History Creator / CarlSagan

* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: Related to the above, a strong subversion. As indicated by the page quote, he believed that understanding the Universe (Enlightenment) did not detract from and even enhanced one's appreciation for nature (Romanticism).

* ''Music from a Small Planet'' (with Ann Druyan), a {{Radio}} documentary about the Voyager Interstellar Record. [[note]]A golden disc containing Earth music, voice messages and photographs, copies of which were launched into space on the Voyager 1 and 2 space probes on the off-chance that aliens would find them in interstellar space.[[/note]]

* EruditeStoner: Had toked many a joint in his lifetime. His wife Ann Druyan carries out his legacy as a popularizer of science and as president of the [=NORML=][[note]] National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws[[/note]] Foundation Board of Directors.

* LargeHam: Sometimes comes across as this in his documentaries.

* SpaceIsAnOcean: Although the trope itself is averted, Sagan did make poetic analogies between the oceanic voyages in the Age of Exploration to the modern day exploration of the space - he called Earth the "shore of the cosmic ocean", and repeatedly referred to spacecraft, of all kinds - from small robotic probes like the Mariners and Voyagers, to grand hypothetical Bussard Ramjet interstellar designs - as "ships". Also, the Planetary Society's logo - a [[SpaceSailing sailing ship against the backdrop of a ringed planet]].

* TakeThat: Directed against Sagan by Apple Computer. Near the height of Sagan's popularity in the mid 1990s, Apple had three tiers of the new Power [=MacIntosh=] design they were working on, which would eventually be marketed as the 6100, 7100, and 8100. During development, as is common practice before the marketing names are settled upon, they had code names. The 6100 was "Cold Fusion," the 7100 was "Carl Sagan," and the 8100 was "Piltdown Man" -- in other words, Sagan's name was grouped together with a known scientific hoax and a suspected (at the time) scientific hoax. When Sagan complained, they changed the code name for the 7100 to "Butt-head astronomer." (Sagan later sued them for this second slight; the judge threw the case out, saying "One does not seriously attack the expertise of a scientist using the undefined phrase 'butt-head'.")
** Creator/RobertAntonWilson also had a go at Sagan, creating a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute who in the eighteenth century sits on a panel of eminent judges in the Royal Society, whose brief, as one of the greatest scientific minds of the day and therefore An Expert, is to rubbish the preposterous claim that rocks can fall from the sky. In a parable of how scientific orthodoxy can strangle new thought, "Sagan" and his two co-judges rubbish the notion and discredit the proponent with ad hominem arguments that serve to utterly discredit him and mean neither he - nor the argument that meteorites happen - can never be taken seriously again. The two co-judges [[note]]based on Marvin Gardner and James Randi[[/note]] are uncivil, rude and agressively hostile; "Sagan" is gently patronising and somehow manages to be even more offensive whilst being outwardly concerned, sympathetic and pretending to assess the evidence on its own merits. "Sagan" is described as a man who must be a genius as he is always in the public eye and the first person to come to mind when asked to name a scientist of renown - yet nobody can actually recall any original thought or scientific advance he is responsible for. Wilson meant this scene, in ''The Historical Illuminatus!'', as cutting satire and a ReasonWhyYouSuckSpeech against Sagan's attitude towards ideas he did not personally like and wanted to squelch.

Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 -- December 20, 1996) was [[Website/SFDebris a famous speaker of the word "billions"]] as well as an astronomer, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, philosopher, and author who through his various books, including one screenplay which would become the film ''{{Film/Contact}}'', and the TV Series ''Series/CosmosAPersonalVoyage'', became widely known as "The People's Scientist". Apart from his popularizations of science, he also contributed to research in the fields of planetary science, spacecraft exploration of the solar system, and the radio Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He also developed theories on topics such as the nature of extraterrestrial lifeforms, the environmental effects of nuclear war (nuclear winter), and more.

Carl Sagan (November 9, 1934 -- December 20, 1996) was [[Website/SFDebris a famous speaker of the word "billions"]] as well as an astronomer, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, philosopher, and author who through his various books, including one screenplay which would become the film ''{{Film/Contact}}'', and the TV Series ''Series/CosmosAPersonalVoyage'', became widely known as "The People's Scientist". Apart from his popularizations of science, he also contributed to research in the fields of planetary science, spacecraft exploration of the solar system, and the radio Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He also developed theories on topics such as the nature of extraterrestrial lifeforms, the environmental effects of nuclear war (nuclear winter), and more.

In mainstream, he's somewhat of a star on Youtube; he's the centerpiece of the WebVideo/SymphonyOfScience videos, which auto-tunes Sagan's ''Cosmos'' along with other science programs to create [[strike:un]]expectedly awesome music videos, which total at about 8 million views. His ''[[TearJerker Pale]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Blue]] [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming Dot]]'' speech is also a big hit, the two most watched versions having 1.7 Million views combined. His work, although the bulk of it was done 30+ years ago, still stands tall today within science, an incredible accomplishment.

Carl Sagan (November 9, 1934 -- December 20, 1996) was [[Website/{{SFDebris}} a famous speaker of the word "billions"]] as well as an astronomer, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, philosopher, and author who through his various books, including one screenplay which would become the film ''{{Film/Contact}}'', and the TV Series ''Series/CosmosAPersonalVoyage'', became widely known as "The People's Scientist". Apart from his popularizations of science, he also contributed to research in the fields of planetary science, spacecraft exploration of the solar system, and the radio Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He also developed theories on topics such as the nature of extraterrestrial lifeforms, the environmental effects of nuclear war (nuclear winter), and more.

