The Pale Blue Dot Is Us

After reading Sagan’s “Why We Need to Understand Science” I started to think about how it can be possible for people not to notice this decline in science education happening. Then it came to me that it is because of science that people are no longer sufficiently educated in the math and sciences. Science produces technology, technology produces such devices as video game systems, cell phones, computers, televisions, etc. All of these things are now occupying the time and mind of most adolescents who then grow up to be un-scientifically educated adults like the driver who took Sagan to his science convention. I agree that teachers and parents should encourage kids to learn, however, they are in competition with those productions of science they call electronics. Society is constantly changing which means the people that encompass that society change as well. Children do not learn the same way children were taught years ago. The teaching styles need to change in order to grab their attention and in order to get through to them so that they can start understanding what it is they are earning and what its for. The video on ‘Pale Blue Dot’ just emphasizes the underlying meaning of Sagan’s ‘Why We Need To Understand Science’ article. It shows that science is not just big explosions and chemical fusions, science is us. Science is our world that we live in, the world where we wake up and brush our teeth and do our hair. Science is not just a subject, it is, as Sagan writes, ‘a way of thinking’. It is a way of thinking about our life, our planet, what we do and how we come to do it.

Analysis of Sagan’s “Why We Need To Understand Science” and “Pale Blue Dot”

“Why We Need To Understand Science”:

Sagan’s essay on the importance of science sparks debate over how children in the United States should be scientifically educated in response to the transcendence of technology in today’s world. Sagan first opens with an anecdote about an average Joe who, like most Americans, is falsely misguided by the pseudo science of “UFOs” and “channeling”. Sagan morphs a seemingly harmless conversation into a national epidemic: children who receive inadequate science education grow up to become misinformed adults. Sagan asserts this theory in the next section of his essay, condemning the government for their purely war-driven interests in science (“CFCs, Agent Orange, nerve gas”). Sagan also denounces the media for portraying science in a way children find unappealing and frightening (“Dr. Faust to Dr. Frankenstein”). Sagan then addresses the problems of science and math education through empirical numbers. With the use of logos, Sagan logically connects lack of interest in science to appalling test scores: “United States ranked dead last in algebra”, “U.S. kids averaged 43 percent and their Japanese counterparts 78 percent.” etc. These claims are meant to shock the audience to induce change in the educational system. Sagan regards U.S. education as faulty, with ill-equipped teachers and less hands-on experiences. The spark of intellectual curiosity is extinguished by senior year in high school, where peers judge and critique one another for being motivated by learning. Sagan’s essay is an appeal to the people, calling for a change in the educational system and social stigma of science. All of these problems contribute to the underlying factor: understanding science will produce a generation of well-informed individuals.

“Pale Blue Dot”:

The video illustrates the unity in the Earth, and how we all live and share this “pale blue dot”. The video is humbling, and shows the true insignificance of war and murder in order to gain a fraction of power which only lasts for a blink of a second in the grand scheme of the universe. The video also indicates how all humans are connected, and regardless of situation we must live together. Rather than live with war throughout our short lives, peace should triumph. The video poses important points about the human condition:  “Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel […] of some other corner”. The video highlights that violence and cruelty is futile, and such misunderstandings are miniscule in comparison to the universe.

Response to Sagan

Sagan’s piece begins with an anecdote which talks about his meeting with his driver, Mr. Buckley. He explains how amazed he is at the fact that the general public does not really not know much about what real science is. They are all convinced that UFOs, and crystals, and such is what science is. Sagan is appalled that the people do not have an interest for real science, but it is because of the fact that they do not know anything about “real science” but are only aware of the “pseudo-science.” Sagan rapidly lists in question for the many facts about science that he finds interesting that the public is unaware of. The whole introduction is a realization that he has that people are really not as smart as they are thought to be, or think of themselves to be. Sagan then moves onto to accept the fact that science has its pros and cons. He accepts the fact that scientific discoveries have led to political war weapons being created, harmful chemicals being created, but he also mentions the positives that they have done: found cures for diseases, discovering planets, etc. Sagan, unlike Orwell, thinks that science is useful to the thinking process. He states that “this is central to success.” I’m sure Orwell would pounce on that statement and argue it at once. Sagan also reviews the fact that Americans are not as smart as they think they are. He uses statistics to prove his point on how poorly America is doing compared to the rest of the world. The fact that kids don’t like going to school in American compared to other nations is a very big issue playing into this. The biggest reason why Americans do not know much about science is the fact that everyone is so hesitant. Kids are hesitant to ask questions, scientists are hesitant to share their findings, and adults just don’t have the patience to answer their kids “ridiculous” questions. Sagan concludes his piece by saying that their is a solution. He turns his so-far pessimistic piece and sheds some optimism. He says that if teachers wanted to teach, and were given better benefits for teaching, there would be so much more learned. There is an urgency in his voice as he says science should be taught–the real science. There are so many interesting things to be learned, but they are not being taught in the way that they should be or presented with as much as enthusiasm as it should have.

