CARL SAGAN: 1934 - 1996

By Edvard A. Hemmingsen


Dr. Carl Sagan succumbed to pneumonia on December 20, after a two year
courageous battle with the bone-marrow disease myelodysplasia.  His
death is a tremendous loss for science and skepticism, and indeed for
humanity.  He was widely known to the world as a prominent scientist
and teacher, as a superb communicator of science and as an advocate of
rational thinking.  His well known "Cosmos" series on PBS-TV made him
familiar to hundreds of millions of people around the world, and
highly admired by most.  One of his pet projects that became a part of
this series was to encourage the search for signs of intelligent life
elsewhere in the universe.  He suggested that such life may be common
in the universe because stars similar to our sun are so incredibly
abundant.

Less known to the general public was Sagan's unrelenting fight against
the forces of anti-science and irrationality.  He was associated with
the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the
Paranormal (CSICOP) from its beginning in 1976 and was a strong
supporter of James Randi in his efforts to combat the frauds of faith
healers, psychics and other quacks.  Sagan expressed in his voluminous
writings a disdain for pseudoscience, mysticism and superstition and
pointed out the many devastating consequences they have had throughout
history.  He warned us about their consequences to our civilization in
the future, especially as our society becomes ever more technological
but fewer and fewer people can understand the science that underlies
and supports it.  There is considerable evidence that Sagan=s concern
is appropriate.  It is ironic that the death of this man, who had a
real impact on the education of many people and sparked their interest
in science and technology and contributed so much else, is mentioned
almost in passing with just a few lines in Time Magazine (December 30,
1996), while that of deceased actor Marcello Mastroianni of "La Dolce
Vita" fame is given the honor of a full page in the same issue.

When I read Sagan's book, The Demon-Haunted World (reviewed in
Rational Inquiry, volume 1, issue 2), I was struck by the strong
reverence for and awe of nature that permeated the book.  Repeatedly
he appeared perplexed and amazed by people who are drawn to such
things as mysticism, New Age beliefs, etc., when there are far more
wonderful and beautiful phenomena in nature, and far more pleasure to
be had in the process of understanding the natural world.  The book is
his last strong statement on many critical problems in our society.  I
highly recommend it to those who are interested in knowing more about
where our civilization has been, where it is now, and where it may be
heading.


----------------

Edvard A. Hemmingsen is Emeritus Physiologist at San Diego State
University.  He is also co-editor of Rational Inquiry.

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