“If we crave some cosmic purpose, then let us find ourselves a worthy goal.”
–Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot

This video has been making it’s rounds on the interwebs this week and I just thought it would be appropriate to remind everyone what a thoughtful, passionate and remarkable human being Carl Sagan was. I mean if autotune can get the kids to listen to anything these days it’s better this than Kanye. If you’re not familiar with his Cosmos series or his numerous books, let me share one of my favorite anecdotes about Dr. Sagan.

He chaired the NASA committee responsible for the content of the solid gold record (not sales, we’re talking Au) that accompanied the Voyager I & II probes into the depths of space containing a message from Earth. This record included greeting in 55 languages and music from Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chuck Berry and Blind Willie Johnson among other representatives from non-western and indigenous cultures. Sagan wanted “Here Comes the Sun” from Abbey Road, but EMI said no. Also on this record is a brain scan of someone in love. For more on this, check out this episode of WNYC’s Radiolab. The probe is now well over 14 billion kilometers from the Sun. In 40,000 years it will be within 2 light years of a star in the next galaxy to us, Andromeda.

Sagan was also a great popularizer of the search for extraterrestrial life and of science in general. Sadly, he passed in 1996 and no one since has quite managed to replace his enthusiasm, love and selfless promotion of a higher understanding of life and its relationship with the universe.