I think it's wrong for Sagan to say, for example, that "Pythagoras was the first person to recognize that the world was round". These great men of science like Pythagoras did not operate in a vacuum, alone on an island thinking great thoughts all by themselves. No, rather, they needed to talk and argue with other men and compare ideas. Science is a process, not a bunch of individuals. Nobody comes up with great ideas all on their own. Even Einstein had help.
@fliegeroh I think you make an excellent point. In college I took two science, technology, and society (STS) and sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK) courses and much of the course was spent overturning such naive claims as Sagan and others say. Of course Sagan to a large extent is right, but, it is not so cut-and-dry as we would like to think. Thanks.
For such a great scientist, it must of hurt Sagan to be upstaged by Immanuel Velikovsky. This great man made some brilliant predictions that Sagan could only of dream't about!
It's amazing how much about the world that the Greeks were able to discover, despite the fact that they were almost always some of the first investigators into any given field. They had no store of background knowledge to consult and had to use their own observations and reasoning to come to new conclusions in what were very new sciences.
It just goes to show how much of science is about keeping one's eyes open and how centuries of science were frustrated by the closing of these eyes.
I appreciate your point about science, but I think you're missing something with regard to the Greeks. The Greeks picked up a tremendous amount of knowledge and technology from both the Egyptians and the Fertile Crescent civilizations.
What the Greeks really had going for them was an atmosphere free from centralized power structures that could control or sensor information. It's not just keeping one's eye's open, it's having the freedom to discuss one's observations.
A very good way to understand this is the relationship between the US and Europe in the 18th century. The Enlightenment was really a European invention, but the established power structures of church and monarchy stifled those ideas. The US, being free from those centralized powers, was free to put those ideas into practice.
I wish he was my dad
aces11666 5 months ago
do they still show this in school
FIGHTFANNERD3 9 months ago
Anyone know the song from the beginning of this video? (0:00 up to about 1:30)
JackVIIVIIVII 1 year ago
I think it's wrong for Sagan to say, for example, that "Pythagoras was the first person to recognize that the world was round". These great men of science like Pythagoras did not operate in a vacuum, alone on an island thinking great thoughts all by themselves. No, rather, they needed to talk and argue with other men and compare ideas. Science is a process, not a bunch of individuals. Nobody comes up with great ideas all on their own. Even Einstein had help.
fliegeroh 1 year ago
@fliegeroh I think you make an excellent point. In college I took two science, technology, and society (STS) and sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK) courses and much of the course was spent overturning such naive claims as Sagan and others say. Of course Sagan to a large extent is right, but, it is not so cut-and-dry as we would like to think. Thanks.
UseAsDirected100 4 months ago
damn this is good documentary
monsta123x 1 year ago
Rip Carl Sagan. A great American.
alexpetro27 1 year ago
For such a great scientist, it must of hurt Sagan to be upstaged by Immanuel Velikovsky. This great man made some brilliant predictions that Sagan could only of dream't about!
the0fart0machine 1 year ago
EXCELLENT.
CARL SAGAN is an inspiration.
mohfoz77 2 years ago 2
Sagan was brilliant. Love watching his presentation of science and knowledge and his passion for objective truth.
faithisfiction 2 years ago 6
I wish I had such charismatic teachers at school and at university...
inforave 2 years ago 4
Ever notice how in videos posted with 2 or more parts to it, the higher the part the fewer the views...
1OitarNedlog 3 years ago
It's amazing how much about the world that the Greeks were able to discover, despite the fact that they were almost always some of the first investigators into any given field. They had no store of background knowledge to consult and had to use their own observations and reasoning to come to new conclusions in what were very new sciences.
It just goes to show how much of science is about keeping one's eyes open and how centuries of science were frustrated by the closing of these eyes.
Myndir 3 years ago 12
I appreciate your point about science, but I think you're missing something with regard to the Greeks. The Greeks picked up a tremendous amount of knowledge and technology from both the Egyptians and the Fertile Crescent civilizations.
What the Greeks really had going for them was an atmosphere free from centralized power structures that could control or sensor information. It's not just keeping one's eye's open, it's having the freedom to discuss one's observations.
danieleriskay 3 years ago
A very good way to understand this is the relationship between the US and Europe in the 18th century. The Enlightenment was really a European invention, but the established power structures of church and monarchy stifled those ideas. The US, being free from those centralized powers, was free to put those ideas into practice.
danieleriskay 3 years ago
@Myndir indeed
FIGHTFANNERD3 9 months ago
Carl was right on time. He helped stop the 20th century from becoming the new dark ages!
Now we have to worry about the 21st century!
nowellian 3 years ago 2
This is a new video of Carl for me, always enjoy watching his intellectual and interesting videos again and again!
greenleaf81 4 years ago 4
Carl was an amazing man, born about a thousand years before his time..
baxill23 4 years ago 14
..or, a few thousand years after his time.
mu3mu3mu3 4 years ago 5
Great show - thanks.
Clausfarre 4 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
aright!!!
dodecahedron!!
whooooo!
i think they have a rubiks dodecahedron!!
lets give it up for ALL TWELVE SIDES!!
OW!
zanders37 4 years ago