By Jesse Parent | I do not use words like mentor, role-mdel, or inspiration very often. To be perfectly honest, I’ve ceased trying go find anyone I directly relate to (something I’d been striving for since middle school) in recent years; there was not a sense for multidisciplinary approach, communicating education and awareness, and broadening perspectives whilst still focusing on actually learning.
But I will put the disclaimer on this that I have not yet come to know Mr Sagan fully, only a few ‘encounters’ – Cosmos, his TV series, and some writings. But I write this in a formal declaration that I want to know about this person, because I wonder, hope, and fear, that his path may be similar to my own — and for someone who has felt without a contemporary for some time, it’s a refreshing feeling. Yet it is alarming, too, because now that my hopes actually have some evidence for celebration, I need to know more to be sure – and I could be wrong, about all of this. We shall see.
I will be using Learnist here, probably quite extensively, and substituting my own commentary along the way. Here is my main Carl Sagan page, which will house other such pages.
Like Dr Carl Sagan, I have a similar argument:
His argument was not with God but with those who believed that our understanding of the sacred had been completed.
I believe the pursuit of understanding is both sacred and necessary. There are so many other quotes to pull from, but I will merely start here. I am a fan of Star Trek (et al), and have had youthful hopes of being able to emulate such a high form of living in humanity. At one point I wanted to become an astronaut, a space explorer – but in college I learned more of the world and realized there was much work to be done ‘here’, first. Perhaps now I have come full circle and realized the importance of STEM education, and how science and understanding of the physical world is quite related to the well being of humans in general. To that end, I hope to learn more about Mr Sagan. Stay tuned for more updates.
I’ll leave you with an episode online from Sagan’s award-winning series & book, Cosmos: (moved to comments)
- – -
For more of Jesse’s thoughts throughout the week and to see what news he’s following, you are invited to join the conversation via Twitter and Facebook.
One thought on “Carl Sagan – I (May Have) Found A Mentor, Role-Model, Inspiration”