Response to Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan was a celebrated astronomer who was known for his many scientific papers. But, beloved for influencing others about science in his tv series called Cosmos.  Not only was he a tv personality he had made many important contributions to science while being a professor at Cornell University, where he spent the majority of his career. He made many contributions to the study of global warming, extraterritorial life,  and the Planets.

In one of his many essays called “Why We Need to Understand Science”, Carl Sagan gives us this story about his driver asking him questions about science which sparked his attention to write this essay. In talking with William F.  Buckley, his driver, he realizes how much people don’t know and how mislead they are in what is happening in science. He realizes that its not tht his driver doesn’t want to know but he’s not being given the right information. He gives us this quote to demonstrate the gap “All over America there are smart, even gifted , people who have a built in passion for science. But that passion is unrequited. A recent survey suggests that 94 percent of Americans are “scientifically illiterate.” Then Sagan gives of his definition of science which he says is more than a body of knowledge how we should take our hypotheses and see what works with the facts. He says its “very bad’ referring to how the statistics show how bad Americans are in the field of science and how uninformed we are. Sagan says we must make some changes in our system by giving more money to teachers, teach rather than just read , and more schoolwork to keep children focused. He says there is something we can do, we can motivate people to want to learn. We must show people we science can do and how it can bring us success. People need to be able to be curious again and ask questions. Not to be made fun of or ridiculed because even our principle proven concepts now were once “ridiculous” and un-heard of. He ends the essay with says its ok to admit you don’t know so we can be able to find the right answer. Encouragement and motivation is needed but it isn’t the only thing, we have to provide the tools to people like his driver. We need to provide him with the tools to be able to understand science so collectively as Americans we can become better in the field of science.

Sagan’s “Why We Need to Understand Science”

An astrophysicist, writer and TV host, Carl Sagan presents his view on the need to pursue more scientific education in the U.S. He believes that the Americans need to understand what science is because science has the influence to shape our lifestyle. Throughout his article, Sagan talks about how the U.S lacks scientific and mathematical education. He wished the U.S. impose more of both subjects because the average American student is behind in academics when compared to the students in Asia and Europe.

Sagan thinks science and math can contribute to the success of a person. Sagan shows how America is failing in standardized tests compared with Hong Kong, Japan, and Great Britain. Technology is the future and we should work towards building a strong one. How can we compete with the Asian industries if our generations are lacking in academics? We live in a digital world and we should continue to strive in it.

Sagan directs his essay to the general public. He not only wants the government to take action, but also teachers, parents, and students. Society as a whole need to come together and mold the minds of millions. Parents need to stop neglecting their children and attempt to spark their children’s interest in science. He suggests propaganda to establish an interest in science.

Opposite to Orwell’s views, Sagan wants to enforce more scientific education. Sagan understands that science can used harmfully by the wrong people, but he truly believes science is the future. Basing his opinion on statistics, America is lacking in trying to keep their students interested in not only science and math, but also school. Science is not only physics and chemistry; it is also a “way of thinking.” Students who do well in science and math tend to do better in life.

In the video, “Pale Blue Dot”, Sagan describes Earth as a place that we all call as our home. His enlightening and inspirational quote reminds us that we all share this beautiful planet with one another. Although it may seem like just a dot in space, Earth is where every culture, invention, story, and life began.

Carl Sagan’s “Why We Need to Understand Science”

In the essay “Why We Need to Understand Science,” Carl Sagan exposes a lot of alarming truths about America’s level of scientific education; he explains that people are not educated enough in the sciences, the real sciences that is. He opposes the argument that is against more science education and explains the importance and the benefits of science; he reveals just how instrumental the sciences have been for the world. As essential as this type of knowledge is for the world, Sagan continues to inform the reader just how poorly educated our country is. The reason for this awful outcome has a lot to do with the country’s priorities. Americans don’t realize just how important it is for people to be highly educated in the sciences, and they don’t know exactly how to change course for our future. So Sagan proposes several ideas for what will hopefully help get this country on the right track.

