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POLITICA >>Cosmos | ||||
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Politica is a forum for independent analysis of political events around the World |
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Sagan, C. 2000. Cosmos. Abacus, London, UK. Rating: JJJ About the Author: Carl Sagan was the Director for the Laboratory of Planetary Studies and David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences at Cornell University. He was heavily involved in the Mariner, Viking and Voyager space exploration programmes. He died in December 1996.. Books by the same author: Intelligent Life in the Universe, The Cosmic Connection, The Dragons of Eden, Murmurs of Earth, Broca's Brain, Contact. |
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Review At first, it may seem strange to include a book about astronomy in a politics page. But Cosmos is far more than science communication. Carl Sagan's book, designed to accompany the homonymous television series, is a brilliant call for humanity to rise beyond its self-destructive attitudes or face extinction. It took billions of years of evolution and a great deal of luck for a species capable of understanding the vast complexity of the universe to arise. We do not know if this event occurred anywhere else in the cosmos, and in any case, human beings are unique. Are we willing to throw it all away, or to expand our potential beyond the restrictions of our little world? While the stars beckon, we prefer to engage in futile conflicts or otherwise counter-productive behaviour. The very same technology that allows nuclear weapons to be developed can also produce energy for voyages of exploration far beyond our solar system. It is our choice how this technology will be used, and we should not be fooled into thinking that a nuclear holocaust is impossible just because it has never occurred. After all, this type of event can happen only once. Sagan's book is a call for global unity, which alone can allow humanity to realise its full potential. It is challenges us to see the similarities that bind us and not to loathe the differences. But maybe it is best to let Sagan's own words speak for themselves: "An extraterrestrial visitor, looking at the differences among human beings and their societies, would find those differences trivial compared to the similarities. The Cosmos may be densely populated with intelligent beings. But the Darwinian lesson is clear: There will be no humans elsewhere. Only here. Only on this small planet. We are a rare as well as endangered species. Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another". |
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