Carl Sagan and Human Experience

Nothing at all, but the way Sagan breaks down labyrinthine concepts makes you feel like a genius. Okay maybe not like a genius, but he does make you feel capable of grasping these concepts. He makes the most complicated of complicated concepts understandable; this is why he is so beloved even in death (1996). People like this, who have the talent to breach open taboo subjects and gatekept knowledge are priceless to society.

In his chapter “The Retreat from Copernicus: A Modern Loss of Nerve” from The Varieties of Scientific Experience, Sagan opens by breaking down the popular view of animism as being primitive. Classical psychology teaches that when children are learning the concept that others have the same feelings they do, they kind of overdo it at first. By this, I mean that they end up attributing feelings to absolutely everything and everyone for a period of time, instead of staying in the realm of living things. This is why they are so easily entertained with toys! Eventually, they scale back, learn that the teacup is in fact not alive. At this point, the schema of feeling and empathy is recalibrated to include this new distinction and the child moves on to more complicated concepts, such as why feelings differ from time to time and from person to person.

This recalibration in perspective sets a precedent for one of the recurring themes discussed by Sagan; there is no way to know anything with absolute certainty and eventually, we will “bump our nose” as he puts it. Moving past the “bump” requires a merger of existing theory and new information. When Copernicus had the scandalous idea that the Earth was in fact not the center of the universe it was with great hesitation that the idea was even shared. Although finally accepted, the hesitancy speaks volumes about the herd mentality humans often take on. Perhaps it is about feeling safety in numbers, no matter how incorrect the idea or primitive the concept.

Nevertheless, accepting the notion that our Earth is not the center of the universe seems to mirror the human experience. For example, it is very easy to think that one’s problems are significantly worse than someone else’s problems since one only has access to one’s own feelings. Being in this stage-like headspace can produce a very one-sided, even selfish personality. Eventually, that personality may become socially unattractive and engender pure negativity and loneliness.

The solution is to accept that everyone has the same exact emotions going on inside and just because it is not shared does not mean they do not exist. At this point, maturity is gained and the personality is reshaped until the next maintenance light goes off. Disproving notions, schemas or theories and rebuilding them with new knowledge gained is how we survive!

Learn, adapt, repeat—the circle of life might just be a triangle. I have heard that the strongest base for a building is a triangle; however, when we think about the building blocks of life, atoms—paradoxically, they are not arranged in this shape. We discussed in class another paradox, which defines quantum physics: specifically, electrons being both particle and wave simultaneously. In other words, tangible, and intangible—but how? To explain this, I can only counter with a comparison; how do we, humans, exist?

We have bodies, and some believe we also have spirits or souls, but at the very least we have thoughts! Simultaneously tangible and intangible states are interconnected, just like electrons. We create physical things you can see, touch, use, and experience: essays, computers, rollercoasters, fire, performances, buildings, what-have-you, and each of these things we must initiate with intangible thoughts. Artificial Intelligence aims to replicate human thought and still cannot seem to pin down the formula.

The human brain sends electrical impulses triggered by conscious and subconscious thoughts to get you to move your limbs, to swallow, to breathe. A human can attain knowledge from books, but how did those books get there? More thoughts! Texts need to be conceptualized, written, printed, distributed, and bought. These steps each begin as a thought to catalyze creation—to employ energy, and thus, make real things with our hands and minds. We are, in a way, large-scale electrons.

Or not. Circling back to my poor credentials in science, I am prepared to be proven wrong at any time. At the core of most lasting arguments is at least one party afraid to admit fault, who digs their heels in on the wrong side, all to avoid accepting new information, wreaking havoc in the meantime. Does this sound familiar? Copernicus waited until he was on his deathbed to release his discoveries and it could have very well been for this reason.

Then again, Sagan did critique J.D. Barrow’s work on the anthropic principle for a perceived lack of imagination, and I think a comparison of electrons to humans is heavy in the imagination department. In addition to being highly imaginative himself, Carl Sagan is detail-oriented. Reading this critical breakdown of the anthropic principle, there is polite and humorous brutality in the way the theory gets picked apart. The reasoning seems obvious to the reader when being spoon-fed information, but in reality, not many people would think to consider the contained infrared emissions on Neptune that result in a comfortable temperature on a specific point on the planet, all evidenced by radio waves in the atmosphere. This man is the Sherlock of space. Now, I have no idea what infrared emissions are, but Sagan has put it in such a way that I can deduce these emissions turn the tiny fraction of sunlight that reaches Neptune into a livable temperature for a human.

In no world would I be able to understand even this much on my own. People like Sagan who can inspire self-confidence in their audiences hold the key to their own immortality. Just keeping an audience entertained is a feat in itself, considering our attention spans are ever-shortening—and Sagan is still doing it today from the grave! Think about how influential you must be to have 15 pages written about you almost twenty years after your death. These pages are published as a Smithsonian Magazine article from 2014 titled, “Why Carl Sagan is Truly Irreplaceable,” made up of four-thousand eight-hundred and sixty-nine words and ending in the phrase, “Lord knows we need him now.” I too will leave you with these words.

This essay was originally submitted as a written assignment for ENG340 American Nature (Fall 2021) with professor Olga Nikolova.