› ›

Cosmos - A Personal Voyage

spectrumlinuxspectrumlinux
edited February 2011 in Chit chat
:smile:I just finished watching the entire Cosmos DVD set my other half got me for Christmas. (She got me a Celestron 70AZ refractor telescope too!)

I have to say that this series really amazed me on many levels.

Carl Sagan was a truly eloquent and intelligent speaker who never 'dumbed down' the content of the show.
This is in sharp contrast to contemporary productions.

For a programme made in 1980, the special effects were also quite good, which is surprising.

The series has energised my interest in Astronomy and I am hoping for some clear skies this weekend to look to the stars...

Anyone else remember this show?
Post edited by spectrumlinux on

Comments

  • thx1138thx1138
    edited February 2011
    I have his book.
  • JamesWJamesW
    edited February 2011
    It's very good - I got the DVD set for Xmas too. Had to buy them myself mind! Parts of it are of it's time though. Sagan does go on about nuclear armageddon quite a bit. Other times he sounds suspiciously like he's had a good toke or three. Anyway, can't beat this for a line:
    Carl_Sagan wrote:
    [Some animals] became upright ? emerging into consciousness. At an ever-accelerating pace, [consciousness] invented writing, cities, art and science, and sent spaceships to the planets and the stars. These are some things that hydrogen atoms do, given 15 billion years of cosmic evolution.

    The last sentence is sublime.
  • shammstershammster
    edited February 2011
    It's awesome!

    I also got the DVD's as a gift
  • takapatakapa
    edited February 2011
    JamesW wrote: »
    It's very good - I got the DVD set for Xmas too. Had to buy them myself mind! Parts of it are of it's time though. Sagan does go on about nuclear armageddon quite a bit. Other times he sounds suspiciously like he's had a good toke or three. Anyway, can't beat this for a line:



    The last sentence is sublime.

    Love Carl Sagan, he was soft spoken, intelligent and came across with a genuineness kindness about him.

    The bogeyman of the cold-war period was MAD, and I can understand the frustration of rational minds that mankind had come so far and that a few rash decisions might destroy our progress toward the stars.

    Now we have terrorists, global warming, overpopulation and economic collapse to keep us awake. I do look back on the 80s though with fondness as at least there was a space program, at least there was progress toward the next frontier. Now, the reality is that space exploration isn't economically viable and we may never get to set on another planet.

    Without getting all beliefy, I do believe that it is the responsibility of each generation to push forward and improve the human condition. For too long, we have forgot that belief in and pursuit of a greater ideal is enough to unite and inspire.

    Exploring and terraforming Mars seems like a great achievable goal to focus together the attentions of mankind. Imagine China, America, Russia and the EU participating in a space program to further all of human-kind. The 80s would be back again in spirit.
Sign In or Register to comment.