He's Back!

At the risk of turning Liquid Logic into a full-blown Carl Sagan shrine (actually, maybe I should just do that), I am pleased to report a new collection of essays from my all time favorite science philosopher. Based on a series of lectures he gave in Glasgow in 1985 and edited by his widow, Ann Druyan, the book is called The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God.As a NY Times article points out, things have gone decidedly downhill since Sagan's premature passing. Fundamentalism is on the rise. Evolution is on the run. And atheists, of which Sagan was one, are the most hated group of people in the country. But what's most heartbreaking to me is the fact that Sagan and his wife and collaborator were going to use this collection of lectures as a springboard for a new TV series, called Ethos, to follow on the heels of his brilliant Cosmos. Imagine that. A TV series devoted to science's exploration of the most profound questions of our existence.Someone needs to resurrect that series. Religion, especially organized monotheistic fairytale religion, should not be the lead player in humanity's exploration of our existence. Scientific inquiry, especially in the hands of a master like Carl Sagan, yields far more profound and awe-inspiring revelations.Though no one could fill Sagan's shoes, let's nominate some candidates to carry his torch and spearhead the series.I'm afraid Richard Dawkins is probably too combative to do it and Brian Greene of The Elegant Universe is too devoted to string theory, which is dying a long, slow, and tedious death.Here are some suggestions:James Gleick who unpacked Chaos Theory quite neatly for me.The brilliant microbiologist, Lynn Margulis, whose devotion to the world of bacteria is nothing short of awe-inspiring.Practicing Buddhist and Meme Machine author, Susan Blackmore.Cognitive psychologist, Steven Pinker, who gets it wrong sometimes but is highly readable.Ann Druyan, a writer and producer in her own right who shares Sagan's vision and knows how to bring it to light.Clearly somebody needs to resurrect this series. The world needs this point of view desperately.