Carl Sagan, the universe, and us

I always remember his series Cosmos from the 1980s. Some interesting views from the American astronomer. 

Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.

In our obscurity - in all this vastness - there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It is up to us.

The universe is a pretty big place. If it's just us, seems like an awful waste of space.

Exploration is in our nature. We began as wanderers, and we are wanderers still. We have lingered long enough on the shores of the cosmic ocean. We are ready at last to set sail for the stars.

We’re in very bad trouble if we don’t understand the planet we’re trying to save.

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

The nuclear arms race is like two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline, one with three matches, the other with five.

The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.

It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.

We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.

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