I read that book around that time, when I was a teen in Bogotá Colombia; he inspired me to become a scientist. Today I’m finishing my PhD in neuroscience.

if he were here today, he'd probably think "this is worse than I could have imagined."

"Celebration of ignorance" is what I call social media. Carl Sagan hit the nail on the head right there. It's quite depressing really. Good luck and Good night to all.

“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'” ― Isaac Asimov

"When stupidity is considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent." Isaac Asimov.

I was born in the UK in 1984 and only really discovered Carl Sagan around 10 years ago. He is an inspiration, as a man, as an advocate of public scientific engagement and much more. He is one of my greatest heroes and I just wish he could have stayed with us a bit longer, the world needs voices like his more than ever

Most excellent video! Carl nailed it exactly 25 years ago.

Gave me chills to read his last words. He also said: "We’ve arranged a society on science and technology in which nobody understands anything about science and technology, and this combustible mixture of ignorance and power sooner or later is going to blow up in our faces. I mean, who is running the science and technology in a democracy if the people don’t know anything about it."

Unfortunately those who need to hear his message wouldn't understand that he was talking about them.

I never once stopped having an appreciation for Carl Sagan. Carl Sagan made me realize that I was connected to the earth and the stars and to every single thing on this planet.

Carl Sagan literally inspired me to be really interested in stargazing/ Science/ Tech & the perception that we are not as important as we think we are but are also more important than we think we are at the same time.🤯

20+ years ago, this book fundamentally changed my worldview. As I write this, it's on the the shelf behind me, a bit worn and yellowed. I'll never forget the clarity it gave me. I only wish that more would come to the light of that candle.

I remember even as an 8 year old I wondered why Chewie didn't get a medal.

“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.” - Carl Sagan

I want Carl Sagan, HG Wells, George Orwell and Nikola Tesla back. That would be an amazing dinner.

I discovered Carl Sagan in 2008. I watched and rewatched his cosmos series several times. then I watched them once more in 2020 when the show turned 40. He's always been a voice of reason for me

“a kind of celebration of ignorance”. wow did he ever nail that!!!!!

A “celebration of ignorance” is exactly what we’re dealing with here and now, he hit the nail on the head!

*Carl is such a blessing to me and I believe I got great ideas to impact many lives here; they are below.*

“To me, not teaching science would be perverse.. when you’re in love you want to tell the world.” - Dr. Sagan

I miss that brilliant man. I miss the calm inflection of his voice and the concise and articulate way he explained the Universe. RIP Carl Sagan.

Social Media is one of the biggest double edge swords in human history

We're doomed and we all just sit back and watch it. I hope we all have the courage to do the right thing when the time comes. God bless us all at the end of the day We're only human.

Wow. He really did describe the whole thing. Goosebumps

Some people are pure light in the darkness .. we miss you Carl Sagan. RIP

"A celebration of ignorance" hit it on the head with that one

It's amazing how he could call out issues without insulting or placing blame on anyone or any group in particular. I strive to be as good a communicator as he was

So back in the 90s I was in college getting my psychology degree and one teacher gave the most amazing lessons where he spoke of the world and what it will look like in 30 years. OMG I started seeing it about 10 years ago and today.... BOOM 💥🎯... Here we are. Exactly where he said we'd be. I took a lot of classes, had a lot of teachers but he's the only one who gave lessons you couldn't stop listening to.

"Unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true" Sounds like America

“Celebration of ignorance” that one alone explains current events

Truely a message the world desperately needs to hear and actualize.

Truly the definition of ahead of his time

"All the way back in 1995" sounds strange when most people haven't even adapted to the 21st century yet.

"The dumbing down of America ... the lowest common denominator ... the power of technology in the hands of the few ... the masses retreat to superstition ... the celebration of ignorance." Well Sagan was right and here we are!!

LOL he was describing msnbc and their viewers

“Unable to distinguish between what feels good and what is true.” Wow

"Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception." - Carl Sagan

Asimov predicted it in 1941 (Nightfall); the mob dismisses great minds and critical thinking.

This guy was so ahead of his time, intelligent, and the sort of mind you'd want running this country. Not like a large portion of those who are, and have in the past, run this country.

Carl died when I was a young boy, but boy oh boy did he change my life forever.

Carl Sagan was a rare American sage. He foresaw the frightful descent into barbaric celebration of ignorance we witness today.

"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." - Isaac Asimov

"The Demon Haunted World" should be required reading. It's a depressingly accurate prediction of the shitshow we're in.

In 1974 a PSA by Leonard Nimoy said we would soon die of a ice age 2022 I'm still here

When being a scientist, doctor or intellectual is a negative trait to so many people it’s become a very scary and sad world.

“Chewbacca deserves a medal” - Carl Sagan

I clicked for Carl Sagan, got Brian Williams. Shouldn't have ignored the MSNBC logo ...

I loved his show Cosmos, it really inspired me when I was growing up. It was so awesome!

Sagan would be horrified to know those "10 second sound bites" have been reduced to mouse clicks.

That excerpt gave me chills. That guy was a visionary. Too bad no one listened hard enough to stop it.

He represented the best of humanity and still does.

I read that 25 years ago. The book is still on my nightstand. It was a damning report on what was wrong with us and I have yet to read it to the end. Why? It shook me and I needed a break. I will finish it once I recover.

