I too wondered how he could have been called a fraud, though I have
personally heard a noted science fiction author or two state "off the
record" that he did not actually write the science fiction novel Contact.
If the story is true, then perhaps that might make him a fraud in one sense,
though ghost writers are common in the industry.
As to your assertion that there IS extra-terrestrial life... well, I have
known Clifford Stone, a ufologist who holds that view as well, since 1977.
Shortly before his book, UFO's Are Real, went to press, he was visited by
someone and warned that there would be a price to pay. His son was murdered
shortly thereafter and nobody was ever brought to justice for it. That
murder is probably the best evidence to support the existence of
extra-terrestrial INTELLIGENCE, and therefore, life, that we are ever likely
to obtain in the foreseeable future. As much as Cliff would like, to,
though, even he can't prove it. Fortunately, the absence of proof does not
constitute disproof.
Stating a religious belief with any real or imagined authority will gain no
friends in any venue. Just ask a certain itinerant carpenter who was
dragged before a kangaroo court and put to death, partially for things that
were never proven simply because he offended the powers that were. Some
things never change.
No human being is worthy of the title hero... even those we call heroes
would agree with that. Carl Sagan was as flawed a human as the rest of us,
albeit smarter than most of us.
On 1/2/07, James Grubic <jgrubic@bozeman.k12.mt.us> wrote:
>
>
> Carl Sagan is one of my personal heroes and was largely responsible for
> introducing many millions of people, including myself, to the worlds of
> Science and Nature.
>
> I fail to see how he could be called a "fraud" when he devoted his life
> to the pursuit of truth.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan
>
> I think a lot of the animosity towards him comes from his pursuit of the
> confirmation of extra-terrestrial life, and his steadfast refusal to
> accept religions that have no empirical evidence to support their beliefs.
>
> (And for the record...there IS at least basic life in other parts of the
> universe. The problem the distance and timeframes involved will make it
> close to impossible for our civilization to ever get proof.)
>
> I also highly recommend visiting http://www.carlsagan.com/ and buying
> the DVD set of Cosmos.
>
>
>
> James
> --
> This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries
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>
>
-- This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/ WikiWikiNewt for all kinds of articles: http://tools.unna.org/wikiwikinewt/Received on Tue Jan 2 15:00:21 2007
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