Identify Books In Pursuance Of Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
| Original Title: | Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space |
| ISBN: | 0345376595 (ISBN13: 9780345376596) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Carl Sagan
Paperback | Pages: 384 pages Rating: 4.32 | 27273 Users | 909 Reviews
Declare Based On Books Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
| Title | : | Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space |
| Author | : | Carl Sagan |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 384 pages |
| Published | : | September 8th 1997 by Ballantine Books (first published November 8th 1994) |
| Categories | : | Science. Nonfiction. Astronomy. Space. Philosophy. Physics. Popular Science |
Commentary Supposing Books Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
For the majority of my life, reading was never an interest. At all. I spent most of my childhood watching movies and playing video games and football. Reading was boring, time-consuming and pointless. But then, when I was around sixteen or so, something happened that changed my life drastically. I discovered Carl Sagan. I still remember buying Cosmos, unpacking it, excitedly starting it, and turning the volume up to the max. I watched all the episodes in a day: I couldn't stop. And then it happened. For the first time in my life, I ordered some books. The first three books I ever bought were all by Carl. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, Billions & Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium, and finally, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space. Pale Blue Dot was the first I read, and it was mindblowing for me at the time. It was so illuminating. It's hard to describe the impact it had on me. Coupled with Cosmos and a number of videos on Youtube of Carl speaking, it completely changed my life - for the better. When I discovered Carl (and in extension, books, science, philosophy) I was horribly depressed and struggling a lot with a variety of things. Upon discovering him, I realised that there is more to life than bad movies, football, and wasteful video games. I still remember reading him, or watching Cosmos, or watching a lecture of his on Youtube, and listening attentively; I would then go to my parents and sit there for an hour or more, lecturing them about what I just heard or read. Probably I did not convey everything accurately but that wasn't the point either. I bought a telescope, and stayed up all night looking at the stars and the moon and listening to him on my MP3. Somehow, looking at those stars, and listening to him, and not only listening but finding what he said logical, reasonable -- an explanation as to why we are here that isn't religious or superstitious, but still much more beautiful than what any religion can come up with -- it gave some much-needed meaning to my life. It's strange how you can be punched in the gut by the vast meaninglessness of it all, and that's exactly where you find meaning. This is where it all started for me. Because of Carl (and yes, I will persist in calling him 'Carl', damn it), I discovered Richard P. Feynman. Because of Feynman I discovered Paul Dirac. All of this science-related. This led me to Arthur C. Clarke and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Eventually I discovered George Orwell, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Albert Camus, and all those other writers who have enriched my life ever since. So it was Carl, and this book in combination with Cosmos, that paved way for it all. My entire intellectual life is all because of him. It is almost certain that had I not come across Carl when I did, I would have remained depressed. Although my interest in science has waned (primarily because of my lack of proficiency in mathematics more than anything else), and my opinions and thoughts have changed (and continue to change all the time) I am still eternally grateful to Carl for opening the door for me to, well, thought. Most importantly, though, he showed me that life might be worth living after all. “A book is made from a tree. It is an assemblage of flat, flexible parts (still called "leaves") imprinted with dark pigmented squiggles. One glance at it and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, the author is speaking, clearly and silently, inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew one another. Books break the shackles of time ― proof that humans can work magic."Rating Based On Books Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
Ratings: 4.32 From 27273 Users | 909 ReviewsEvaluation Based On Books Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
This book was very well written by an excellent physicist. It was one of those books that really makes you consider the world around you and the massive scale of the Universe.The first chapter contemplated the arrogance and self-centred nature of humans, and presented the notion that humans are exceedingly small compared to the vast Universe. For the first time I really comprehended how tiny our species are. It is quite an obvious concept that gets lost in everyday worries, fears and troubles.There was a time when I simply could NOT get enough of Carl Sagan. I read everything he wrote, watched every documentary that he made. I adore him still. Pale Blue Dot is NOT like Cosmos, the book with which most people are familiar. Cosmos dealt with astronomy and gave you a basic understanding of the entire "cosmos" in a way that you would understand. It's one of the reasons it is so popular. In Pale Blue Dot, Sagan is speaking to those who love the Earth, love its relationship to the Cosmos,
Pale Blue Dot refers to the Earth as photographed from the Voyager craft at a point beyond the orbit of Neptune. Of course at that distance, the Earth is barely discernible - a very small, unremarkable, pale blue dot among a myriad of billions of other unremarkable points of light. Yet all our history, civilization, and culture that we have ever known has occurred on that dot.Even though our ingrained geo-centric and ethno-centric biases cause us to become deflated and even depressed at the
The entire Earth is but a point, and the place of our own habitation but a minute corner of it.MARCUS AURELIUS, ROMAN EMPEROR The is my first packed-with-information book, ever. One might think that it is a pure scientific text which goes on and on about facts and numbers and laws and whatsoever that can drag the soul out of you - not denying that it isn't - but seriously, look at the title - A Pale Blue Dot - isn't poetic enough? As the writer suggests "Knowing how things work doesn't make them
Marvelous look at what humanity can achieve if we put our minds to it. This book should be read by every lawmaker and statesperson in the world, and by every high school student looking to their future career.
Take Carls revered Pale Blue Dot speech, and multiply it by, say, the power of ten. Thats Pale Blue Dot. And the fact that its only by the power of ten... well, thats how great that speech is.
I was impressed by how much I enjoyed this one. I've not read any Sagan before, so I didn't know what to expect, but he's one of those brilliant scientists who understands how to clearly explain things to laypeople. His story (I use the term though it reads more like a collection of journal entries or brief reports) covers wide-ranging topics about the implications and necessity of space travel, posing questions frequently, answering them occasionally, and leading inexorably to a single
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