Just another example of what happens when "smart" people do not get the amount of press as singers and actors

Every word in that quote is an undeniable truth of our present state of being. Sometimes I dread being around for the next 20 years, because how badly things are right now.

He absolutely got a medal.

Mind blowing 😒🤯America really is in decline. I was thinking just about these things while watching George Carlin… can’t remember how I ended up seeing Carl Sagan and, unfortunately for me, today is the first time I hear of him … priceless work 🙏

"The United States has gone from barbarism to decadence without knowing civilization." - Albert Einstein

I am a peon with a BA who loudly shouted the same sentiments over 20 years ago. It didn't take an astrophysicist to see where America was headed.

Brian Williams adds an extra later of trustworthiness to this segment. Well done!

Chewbacca not getting a medal bugged me, too!

"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -Isaac Asimov (1980)

An absolute legend. I'd argue his greatest contribution to science was his ability to make it accessible to everyone. He could take incredibly complex ideas and simplify them enough for the average person to understand without coming off as condescending.

Segan passed away, he now has answers to truth that the majority if not all of us alive don't fully know.

All we can do now is shed a tear.

Sagan's "The Demon Haunted World" is a must-read for every thinking human being.

The problem is most people WANT to live within their illusions.

So glad I discovered Carl and his work through a song I heard last year..

This is, oh man, there are so many words for this...sobering is one word that comes to mind. Thank you for this.

My religious denomination is unapologetically "Sagan". I passionately watched "Cosmos" as a teenager and I recall my dad once commenting , "You are even starting to sound like him." Sagan inspired my choice of college courses. He was a HUGE influence on my life.

He knew how stupid we were and would be and currently are

80% of the comments on this thread perfectly prove his point.

That is terrifyingly accurate

Boy that last sentence about the media was right on. They are a huge factor in the "dumbing down......".

We should listen to more intellectuals and scholars. Hello? Studying never stops.

That quote from The Demon-Haunted World is chillingly prophetic.

We need you now more than ever Carl.

If only being smart and educated meant something to virtually everyone like it used to.

I got goosebumps hearing those predictions. Every word has come true.

Orwell predicted the mess we'd be in in the book 1984. That was written in the 40s.

Sagan was "The Star of the Stars", as one journalist termed him at the time of his passing. Sagan was a great popularizer who really connected with the average guy in the street. I loved Sagan's "Cosmos" series & never missed one of his Carson appearances, or, later, his Charlie Rose interviews(though I was no fan of Rose in general as an interviewer). The astrophysicist made astronomy truly cool, though I was interested long before Sagan came on the scene. The man took a number of hits from his professional colleagues in those years, deriding his academic work & denigrating his rising fame as a mere popularizer, not a serious scientist. Jealousy & envy certainly played a part in their criticisms, which I believe were unmerited. Sagan appealed to a still-literate & intelligent, curious citizenry in the mid-70's, something largely missing from today's dumbed-down society, WAY dumbed-down. The generation of the post moon-landings, of which I was a member, had become aware as to how alone we are in the universe & were both mesmerized & enchanted by "what's out there". Sagan made our queasiness & fascination over this understandable, thought-provoking, & wonderfully philosophical. After Watergate, the population had become thoroughly cynical toward the U.S. government, its institutions, & the meaningless promises of politicians. Astronomy became one of the last untainted verities we could focus on, a way to "escape" our earthbound problems, disappointments, & increasing dissatisfaction with all levels of government in general, a chance to "get outside of ourselves", at least for a little while. Sagan provided this escape & alot of us, myself included, were more than receptive to it. The awe & wonder he made us feel has, I'm afraid, vanished entirely in our own decadent, downward-spiralling age, one bereft of inspirational imagination. I still miss Mr. Sagan, every time I gaze at the night-sky, dreaming of what's "out-there", just as he did.

Sagan's quotes literally gave me chills from how accurately he described what has happened to us 25 yrs. ago. WOW!

nobody could say the word 'billions' like good ol' Dr. Carl

The real irony here is that this is being played on MSNBC.

Carl Sagan has one of the most satisfying voices ever.

I went to my first Star Trek convention dressed as Chewbacca. It was a Wookiee mistake.

He was a genius, such as his Cosmos series. We do miss his mind and intellect. He was 62 when he passed, I was 51, now I am fortunate to be 77, I wish he was 88 now.

Irony, that a media company guilty of what he accused reports it as if they are not so.

Sagan understood, as few do, both that physical laws obey, and that people are flawed.

My father was a fan of Carl Sagan and incidentally he passed away in 2021. A quote by Sagan was read during his memorial service.

Sagan had the gift of being able to explain difficult scientific concepts in a way that simple-minded folks such as myself could actually comprehend. He wasn't just brilliant; he could effectively communicate the ideas from his brilliant mind to teach others.

Even this was a soundbite. Read the book. Well worth your time. Progress isn't inevitable. It depends on how informed you are, and the choices you and everyone else make.

I'll clutch crystals before I listen to MSNBC thanks.

A celebration of ignorance. Perfectly said Carl Sagan.

Intelligence has been replaced with emotions and most are too dumb to see it.

That's crazy. He predicted the future of major news outlets... including nbc

I knew his first wife, an evolutionary biologist (among other credentials) and heard her influence in his perspective. How interesting

The pale blue dot. Carl gifts us so much truth, eloquently delivered.

Sagan was a genius

This hits hard...

I have always been amazed with what Carl Sagan had to say!!! great thinker!!!