, has been too long maligned for "dry" content. We need more Carl Sagans in our lives!
Report on Monday's trip to the James infusion center: Zometa as usual (followed Tuesday by the usual achiness and doldrums). Hemoglobin level: 13.8, better and better - higher than it's been in years. No Aranesp! Hooray!
Labels: nature
posted by rcclive at
6:56 AM
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