* TakeThat: Directed against Sagan by Apple Computer. Near the height of Sagan's popularity in the mid 1990s, Apple had three tiers of the new Power MacIntosh design they were working on, which would eventually be marketed as the 6100, 7100, and 8100. During development, as is common practice before the marketing names are settled upon, they had code names. The 6100 was "Cold Fusion," the 7100 was "Carl Sagan," and the 8100 was "Piltdown Man" -- in other words, Sagan's name was grouped together with a known scientific hoax and a suspected (at the time) scientific hoax. When Sagan complained, they changed the code name for the 7100 to "Butt-head astronomer." (Sagan later sued them for this second slight; the judge threw the case out, saying "One does not seriously attack the expertise of a scientist using the undefined phrase 'butt-head'.")

Apart from his science-related work, he was also an activist to legalize marijuana, of which [[EruditeStoner he was a regular user]], and was very strongly opposed to the proliferation of nuclear weapons, even getting arrested in 1986 for interfering in a nuclear test. He was also a founder of the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal ([[FunWithAcronyms CSICOP]]), which sought (and continues to seek, as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) to debunk most forms of paranormal and (later enlarged to) pseudoscientific claims (enlisting the assistance of Creator/IsaacAsimov and others). He was thrice married, first to biologist Lynn Margulis, then to artist Linda Salzman, and finally to author Ann Druyan, with whom he co-wrote ''Cosmos'' and several of his books.

Apart from his science-related work, he was also an activist to legalize marijuana, of which [[EruditeStoner he was a regular user]], and was very strongly opposed to the proliferation of nuclear weapons, even getting arrested in 1986 for interfering in a nuclear test. He was also a founder of the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal ([[FunWithAcronyms CSICOP]]), which sought (and continues to seek, as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) to debunk most forms of paranormal and (later enlarged to) pseudoscientific claims (enlisting the assistance of Creator/IsaacAsimov and others, including [[Website/{{Quackwatch}} Stephen Barrett]] who joined as a fellow later). He was thrice married, first to biologist Lynn Margulis, then to artist Linda Salzman, and finally to author Ann Druyan, with whom he co-wrote ''Cosmos'' and several of his books.

Apart from his science-related work, he was also an activist to legalize marijuana, of which [[EruditeStoner he was a regular user]], and was very strongly opposed to the proliferation of nuclear weapons, even getting arrested in 1986 for interfering in a nuclear test. He was also a founder of the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal ([[FunWithAcronyms CSICOP]]), which sought (and continues to seek, as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) to debunk most forms of paranormal claims (enlisting the assistance of Creator/IsaacAsimov and others, including [[Website/{{Quackwatch}} Stephen Barrett]] who joined as a fellow later). He was thrice married, first to biologist Lynn Margulis, then to artist Linda Salzman, and finally to author Ann Druyan, with whom he co-wrote ''Cosmos'' and several of his books.

Apart from his science-related work, he was also an activist to legalize marijuana, of which [[EruditeStoner he was a regular user]], and was very strongly opposed to the proliferation of nuclear weapons, even getting arrested in 1986 for interfering in a nuclear test. He was also a founder of the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal ([[FunWithAcronyms CSICOP]]), which sought (and continues to seek, as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) to debunk most forms of paranormal claims (enlisting the assistance of Creator/IsaacAsimov and others, including [[Creator/{{Quackwatch}} Stephen Barrett]] who joined as a fellow later). He was thrice married, first to biologist Lynn Margulis, then to artist Linda Salzman, and finally to author Ann Druyan, with whom he co-wrote ''Cosmos'' and several of his books.

Apart from his science-related work, he was also an activist to legalize marijuana, of which [[EruditeStoner he was a regular user]], and was very strongly opposed to the proliferation of nuclear weapons, even getting arrested in 1986 for interfering in a nuclear test. He was also a founder of the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal ([[FunWithAcronyms CSICOP]]), which sought (and continues to seek, as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) to debunk most forms of paranormal claims (enlisting the assistance of JamesRandi and others). He was thrice married, first to biologist Lynn Margulis, then to artist Linda Salzman, and finally to author Ann Druyan, with whom he co-wrote ''Cosmos'' and several of his books.

* SpiritualSuccessor: UsefulNotes/NeilDeGrasseTyson.

'''Carl Sagan''' (November 9, 1934 -- December 20, 1996) was [[Website/{{SFDebris}} a famous speaker of the word "billions"]] as well as an astronomer, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, philosopher, and author who through his various books, including one screenplay which would become the film ''{{Film/Contact}}'', and the TV Series ''Series/CosmosAPersonalVoyage'', became widely known as "The People's Scientist". Apart from his popularizations of science, he also contributed to research in the fields of planetary science, spacecraft exploration of the solar system, and the radio Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He also developed theories on topics such as the nature of extraterrestrial lifeforms, the environmental effects of nuclear war (nuclear winter), and more.

** His possibly unique pronunciation of the word "cosmos" provoked lots of mirth in Great Britain, especially after impressionists and [[TheBurkissWay parodists]] got hold of it. For many people in Britain, ''Cosmos'' was their first introduction to the non-double-entendre pronunciation of the word "Uranus" - the dominant local pronunciation had always been "yoor-anus" - and the fact Sagan appeared to be conscientiously avoiding the "your arse" joke only served to lampshade it more. Kids in school playgrounds soon caught on to the weird alternative pronunciation and made a joke of it.

* UsefulNotes/TheScientificMethod

-> ''"It does not [[MeasuringTheMarigolds harm the romance of a sunset]] to know a little bit about it."''

* TheObiWan: Inspired UsefulNotes/NeilDeGrasseTyson and taught [[Series/BillNyeTheScienceGuy Bill Nye]] at Cornell. And inspired and taught countless others as well.
** Inspired the ''[[VideoGame/BitTrip BIT.TRIP]]'' series as well.