Carl Sagan is very passionate about the controversial topic of more scientific education; being an astronomer and astrophysicists, Sagan has very strong views on the fight for more science education. In addition to being very scientifically inclined, Sagan also proves to be a well rounded person when it comes to academia and personal principles. He is also a talented writer who tries to work towards making science more acknowledged and appealing to the public. He uses his credibility to convince people that having the masses so uneducated in science “is a clear prescription for disaster.” People are so uninformed and ignorant about science and technology, yet most everybody has become extremely dependent on them. Sagan gives a solid argument by not denying the potential danger in science, and instead by forming a counter argument. He points out all the good that has been, and can be, done with science. And Sagan does not claim that people need to become more educated in just scientific facts, the focus should go more towards the way of thinking and the thought process that goes into using facts to think of a possible and realistic reason for an outcome.

Sagan continues his argument with loads of facts and statistics that reveal the shocking academic standing America is in. America is falling way behind in science and math in relation to other countries, and Sagan supposes that the reason for it is that the country does not put enough emphasis on education in the sciences. People don’t seem to understand just how poor our country is doing in this area, and so Sagan finalizes his argument with possible solutions to the problem. He believes that adults need to give more encouragement to children to ask thought provoking questions, and give them the tools that will help them to actually work towards finding the answers in the future.

The video based off of Carl Sagan’s book “Pale Blue Dot” sends the message that every person, no matter where they came from, what they went through, or how they lived their life, have something in common with each other, they all have the same home. It puts the world into perspective, and makes the earth seem absolutely amazing. How could someone not be interested in knowing all of its secrets? He makes you want to learn more about the mysterious and amazing place that we call home.

Response to Sagan’s “Why We Need To Understand Science?”

In this essay, Sagan outlines, essentially, why we need to understand science. He summarizes the state of American general scientific and mathematical knowledge using statistics, comparisons to other countries, and even a personal anecdote. He provides some historical examples of how science could be used for great things and also terrible things, and how mistakes are becoming much too tragic. At the end of the essay, he outlines a plan and things that we could do to improve our situation.

The author is Carl Sagan, a well known and respected late science communicator. His purpose of writing this was to warn the United States that it was falling behind in the world fast in academic terms and how to remedy this problem. The essay was published in 1989 when American academic success in education the populace was limited. The section on where he outlined all of the statistics showing America’s severely poor academic ratings were essential to his essay because they showed the reader that there was a serious problem and the extent of the problem. This engages the reader and compels the audience to continue reading the essay.

The video “The Pale Blue Dot” featuring Carl Sagan’s famous monologue about our planet was very thought provoking and inspirational. It made the watcher realize how insignificant we really are in the grand scheme of the universe, but at the same time so comfortable in our insignificance.

Reaction to Sagan’s “Why We Need to Understand Science”

Carl Sagan’s piece “Why We Need to Understand Science” reevaluates the lack of motivation for the sciences in America.  He compares the American education system to that of many other countries around the world and tries to find the reason as to why we are so far behind everyone else when it comes to the knowledge of our children in the areas of mathematics and science.  He thinks that things may often be too streamlined and watered down so that the average person can understand something, when really they should be kept the way they were so it forces us to go out and learn what exactly a report or discovery is talking about.  Additionally, this piece discusses the common fear that’s associated with a greater understanding of the fields of science and how the government involvement in such fields have affected the populations view of modern advances.  One last point that is made and seems to matter a great deal to Sagan is that there needs to be more encouragement on children and teenagers to be interested in science and that adults must not be so ignorant or proud when they’re asked a question to which they don’t have an answer to.  Somerfield’s short video which hits some of the major points of Sagan’s writings, overall is saying that we can’t forget that everything that happens to us, for us, by us, and against us, happens here on Earth.  That this is the place that is home to all of us, and that yes from millions of miles away it only appears to be a blue dot in a sea of dust, but to us it is something of far more worth and value.

Carl Sagan who was an astronomer, TV personality, noted author of many esteemed books, thinker, scientist, and professor at Cornell University, was also someone who had a brighter future in mind for America and the children in it.  His thoughts on how we as a country could greater succeed on the global scale were intuitive and clever.  It is clear when reading his piece “Why We Need to Understand Science” that he truly has a passion for the art of science and that he really feels that this passion should be and needs to be felt by all those going through the education system in America.  That a brighter future must begin with a spark of interest.  In this piece he not only describes the problem areas of why there is such a lack of interest in science by Americans, but also how we can change that negative thought process.  How teachers need to be more invigorating, parents need to be more assertive, textbooks need to be more interactive, and students need to be more mesmerized.  He writes this piece to the country as a whole, but also to every teacher, parent, student, scientist, politician, and person out there.  Sagan’s essay is responding to the poor results that the U.S. produces in tests when compared to other nations around the world, and to the fact that many of us think that we are well educated on a topic, but in reality we fall under a false consensus of knowing something since it has been so watered down for us.