Carl Sagan (Last Interview) passionately defends science with a grave warning.

[kpete]

A Science Icon Died 17 Years Ago. In His Last Interview, He Made A Warning That Gives Me Goosebumps.
Rajiv Narayan Rajiv Narayan

Carl Sagan inspired a generation of scientists with his work in and out of the classroom. But he didn't always present science with cheer. In this clip, he passionately defends science with a grave warning. It's something we all need to hear.

http://www.upworthy.com/a-science-icon-died-17-years-ago-in-his-last-interview-he-made-a-warning-that-gives-me-goosebumps-5?c=fea

[DeSwiss]

1. K&R

[Major Nikon]

2. "We’ve got to stop being the stupid party."

-- Bobby Jindal

[dickthegrouch]

3. Tonight's 60 minutes should be interesting

They have a segment at the NSA.
We'll see how much skepticism is practiced by the interviewers

[magical thyme]

4. too bad Mr. Sagan didn't live to see Fukushima

and what the corporate-bought nuclear scientists in their ivory towers brought down to us ordinary people.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

5. du rec

[Frank Cannon]

6. Unfortunately, things have just gotten worse.

From the anti-vaccination movement to climate change denial to the rise of "intelligent design" in our nation's children's textbooks, it's clear that Dr. Sagan's many desperate warnings have gone completely unheeded.

[WillyT]

7. K & R !!!

[AlbertCat]

8. There's a play by Friedrich Dürrenmatt written in 1962

entitled "Die Physiker"... The Physicists. We did it when I was in high school! (1972)

In it, one of the characters says:

"Inventions only become useful when they become independent of the knowledge that led to their invention. Therefore, nowadays anyone can switch on an electric light, or touch off an atomic bomb."

[Egalitarian Thug]

9. "Combustible mixture of ignorance and power". Straight to the point, as usual. n/t

[AlbertCat]

10. Interesting...

Look at the people who now think "The government runs us".... those who think government is out to get them (because it tries to tell entities that are in a position to take advantage of us, not to. Y'know, regulation) A lot of them know nothing about science: reproduction or biology, climate, physics... and are hostile toward them. They don't seem to get that the same scientific process that they trust (with their very lives) every time they turn on a lamp, or take a pain pill or cough drop, microwave a snack, drive in their car, STOP their car..... with all these things they trust, utterly, science. But that same science tells us evolution is true and climate change is happening and we are a contributor. Nope... can't trust science.

[nikto]

13. It really is tragically comic when you think about it...

The same people who take prescription drugs, fly on airplanes, use GPS, have IPADs and digital cameras,
play (or know well people who DO) video games, and depend on the internet, selectively decide they don't believe the same science applied to evolution or climate change.

It's not ignorance so much as intellectual dishonesty.

[chervilant]

14. Intellectual dishonesty is an important component,

I agree, but willful ignorance is huge. Many of the so-called xtians where I currently reside are proudly willfully ignorant. Anyone who is an outlier on the "IQ" scale is viewed suspiciously--or accused of some mental disorder, like Asperger's.

Furthermore, since we now live in exponential times (this reality has been a teachable moment multiple times in my classrooms), many of us are struggling with depression (in my opinion, the epidemic du jour), anxiety disorders, and other stress disorders. Our bodies and minds will need many more years to adjust to exponential change, and we don't have the luxury of time--ironically.

BTW, it bears repeating that about 40-43% of our adult population is functionally illiterate. (This means they can read on about an eighth grade level, but are incapable of synthesizing a synopsis of what they've read.) Public education has been corrupted for decades now--intended to spit out marginally educated factory fodder and service industry drones. Only about 10-15% of community college students have the requisite math skills to succeed in College Algebra, and science classes are filled with students who struggle to achieve a rudimentary understanding of their subject matter.

[Plucketeer]

11. It's TRULY amazing, isn't it?

I mean - we've had folks like Carl spell it out for us. And those of us who care to use what he tells us can SEE the truth - the wisdom - of what he says. And of course, Carl's not been the only recent voice bearing insights. And yet, with unshakable focus..... the better part of our populace would rather believe the fantasies of the "Good Book" and the snake oil devotees that recite and interpret it's passages for us.

Do I think we DESERVE to survive ourselves??? Do I think we ought to be better stewards of the gosh-awfully lucky place in the universe that's been our spawning ground? Honestly? As much as I want to offer an emphatic "YES!. I'm not sure we deserve it. I'm not sure we can do it even if we wanted to.

[zebonaut]

12. Carl Sagan knew the reality of Global Warming

And he knew that Venus; subject to runaway global warming; was 900 degrees hot