Tag Archives: Carl Sagan

Conversations with Carl Sagan

Posted on February 4, 2025 by smellincoffee

When I began trying to build my own worldview back in 2006, Carl Sagan’s books were instrumental in giving me a scientific orientation — and a scientific education. By the time he first appeared on the blog (November 2007), I … Continue reading →

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Wonder and Skepticism

Posted on January 7, 2017 by smellincoffee

Last night I suddenly wanted to listen to Carl Sagan’s last address to the Committee for the Scientific Investigation for Claims of the Paranormal (now known as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry).   I needed to hear Sagan’s voice, his … Continue reading →

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Ad Astra Per Aspera

Posted on November 13, 2016 by smellincoffee

A reading from Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot, set to utterly perfect music. We were hunters and foragers — the frontier was everywhere. We were bounded only by the earth, and the ocean, and the sky. The open road still … Continue reading →

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Varieties of Scientific Experience

Posted on November 21, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for Goded. Ann Druyan, © 2006304 pages In 1985, Carl Sagan delivered a series of lectures to the University of Glasgow on the general subject of natural theology, or … Continue reading →

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Contact

Posted on July 2, 2010 by smellincoffee

Contact© 1985 Carl Sagan432 pages “We could be in the middle of an intergalactic conversation — and we wouldn’t even know.” – Michio Kaku, “Our Place in the Universe“. Dr. Eleanor Arroway, known as “Ellie” to her few intimates, is … Continue reading →

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The Cosmic Connection

Posted on October 28, 2009 by smellincoffee

The Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective© 1973 Carl Sagan273 pages Carl Sagan penned The Cosmic Connection in the interests of communicating his own exhilaration at the human exploration of space. He begins by expressing his appreciating for being alive when … Continue reading →

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The Demon-Haunted World

Posted on September 6, 2009 by smellincoffee

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark © 1995 Carl Sagan 457 pages Carl Sagan’s Demon-Haunted World is a classic of the modern skeptical movement. I initially began to phrase that “will be considered”, but quickly changed … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (10/9)

Posted on September 10, 2008 by smellincoffee

Books this Update: Me of Little Faith, Lewis Black When You Are Engulfed in Flames, David Sedaris Surviving Auschwitz, Primo Levi Carl Sagan: A Life, Keay Davidson I began this week with Me of Little Faith, which is a book … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (12/10)

Posted on October 12, 2007 by smellincoffee

Life at college tends to cut into my reading time. I’m not particularly caught up in doing any one thing, but there are a multitude of little affairs — going to classes, working, practicing German, studying, club meetings — that … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (11/9)

Posted on September 11, 2007 by smellincoffee

This Week at the Library (11/9) Currently Listening To: “Waking Up in the Universe“, Richard Dawkins ” It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is … Continue reading →

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