Some Thoughts and Reflections on the Occasion of Carl Sagan's 90th Birthday

The late, great Carl Sagan would have been 90 on November 9th

Image credit: Cornell University and the Carl Sagan Institute

If anyone could ever accuse Carl Sagan of anything, it would be that he was a seeker of truth and peace. Indeed, his Pale Blue Dot was an exhortation to us all, so tiny on this pale blue dot, a Pale Blue Dot lost in a sunbeam, to live on and work towards a lasting peace among all the peoples of the earth.

Truth is the essence of science. We search for it in the data we collect and in the theories we propose. We always follow the data where ever it leads but, in no way, do we ever compromise that principle, that it is the truth we seek. Carl was a truth teller who never minced words. He was honest to a fault, and the world now sorely misses people with such character.

Carl Sagan’s birthday this year coincided with the results of the US Presidential election, results we’re still sorting out. One thing is clear though, Donald Trump will be the next President of the United States. Many of my students were distraught and deeply up…